Toni loved using social media. Through Facebook she kept up with her kids’ adventures and her own friends from her college days. She used Pinterest to collect healthy recipes and beautifully illustrated quotations.
But she was at a loss when it came time to market her life coaching business through social media. Would her edgy personality be too much for clients she wanted to attract? How could she stand out from everyone else posting inspirational photos and viral videos?
Here are the 5 steps I gave her:
1. Identify your perfect client. When you know exactly who is the best fit for your gifts and talents, it’s easier to market your business. Using your most perfect-fitting client as a model, create a profile of her interests, lifestyle, challenges, emotions and activities. I even add a photo and a (fictional) name to mine. Then, when considering what to post, you can ask, “Is this something Josh would like and share?”
2. Listen! My client Toni created a perfect client profile based on her three favorite coaching clients combined under the name “Carolyn.” She filled it out by studying what they posted on social media. She interviewed them about their interests and also why they had chosen to work her. When doing this yourself, be sure to focus not simply on past clients but those who were a perfect match for your services.
3. Speak to ONE person. Do you ever read posts that sound as if someone is shouting out a window to anyone who’ll listen? Toni had a habit of writing to an audience of many, with phrases such as, “How is everyone doing today?” or “A lot of you have been telling me ….” When she began to write each message as if it were to Carolyn alone, she noticed her posts resonated personally with many more people. As a result her audience grew dramatically.
4. Clearly articulate your marketing message. A concise marketing message outlines who you help (perfect client), with what challenges and what outcomes you get for them. Before working with me, her not-so-magnetic message was, “I’m a life coach.” Together we revised her message to focus on helping women executives who were killing themselves with overwork to find greater personal fulfillment through artistic pursuits without compromising their careers.
5. Know what aligns with your message – and what doesn’t. What about Toni’s edgy personality? One thing I shared with her was a love of snark and ranting. It’s fun for me, but not a fit for my brand, Enlightened Marketing, which is about inspiration, optimism and action – NOT negativity. Toni soon realized that she could share some of the painful experiences that made her the person she is today, but when it came to humor, her perfect client “Carolyn” wanted not snark but to laugh about things that were light and positive.
[success]Get even more great tips & techniques from Samantha during her free live webinar for Social Buzz Club – HOW TO CREATE JAW-DROPPING, CLIENT-GETTING MESSAGES – Thursday May 8[/success]
