How to Win At Marketing: The Know, Like, Trust Factor
In order to "win" at marketing, you must start with a plan. Once you’ve built your unique brand and added it to a well-oiled website, it's time to create a plan to get your services known, liked, and bought from again and again.
Stepping into this next phase of marketing involves setting up a strategic and enjoyable customer journey to guide new clients from the wild west of the internet over to your client sign-up list.
When we begin any exposure branding work with our clients, we use a marketing methodology called inbound marketing. This methodology focuses on attracting your ideal clients to you by creating valuable content and personalized experiences tailored to their needs. So much so, that they eventually reach out to you, rather than the other way around (bye bye cold calling!).
Once your prospects have grown to know, like, and trust you, they’ll become loyal followers who are primed and ready to buy from you, often many times over.
To better explain the ramp-up to this point, see below for an outline of the funnel that will bring prospects from the wild west of the internet over to your brand, and then onto your client list.
Brand Awareness: New prospects naturally discover you
The very first stage of effective marketing is Awareness. This is when you first attract potential new clients that have never heard of you before and are learning of you for the first time. Our job is to introduce and capture their attention. This will be accomplished through eye-catching copy, memorable branding, strategic hashtags, and trustworthy content that solves their biggest pain points.
How to Do It: Consistent, quality content & external reach
In order to be found, you’ll need to set yourself up for discovery by posting consistent, relevant, and well-branded content across the social media platforms that your audience spends the majority of their time on. For instance, if you’re a financial advisor hoping to find new clients, you’d likely focus within LinkedIn. If you’re a fashion brand, you’d want to share on Instagram.
As you position yourself as a thought leader in your space through authentic and consistent social media posting, you will also get the added benefit of building up a repository of evergreen content that your future prospects can turn to now and down the road to get to "know", or become aware, of your brand, and begin the sales journey.
2. Consideration: Prospects consider buying from you
The second stage of effective branding is Consideration, which is often the longest stage in branding. This is likely where many of your current followers and database visitors sit right now - they're aware of you, but aren't yet convinced to buy from you. They're still working on "liking" you.
This is where providing value AND utility in your content is mission-critical. You can achieve much faster likability through offering a helpful download, inviting them to your email list & nurturing them through curated emails, or case studies & testimonials that will encourage them to consider working with you, too.
How To Do It: Give them a freebie & nurture through email
In order to get these new prospects to really know and like you, you’ll need to deliver useful information to help them feel like they're already working with you, and already seeing value in your abilities. The fastest way to grow this level of rapport is through direct communication, or an email list.
First and foremost, you need to get people onto your list. Set this up by ending all of your social posts, stories, or shares with call-to-actions that point them over to your website and newsletter list. Also, be sure to add an enticing lead-in download on your website to encourage list growth. For those already on the newsletter list, set up monthly newsletters to keep your services front-of-mind and to continue developing a relationship and sharing content that warms them up.
3. Conversion: Prospects choose to become clients by connecting
The final stage is the Conversion stage, which is the overall goal of our marketing strategy - to get your warm leads to connect with you. This could look like them responding back to an email, scheduling a phone call, or DM'ing through social media. It's when they take any ACTION that will set them up for you to then convert them to a client.
How To Do It: Clearly communicate opportunities to convert
No one can buy from you if they don't know how to do so, or what you're offering. Our job is to offer clear pathways for our warm, consideration-level leads to request becoming a client. This will be achieved by ending all emails with a request for a response or a button to convert, all social posts with call-to-action to click the link in bio or directly DM, and clearly communicating your offers and packages throughout your emails and posts.
You will know when you receive a conversion - they'll reach out! Once this is achieved, the baton is passed to sales, A.K.A. you, to close the new opportunity!