Marketing Strategy…
From a woman entrepreneur perspective, it can seem like there are a million different options when it comes to which visibility and marketing strategies you should be focusing on in 2019. It doesn’t help that everyone under the sun is a “guru and expert” and they’re all giving you conflicting information. This makes you feel like you want to pull your hair out trying to decide what you’re going to do in this new year.
The truth is, you could be on every single social media platform, attend tons of in person networking business events, writing books, speaking on stages, spending loads of money in paid ads, blogging, doing everything that you’re “supposed” or “told” to do — and you still might not get any real return on investment (ROI).
That’s because random effort yields random results. I’m going to use the “map” analogy here because it’s just perfect to simply get my point across. If you’re here (current situation) and you want to get there (goals, results) you need a map with instructions.
The problem is that so many entrepreneurs seek for a plan to get them to their destination but they don’t know where they are right now. Some are even unclear about what the final destination is. For you to choose the right strategies your foundation has to be solid. Otherwise, you’re trying to hit a piñata with your eyes closed.
The Research…
First, set the right foundation.
Most entrepreneurs (because we’re mostly driven in nature) dive right into creating products and services and then into the marketing and offering of these without doing the groundwork (because we think we’re wasting time) first that will help them understand their customers at a deeper level. And let me tell you that’s is a huge mistake.
Jumping into marketing your message without understanding what your customers really want is one of the biggest reasons why businesses don’t meet income goals. In fact, many businesses fail because of scaling prematurely, meaning that they invest heavily in websites, marketing, hiring staff, etc., without having a clear understanding of who it is they’re serving (clients).
Doing customer research takes time and effort (I get that it can feel like a drag sometimes). That’s what motivates many entrepreneurs to end up skipping this step because it’s easier than doing hours and hours of customer research calls or even live streams where you can interact directly with your audience.
Research Pays Off
But those who take the time and effort to deeply understand the emotions, wants and needs of their target audience can create the right type of content (and products and services) that their ideal clients need at each step of the customer journey which virtually guarantees success.
Once you intimately know your potential customers and you can get really specific about who you’re targeting, you can use language in your marketing message that’s tailored made for them. You can talk like they talk. The reality is that we all believe that we’re special unicorns, and therefore we believe we have unique problems. So if your marketing language feels like a tailored fit for your market, then your followers will increase along with your sales conversions and your income.
Buyer Personas…
Next, let’s talk about the psychology of your buyer personas. First, what is a buyer persona? If you do an image search on Google for buyer persona (just click here if you want to save yourself some time), you can see some excellent graphical examples of the concept.
Understanding the psychology of your buyers is the most important step when crafting your marketing messages. Persuasion is the name of the game when it comes to marketing. Helping buyers know and understand that your product, brand or service is what they need. There’s nothing wrong with this when you’re an expert that has their clients’ welfare in mind.
If you understand their personality, their attitudes, their viewpoints on different subjects, their lifestyle, their pains, their dreams, etc., then you can write content, create products and services or present ads that resonate with them. You can specifically address the solution to their problem. Your audience will see you as an expert and this will in turn boost your sales conversion rates. These insights into a buyer’s persona allow you to create specifically targeted communications instead of generic messages that fly over your audiences head because it doesn’t peek their interest.
Considerations
Decide the key factors that motivate your buyer’s to take action like:
• what’s their pain?
• relationships
• What’s their dream?
• ability to buy
• being part of something greater like a mission or cause
• being a good person
• traveling to amazing places
• time freedom
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list of things that motivate or drive people. But, narrowing the focus can speak to that unique voice within them.
Content is Queen
An essential step that cannot be skipped is the creation of high-quality content. It’s key for prospective buyers (your audience) to easily be able to access this material through her social media platforms and/or website if they’re interested in learning more about you and your products and services..
Create opt ins (free material that offers a quick solution to a simple problem) to encourage them to sign up to your e-mail list in order to build a relationship with them over time. And in 2019 you must incorporate the creation compelling video content because that builds an instant connection with your audience. But do not rule out creating infographics, blog posts or podcasts to quickly and easily repurpose your material.
Putting out content into your ideal clients’ hands that is easily shared on social media is a great way to reach a bigger audience. People tend to consume more material that has been shared or recommended by someone they know.
Creating high quality content can increase your visibility on YouTube or Google, create leads and awareness of your brand.
Wrapping up
And because this approach fits exactly with how prospects are accustomed to searching for solutions to their problems, it feels more natural, and it becomes easier for them to become customers because trust bond has already been created.
Whether you are talking about your creative process, making a “how to” video or demonstrating how to tackle daily obstacles, these tools can be turned into useful content to help your buyer’s in their customer journey.
Now it’s time for you to take action. Get to know your ideal client, describe him or her in detail. What’s their buyer’s persona? Create a product or service that solves the problem your potential client needs to urgently solve. Craft magnetic content (video, live streaming, written) for them to consume and connect and trust you. Get super visible and show your audience you’re the expert they’ve been looking for!