Business Coach

What is your marketing budget?

No one really likes to answer that question.  “I want to spend as little as humanly possible and I am hoping for hundreds if not thousands of leads” never quite seems professional enough.  But if that is how you feel, don’t worry you are not alone. Most business owners feel this way.  I feel this way!

The expected thing to say would be, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but…”  But that is actually not true.  I LOVE shooting you straight.  What I hate is giving people false expectations that they can generate monumental results with minimal time, effort and money.

So I’m going to shoot you straight with marketing!  Most of the “free” marketing strategies people are using are not effective. And one of the most common places people try to build with the “free” model is on social media.  So let’s dive in and help you see how to create a content based marketing strategy that works.

I kind of want to reach through the phone and shake people when I ask them about their marketing plan and they tell me, “I’m doing social media.”  What that means is, you are annoying your friends and family with constant calls to action and product updates.  It may also mean you are starting up groups, adding people to them and then trying to sell them your products, (Yes I am talking to you mascara sellers!  How many mascara groups does one person need to be invited to?) It could even involve inconsistently adding content to your page.  And maybe you are running online events and adding everyone on your contact list to them.  If you are guilty of any of these marketing misdemeanors, it’s time for a marketing intervention.

Better would be to create a social media schedule, where you know what you are posting, how often you are posting, and you are balancing value adds to offers about 80/20.  I have a social media content map that pretty much stays the same for a few months at a time.  You will always see my promotions on Tuesday and Thursday Evenings.  My blog posts show up the same time each week.  Motivational tips on leadership, sales and mindset will come onto your newsfeed at regularly scheduled intervals. (If you are not following my business page, click here, because you are missing out!)  The content I create is regular, consistent, and something I can manage over the long haul. This is your next step to creating a content marketing plan that works, but don’t stop here!

Matching a great content creation schedule with strategic use of groups and events will give you more opportunities to engage with your followers beyond the output of content that happens on your business page.  It is important that you are proactive about taking readers from content to conversation.  My goal is to take a “like” into a conversation online, and then ultimately to a conversation off line.  A group or event can be a good in between step.  What can be on it’s own annoying and intrusive, can be a great resource when it has purpose and focus that people WANT to participate in.  Now you will be able to establish trust and rapport!  The final step is to take those online friends and bring them to a real life conversation!  Invite them to a webinar, conference call, live event or one on one phone call!

We are in the information age of business. People want to be informed.  They expect great content from you!  And no amount of online content will ever replace good old fashioned communication.  Increase your commitment to engaging with your prospective clients and I guarantee you will see an increase in sales and new clients! See more....!