Social media marketing Archives - Page 3 of 71

Stop: Don’t hide the bad stuff

By Jim Connolly | August 5, 2024

You’re reading about a product or service.

It sounds amazing.

Then you spot it!

You spot the dreaded *asterisk. And your heart sinks.

You know you’re about to be disappointed. You’re about to discover the exclusions, restrictions, omissions and conditions, which means that offer isn’t as good as they said it was.

They could have told you the truth without hiding it behind the asterisk. However, they deliberately chose not to. They intentionally concealed it from you, hoping you wouldn’t dig deeper. And in a split second, they’ve totally changed how you feel about them.

You wonder what else they’re hiding from you.

Your guard is up.

Your trust is diminished. Perhaps totally diminished.

The asterisk risk

If a business owner feels they need to hide something behind an asterisk, there are always better alternatives.

The most effective alternative, is to make the product or service as good as you said. This eliminates the need for an asterisk. Plus, it simultaneously pumps more value into your offering, making it more attractive and giving you a huge competitive advantage.

Another powerful alternative is to openly state, in honest and clear language, exactly what you’re offering. And include whatever would have been behind the asterisk, out in the open. Here’s an example of what that could look like.

Imagine it’s an introductory deal, offering your service at a reduced price for the first 3 months. Rather than quote the introductory price (and hide the fact it increases after 3 months, behind an asterisk), tell them up front. Let people know that you’re so confident they’ll love your service, you’re offering it at a super-low discount, so they can discover for themselves, why it’s outstanding value at the regular price.

There’s another reason for adopting a transparent approach to your marketing.

And it’s a biggie, too.

Social networks give your prospects a powerful voice. That voice can either be used to tell everyone how great you are, or how disappointed they are. Thankfully, you get to choose the kind of experience that’s being shared.

Not only does transparency start to work immediately, it’s also a proven way to build an outstanding reputation in the long-term.

The content marketing your prospects want from you

By Jim Connolly | July 7, 2024

I regularly write about the importance of creating marketing that’s useful to your prospects. So, here are some specific examples, which you can adapt and apply to your own marketing.

Let’s go.

Their needs and your products or services

Start off by thinking about the services you provide or your product range. Then, consider the following topics or ideas and how you can incorporate them into your content marketing messages.

People have an inbuilt need to feel connected: Share ideas to help your prospects connect with useful contacts. The Wall Street Journal wrote about how I achieved this for one of my clients – 4 Marketing Strategies That Paid Off For Small Companies.

People also have an inbuilt need to belong: Share the opportunity to become part of your community. Lots of content marketing fails to address this. Newsletter creators talk about their ‘list’. Podcasters and Youtubers talk about their ‘subscribers’. These are all self-focused. Instead, do as I have done and build a community.

For example, when one of my community hits reply to my newsletter, they can email me direct. And they always, always get an answer from me. No AI. No automation. Just me. I make it very clear that I’m part of the same community as you… the small business owner community. Your prospects value that kind of connection. They’re less attracted to being part of an impersonal list.

Everyone is trying to succeed at something: Share ideas to help your prospects achieve their targets, goals or dreams. Obviously, as with pretty-much every topic here, if you offer a specific product or service that can help them in this area, incorporate that into the content.

We all need to feel safe and secure: Share ideas to help your prospects reduce risk or feel safer.

Everyone wants to avoid wasting time: Share ideas to help your prospects maximize their time, or help them complete certain tasks faster, etc. I’m not a time management expert, but I’ve shared tons of ideas in this area, based on decades of running a successful business, without working crazy hours. The response is always excellent. So don’t be put off sharing from your experience.

People want to improve and expand their knowledge: Share your industry knowledge, sure. But also share your experience with them. For example, if you’re an accountant, don’t just focus on tax, profit and loss or the latest business news. They can get that anywhere. Tell them the common factors you’ve identified in successful businesses. And the ones you’ve identified in those that flounder or fail.

Your specific experience is extremely valuable. It sets you apart from all your competitors. And in doing so, you make it far easier for prospects to feel a sense of connection with you.

We also want to avoid unnecessary stress: Share ideas to help your prospects feel more relaxed and assured. If there’s a specific product or service you offer, which can assist them with this, incorporate that into the message or idea.

Aim for unmissable

Are any of those topics missing from your content marketing? If they are, look for ways to incorporate them. Because this kind of useful, relevant information is the cornerstone of successful marketing. You’ll know you have the balance right, when your content marketing is so useful that people would miss it if you stopped.

How to build trust, before a prospect even knows you

By Jim Connolly | May 18, 2024

build trust, reliable, content marketing, reliability

Today, I’d like to give you a proven way to build trust from your prospective clients or customers… before they even know you.

Here’s how it works.

When I share this idea with small business owners, I start by asking them to consider a few questions. Here’s what I ask them.

If you publish a newsletter, can your readers rely on you to get each edition out on time?
If you use social networks for business, can your contacts or followers rely on you to show up regularly with your ideas?
If you publish a podcast, can subscribers rely on you to publish on schedule?
If you are a blogger, can people rely on you to publish useful posts at least once a month?

Here’s the thing: Content marketing not only allows prospects to discover us and the services or products we provide. It’s also an extremely powerful trust building asset.

What this means for you and your business

By observing your activities, such as those I listed above, your prospects also start to build a wider picture of your business. A picture that shows how committed you are to delivering on time. A picture of your reliability.

By turning up regularly, your marketplace gets to see, for themselves, that you can be depended on. Over time, you’ll also build a strong reputation for consistency. These combine to transform your content marketing into an exceptionally valuable, trust building asset.

Go easy. Don’t overstretch yourself

The easiest way to make this work for you, is to choose just one or two content marketing activities. (I only use two myself). Then, commit to being there when you’re expected. You don’t need to be prolific. A consistent, monthly newsletter is far more effective, than a weekly newsletter, which you just don’t have the time to regularly create and send.

If you do this, then bit by bit, day by day, your prospective clients will come to rely on you.

Just think how valuable that would be for your business. Imagine a marketplace filled with prospective clients who already know you’re reliable and who already trust you. And you can achieve this, without overloading yourself with extra work.

Tip: Here’s how to make your content marketing massively more compelling.

Photo by Tony Schnagl on Pexels.com

Blogs are crushing it in 2024

By Jim Connolly | March 22, 2024

Blog posts remain the most popular content format for marketers, with 9 out of 10 marketers using blogging to achieve content goals. (SEMrush, 2023).

Here are some reasons why I recommend business owners start blogging — or start taking their blog more seriously.

Blogging in 2024 is easier than ever

It’s so simple today, to publish your ideas to the world on a blog. Blogging software (I use WordPress) has matured. It’s intuitive and very easy to use.

I’m writing this post on my phone using WordPress’s Jetpack app.

Blogging in 2024 is bigger than ever

According to Hubspot, there are over 600 Million blogs out there. (Hubspot 2023).

That’s 1 in every 3 websites.

Your blog puts you in charge

Unlike social media sites, your blog gives you the freedom to publish as often as you want.

There’s no algorithm you need to follow. No content monster to feed. No shadow banning if you publish too little or too often. You’re in control.

Blogging is great for building your email list

Blogging is an exceptionally effective way to grow your newsletter list or email marketing list. Subscriber forms have developed in recent years. Add the forms to the most appropriate areas of your blog. Write the form’s copy correctly. And watch what happens.

In the last couple of years, my blog has become my main source of newsletter subscribers.

It costs nothing to get started

WordPress provides a free blog, so you can test the water before diving in. Plus, there’s no need for any expensive equipment. I regularly write posts on my phone. So if you already have a phone, tablet or laptop you’ve already got what you need to begin.

Blogging is media agnostic

You can publish any kind of content on your blog. Short-form video, long-form video, stream live events and share your photography. You can host live chats, publish audio recordings and written word posts — anything digital.

Your blog is the perfect home for your content

You can use your blog as the hub of all your online content or content marketing.

So, rather than create content for your social media accounts and leaving it there, you can also host it on your blog. This improves your blog and provides more content for people to engage with.

It also means none of your work is ever lost. And it’s on a platform that you own. In my experience there’s nothing even close to blogging, when it comes to housing your content.

Blogging and your social accounts, sitting in a tree, kiss…

Your blog amplifies your social media activity. And your social media activity will amplify your blog. It’s a 2-way street now. It’s no longer just you creating free content for a billion dollar social network. Your hard work is now building your own platform.

Plus, if your main social network becomes unpopular, you’ll still have a network of all those who followed you to your blog and subscribed to it, or subscribed to your newsletter list.

Finally

Perhaps most importantly of all, by removing all the barriers I’ve mentioned, blogging gives you the freedom to be yourself. The freedom to share your message, your way, as often as you want.

It’s also worth remembering that depending on the type of blog you build, the blog itself could become a highly desirable and highly valuable asset for investors.

Photo by Plann on Pexels.com