Social media marketing Archives | Page 3 of 56

1 Word you absolutely must remove from your marketing

April 23, 2018 by Jim Connolly

What is the main reason someone should buy from you or hire you?

That’s a question, which many small businesses struggle with. And it hurts their marketing. It means they are unable to provide their prospective clients with a clear, compelling reason to buy from them, rather than a competitor.

The thing about solutions

This is why we see the word solutions used in amateur marketing all the time, to describe what a business does.

Note – If you’ve already, clearly stated the value you bring, it’s okay to use the word. I’m talking about when business owners use solutions instead of being specific.

For example:

HR solutions.
Email marketing solutions.
Cost effective solutions.
Training solutions.
Or “we offer a range of solutions”, etc.

They’re telling us nothing.

Their message is weak. There’s no reason for us to contact them. So their marketing is largely ignored. And it loses them a fortune.

I don’t want that to happen to your business, my friend. So here’s a far more effective approach.

The alternative is to get specific

Determine the core value you bring to a prospective client. Then, communicate it with impact and brevity.

For example, instead of saying you, “offer a range of email marketing solutions”, get specific. Tell them, “We can help you increase sales and boost your profits, with professional, proven email marketing.”

Back in the 1980’s, business owners were advised to develop an elevator pitch. The idea was to create a compelling 5 or 10 second business introduction. Commerce today, online and offline, is like a series of elevator pitch-type interactions. Your prospective clients are busy. Really busy. They’re being bombarded with emails, calls, social network updates, text messages… it’s relentless.

They don’t have time for long or vague marketing messages. They want answers. Fast! That’s why a specific, brief and well-crafted message has never been more important or more effective.

So get specific.

Look for the core reason why a prospective client should hire you, rather than a competitor. Look for the tangible value your service offers. Then, communicate it in a compelling way. It’s far more powerful than claiming to offer a non-specific “solution”.

Why lists dominate content marketing. And why you should use them!

April 19, 2018 by Jim Connolly

Ever wondered why so many articles, blog posts, videos and newsletters are based around the idea of a list?

Yes, you’re right. It’s because they’re extremely popular. People love them. And it’s easy to see why.

Lists = Lots of ideas. And fast!

List-based content promises a number of bite-sized ideas or suggestions. And fast! So when we see “10 habits of highly successful business owners“, we’re not expecting an in-depth examination of commercial success.

No.

We’re expecting ideas. And we hope that at least one of those ideas will help us in some way. If it does, it will repay the 3 or 4 minutes we invested in reading it.

This begs the question: Does your marketing mix contain list-based content?

If not, I suggest you give it a try. Lists are perfect for sharing, which makes them ideal if you want to expand your reach on social networks. New readers who discover your work through list content, will then get the chance to see your more detailed work. Others will follow you on the networks, where they see your lists shared. Almost all of my most shared blog posts are lists. This list-based page has been shared over 50 thousand times.

Lists can also be very powerful, when it comes to increasing your email marketing open rates. Email marketing that has a list in the subject line, can result in massively increased open rates.

Here’s why.

Most small business owners are not expert copywriters. As such, the subject lines they use for their email marketing tend to under-perform. And poorly written subject lines result in low open rates. This means no matter how good their marketing message is, very few people will see it.

Using an average list title as the subject line of a marketing email, will always out-perform an average, regular subject line.

So, Should I focus exclusively on lists, Jim?

No. No you shouldn’t. Seriously. Don’t!

Allow me to explain.

True, there are YouTubers making a fortune from creating only list-based videos. And yes, there are sites that attract millions of readers, who rely very heavily on list-based content. However, relying exclusively on lists is a bad fit for most small business owners. They should be used sparingly.

For example, I could have written this post as a list.

It would have taken me half as long to write.
It would have been shared a lot more on social networks.
And the email version of the post would have been opened by a lot more people.

However, I wanted to dig a little deeper into one thing… the marketing effectiveness of lists. I didn’t want to weaken that focus with “15 Reasons why lists dominate the internet”.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes, you need to offer more substance around one subject. Other times, an issue could be impacting your readers and you need to address it. And there are times when you want to share one really useful idea, which wouldn’t work if you broke it down into a list of sub-ideas. In other words, that same surface-level approach that makes lists so popular, renders them useless for anything that requires depth.

So mix it up.

Test and measure

If you haven’t already used list-based blog posts, articles, videos, podcasts or newsletters, give it a go. Experiment. Test different types of list. Measure the feedback. Check things (metrics) including; sales, leads, open rates, social shares and new subscribers.

In short, if you’re not embracing list-based content, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

I’m getting enquiries from idiots

April 10, 2018 by Jim Connolly

I was emailed by a service provider recently, about a problem he has encountered with his marketing. It’s something a lot of business owners struggle with. So, I’m sharing it with you along with my reply.

Here’s part of his email, published with his permission.

“I needed to boost traffic to my web site and the number of people who read my newsletter. […] I was advised to start using attention grabbing headlines and dumb down my content so it was more inclusive. It worked in a way because I get more traffic but now I’m attracting enquiries from idiots!”

Before I reply…

Enquiries from idiots?

Up front, let’s deal with his use of the word idiot. I’m extremely uncomfortable about the use of that word, in this context. If your marketing attracts the wrong type of people, this doesn’t make them idiots.

It means your marketing sucks!

That kind of inaccurate labelling of people disavows your responsibility. It passes the blame from you, to them. It’s extremely unhelpful.

Okay. Now we’re free to look at the actual problem.

The cause

In order to increase the reach of their work, build their list or get more social media shares, many people swap meaning, for clicks. Before they know it, their message is no longer resonating with the right people.

It’s being seen, sure. But by using mass-appeal, clickbait headlines, their marketing is no longer attracting the right people. And when you combine that with a message that’s “more inclusive”, you end up with a toxic mix of the wrong people and the wrong message.

In short: Poor targeting + Poor content = Poor results.

A better approach

Focus on the right thing.

If you want to get more traffic or build your list, there are thousands of places offering ways to do it. Most use a version of what the guy who emailed me described. And if you’re selling ads on a website based on clicks, this may prove (somewhat) useful.

However.

If you want to attract more clients, you need a strategy designed to attract more clients. First, you determine exactly who your ideal client is. Next, you focus like a laser on being as useful as possible to this niche. Then, make it extremely easy for them to hire you or share your work. It works. Really, really well.

Just don’t confuse the two. Because those 2 different challenges require 2 very different strategies.

That time a spammer wanted to point lasers into my eyes

March 26, 2018 by Jim Connolly

Did you know that your marketing can fail, even before people read what you have to say?

Well, it’s true. And it happens all the time. Here’s an example of what I mean.

Spammers pointing lasers into my eyes!

I was prompted to share this with you, after I received a spam email. It was from a company that wants to sell me laser eye surgery. They even offered me a discount.

Let’s unpack that for a moment:

They assumed I’d be happy to place my eyesight in the hands of spammers. They thought I’d be perfectly okay, about some spammer pointing lasers into my eyes.

And they were wrong.

What your content marketing says about you

Here’s the thing:

That laser surgery company may use only the most highly trained laser surgeons.
They might have the best possible equipment.
They could have outsourced their marketing to an agency and been unaware their message was being used to spam people.
And they may well be like many small business owners, and think that it’s only spam when someone else is doing it.

Of course, none of that matters. Because when we’re spammed by a company, all we know for 100% certain, is that they’re spamming us. And spammers are considered to be annoying, desperate and unprofessional.

That’s a bad look for any business.

Be careful how you deliver your marketing

The way you market your business is part of your story. It shows your marketplace how professional you are. It shows them what you believe to be acceptable. It shows them what your business standards are. And it shows them where they should position you, among your competitors. All of that takes place before they even see (watch or hear) the content of your marketing message.

The lesson here is simple. Great marketing, delivered poorly, is like a delicious meal served on a dirty plate. It turns people away, regardless of how amazing the content might have been.

Give your best advice away for free. Here’s why

March 15, 2018 by Jim Connolly

What I’m about to share with you may sound a little counter-intuitive. It isn’t. In fact, it could help you achieve breakthrough marketing results.

Allow me to explain.

I come across the following problem a lot. Mainly from service providers, who are struggling to attract new clients with their content marketing. Their primary concern looks something like this:

I know I need to provide good, free advice via my content. Surely if I give my best ideas away for free, no one will pay to hire me.

I’ve already explained why you should be stingy with your time, but not your ideas. However, there’s another, excellent reason why you should provide outstanding, free advice.

And it’s this…

Think for a moment about the alternative. Imagine you publish a newsletter, videos, a blog or a podcast. Now let’s also imagine that instead of sharing great advice, you share weaker information. Average free stuff. Nothing special. Nothing that really stands out.

Guess what?

You’ve just given your marketplace a weak, low-impact insight into your work. You’ve painted a lousy picture of how good you are. So, not only will people be highly unlikely to hire you, they’ll also be unlikely to share your newsletters, videos, podcasts, blog posts or subscribe to you. That’s a huge lose, lose. (Actually, that’s wrong; it’s a lose, lose, lose, because you’ll also be damaging your reputation as a knowledgeable professional. Ouch!)

Here’s what really happens when you give great free advice

Yes, freebie hunters will certainly gobble up all your free advice. But that doesn’t lose you a penny. Why? Because they were never going to hire you anyway. Freebie hunters are the dabblers. The DIYers. So, they were never a prospective client. (Tip, read this: Don’t let greedy amateurs get you down).

Yes, a subset of genuine prospective clients who take your free advice will do (whatever) themselves. Of course, if they find your ideas so powerful that they actually use them, they’re highly likely to subscribe to you and share your work. That’s how every successful resource spreads. Also, I know from experience that many of them will later hire you.

However… there’s also a hefty subset of prospective clients who will find your high quality advice extremely valuable. Now, this subset of prospective clients are the ones who value their time. They love the peace-of-mind that comes from getting expert help. They value professionalism.

These prospective clients will hire you, so you can do the job properly for them. And yes, they’ll also share your newsletters, videos, podcasts, blog posts and subscribe to you.

How do I know for 100% certain that this works?

Simple: It’s how I grew my business!

It’s why I get enquiries from prospective clients, multiple times, all day long, every day. And if it works for me, it can work for you too. Just make sure to offer as much value as you can, as often as you can. Hold nothing back.

P.S. Here’s that article I mentioned earlier. It’s well worth a read: Be stingy with your time, but not your ideas.