3 Tips to maximize your Marketing Strategy
Before we dive in let’s make this clear:
Good marketing is about AND not OR.
Let me explain…
In 2018 I was an influencer in the fashion, beauty, and travel space under the name of Trendy in Indy. I put most of my eggs in the Instagram basket. Until I got locked out of my account just before Black Friday. I had partnerships that I had to cancel and refund, I felt like I’d lost a piece of myself. I remember waking up at 4 am a few days after this happened just sobbing, wondering what to do next. It seems a bit petty now, but it was my business and it was the partnerships with small businesses that I valued so much.
In the early stages of business, things can be a bit scrappy. We have to just pick the pertinent platforms to gain initial brand exposure and do what we can while flying solo.
But, I think you are beyond that point.
To build a bullet-proof business, we need to leverage an integrated marketing approach - one that includes omnipresence on more than 1 platform.
You became a business owner to fill the gap in your industry and piecing together your marketing strategy may not be your zone of genius.
This is exactly why we are now offering brand + marketing agency services. Check out our full offer suite here!
We hope you enjoy these next 3 tips to improve your marketing strategy!
Tip #1: Start with building a bullet-proof brand strategy
Unpopular opinion: If you’re starting your marketing strategy with content, you’re starting in the wrong place. I see it so often. Entrepreneurs spending hours on content because they think it’s the number one thing that will lead to more sales. And when it doesn’t convert, it’s like, “FULL STOP. What happened?”
This happens when your marketing strategy is more like scotch taping a bunch of sticky notes to the wall, hoping something sticks at some point, and rockstars, that just isn’t a lucrative plan… Because spoiler alert, your marketing strategy ALWAYS comes back to how you’re positioning your brand. If you’re like “Steph, What the heck is brand positioning?”, I got you.
Brand positioning is the distinctive placement of your business within the market and more specifically within the mind of your avatar (target audience). It involves creating brand associations in order to make your avatar perceive your business in a certain way. Why does this matter? Brand positioning strategies are directly related to customer loyalty, brand equity, and at the end of the day… sales.
It’s important to understand that powerful brand positioning requires:
An in-depth understanding of what your champagne client wants, and how your businesses’ capabilities stand up against other competitors in the industry
A positioning statement (see tomorrow’s post for an in-depth discussion on this)
Use of this into designated marketing efforts (see Thursday’s post)
Remember: Building a successful business requires that you become an expert at RESONATING with your people. Take a listen to Episode 102 to hear all the juicy details!
Tip # 2: Don’t underestimate COLLABORATIONS.
This marketing component is often left out of strategy. Here’s the deal, rockstar. Strategic collaborations increase brand awareness, bring new leads into your ecosystem, and will give a new audience the opportunity to learn from you.
This can look like:
➡️ Guest coaching
➡️ Joint Live trainings
➡️ Podcast guesting
➡️ Challenge & workshop collaborations
It is more than okay to leverage another creator’s platform when it is mutually beneficial.
How do you know if a collaboration is aligned with your brand? I’ll tell you:
Your champagne avatar can be found hanging out in their ecosystem. We talk a lot about “champagne avatar” here at The Weber Co. Your champagne Avatar is the top-tier client that you would love to work with. You know, those clients that get you out of bed in the morning. Trust me when I say there are more of them out there that you could ever take on serving. We go into depth on how to find, engage, and attract your champagne avatar to you in this free 3-part mini course.
Tip # 3: Prioritize relationship-first marketing
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a huge team, thousands of dollars in ads, and a perfectly curated feed to build an impactful, profitable, and sustainable business. Do those things help? Well, sure! But honestly, marketing that works begins with your conviction within your brand strategy. The truth is if your marketing isn’t helping you to connect with your audience on a HUMAN level, it’s not doing you any favors. Content doesn’t replace conversations. Content should CREATE conversations, with the ultimate goal of creating connection.
The difference between engaging and connecting:
➡️ Engaging happens in the comment section. This is important to show care/concern to your avatar, get visible, sway the algorithm in your favor
➡️ Connecting happens in the DM’s. Engagement is a good stepping stone to get into conversation in the DM’s. Connection is important to hear their needs, build trust, and eventually make a sale.
Now, 2 more things when it comes to human-first marketing, and then I want you to take some action!
Focus on relationship-first marketing. No more of this cold messaging (which YES… still is happening, friends.) Build rapport first and learn what your audience *really* wants from you.
Create content with the intent to connect with your champagne client. When you speak to the top-tier problem, you also solve every problem on the tiers below.