How To Market Your Expertise Online: Creating A Brand Strategy
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Do you want to leverage your online presence to reflect your expert status in your industry? Learn how to create a brand strategy for your small business or consulting practice in this presentation. If you are interested in creating a brand strategy for your digital marketing presence, please contact MOMENTUM MARKETING today for a FREE CONSULTATION! info@gomommentummarketing.com
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How To Market Your Expertise Online: Creating A Brand Strategy
- 1. How To Market Your Expertise Online: Creating A Brand Strategy
- 2. Speaker Information Sabrina Franklin Principal Strategist Momentum Marketing Sabrina@goMomentumMarketing.com www.goMomentumMarketing.com @goMoMarketing www.LinkedIn.com/in/SabrinaFranklin
- 3. Presentation Overview @GoMoMarketing • The Rise Of Digital • Creating A Brand Strategy In 5 Steps • The 7 Irrefutable Laws Of Marketing • Most Frequently Asked Questions of Consultants • Additional Resources • Audience Q&A
- 4. The Evolution of Communication Technology @GoMoMarketing
- 5. From Stone Scribbles to Swipe Screens @GoMoMarketing
- 6. From Stone Scribbles to Swipe Screens @GoMoMarketing With Over 279 Million Internet Users In The US alone, It’s Safe To Assume YOUR CLIENTS ARE OUT THERE
- 7. The Shift In Consumer Behavior @GoMoMarketing
- 8. The Shift In Consumer Behavior @GoMoMarketing Digital Marketing is more about SOCIOLOGY and PSYCHOLO than it is about TECHNOLOGY
- 9. Adaptation or Suffer Digital Darwinism?? @GoMoMarketing “When the rate of change on the OUTSIDE EXCEEDS the rate of change on the INSIDE, The end is in sight.” - Jack Welch “We as Business Owners and Consultants, don’t have the choice on whether we DO online marketing, The question is HOW WELL WE DO IT.” - Sabrina Franklin
- 10. Will Your Business Fall Victim to Digital Darwinism? @GoMoMarketing Digital Darwinism is a fate that threatens most organizations in almost every industry. Because of this, businesses not only have to compete for today but also for the unforeseeable future. Digital Darwinism is the phenomenon when technology and society evolve faster than an organization can adapt.
- 11. Is Online Marketing Just a Fad? @GoMoMarketing + Levels the playing field for small businesses to compete + Websites provide 24-hour marketing presence + Cheaper (virtually free) than traditional marketing + Can build trust and foster new relationships + Promotes sharable content. People LOVE to Share! + Builds authority and credibility for your brand + Captures and preserves your career legacy NOT A FAD, BUT A PHENOMENON
- 12. The Top 11 Objections I Hear From Consultants @GoMoMarketing 1. I’m a RELATIONSHIP PERSON, I prefer face-to-face exchanges. 2. There’s NO TRAFFIC TO MY SITE right now, why invest more into it? 3. I just DON’T DO ONLINE. 4. I don’t know where to start. I feel DIRECTIONLESS and OVERWHELMED 5. I don’t want to be apart of the SPAMMY SALES JUNK online. 6. My profession is BORING, no one will be interested. 7. I don’t want to look bad or DAMAGE REPUTATION by accident. 8. Social Media is UNPROFESSIONAL. 9. I don’t see how it will DRIVE SALES. 10. It’s too much MAINTENANCE. 11. I JUST DON’T HAVE THE TIME.
- 13. KEY TERMINOLOGY @GoMoMarketing BRANDING IS STRATEGIC MARKETING IS TACTICAL BUY OUR SERVICE/PRODUCT BECAUSE WE ARE BETTER THAN THE COMPETITION THIS IS WHAT WE STAND FOR AND WHY WE EXIST. IF YOU AGREE, IF YOU LIKE US, YOU CAN BUY ME
- 15. @GoMoMarketing BRANDING STRATEGY “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.” - Scott Cook “Brand is the promise, the big idea, the expectations that reside in each customer’s mind about a product, service or company.” - Alina Wheeler
- 16. PART ONE: DEVELOPING A BRAND STRATEGY @GoMoMarketing If you want to succeed in the digital space, it is vital that you focus on what you want to communicate, who you want to communicate to and how you’re going to communicate it. Creating a brand strategy for your organization ensures that your messaging is concise, consistent and targets your audience of customers. What is your brand promise and how do you deliver on it?
- 17. STEP 1: Brand Positioning: Vision, Values & Goals @GoMoMarketing Business Purpose (what we do) Business Vision (what you want to be known for) Mission (single-minded focus of a goal) Your Culture (what are your brand personality traits) Your Values (what you stand for, what guides your behavior)
- 18. STEP 1: (cont) Brand Positioning: Value Proposition @GoMoMarketing Value Proposition (why customers choose you) The Pain You Solve The Solution(s) You Bring Why Are You The Best Provider of Services TIP: Be as detailed as you possibly can with your value propositions. This states WHY your customers select and hire you.
- 19. STEP 2: Audience Targeting: Creating Buyer Personas @GoMoMarketing Background Information: Persona’s Role Key Company Information Education, Hobbies, etc. Gender Age Range The Solution(s) You Bring HH Income Role Identifiers: Buzz Words Goals Challenges Real Quotes Common Objections Your Branding Approach: How You Help Marketing Messaging Elevator Pitch
- 20. STEP 2: (cont) Audience Targeting: Additional Questions @GoMoMarketing What are their problems, pains, and challenges? What is important to them in their personal and professional liv How do they consume information? What social networks are they active in? Have they previously interacted with your company? Who or what influences their decisions? What sort of images and information appeal to them? Do they have the desire and authority to make decisions?
- 21. Google your name and business; Where does you website come up? Google the term(s) of your profession/field/service and geographic area; Where do you rank? Review the websites of 1-2 known competitors in your industry Review 1-2 websites of the companies in your in search results Create a SWOT Analysis of your online presence against your search findings STEP 3: Review the Competition: Creating A SWOT @GoMoMarketing TIP: REMEMBER, YOUR COMPETITION IS NOT WHO YOU THINK IT IS, IT’S WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS THINK IT IS.
- 22. STEP 4: Create a Roadmap For Customer Conversion @GoMoMarketing “The Marketing Hourglass” from ‘Duct Tape Marketing’ If people LIKE you they will listen to you, but if they TRUST you, they’ll do business with you.” - Zig Ziglar
- 23. STEP 5: Set S.M.A.R.T. Objectives @GoMoMarketing Specific Measurabl e Attainable Relevant Timely You can’t measure success unless you’ve set a specific target and objective. It’s not good enough to say “you want to increase traffic to your website”. -Through what channel? -By what quantity? - Over what time period? All of your goals must be attainable and relevant to your customers needs.
- 24. Brand Strategy Basics: In 5 Steps @GoMoMarketing STEP # 1: DEFINE YOUR BRAND & VALUE PROPOSITION STEP # 3: REVIEW THE COMPETITION STEP # 2: CREATE CUSTOMER PERSONAS STEP # 4: CREATE A CUSTOMER ROADMAP OF BUYING P STEP # 5: SET S.M.A.R.T. OBJECTIVES
- 25. Now That We Have The Framework of A Brand Strategy… @GoMoMarketing LET’S TALK ABOUT THE 7 IRREFUTABLE LAWS OF EFFECTIVE DIGITAL MARKETING
- 26. LAW #1: YOU ARE A BRAND @GoMoMarketing Read the article at www.fastcompany.com • Put your best cyber-face forward • Put down the pen + pick up the blo • Become a storyteller • Trust = Transparency • Selling isn’t just for Salespeople Branding is what people say about you when you aren’t in the
- 27. LAW #2: BE MINDFUL IN YOUR MARKETING @GoMoMarketing 80/20 RULE OF CONTENT 80% of content should be relevant and of value to your audienc 20% of content should be promotional
- 28. LAW #3: ALWAYS BE OF VALUE @GoMoMarketing “You can have everything you want in life, If you just help enough other people get what they want.” - Zig Ziglar • Focus on offering SOLUTIONS not SERVICES • LEAD – Your clients often look for direction • TEACH – Share your knowledge + expertise • LISTEN to what your customers care about
- 29. LAW #4: LEVERAGE YOUR ASSOCIATIONS @GoMoMarketing • Obtain membership to professional organizations • List your business in online industry directories • Attend + publicize industry networking events • Capture clients and affiliate testimonials • Look for industry partners to guest blog with • Participate in online groups and discussions • Join a committee or board
- 30. LAW #5: BECOME A TRUST AGENT @GoMoMarketing • Make Your Own Game Try a new way of doing things. Stand out from the crowd • Be “One of Us” Contribute to the community. The more you give, the better • Use the Archimedes Effect Leverage your message and don’t reinvent the wheel • Try to be Agent Zero Cultivate your network of associations with good people • Build an Army You can’t do it alone. Find people who are willing to collaborate with you
- 31. LAW #6: CONSISTENTCY IS KEY @GoMoMarketing • Stick to your niche and focus on your target audience Not everyone is your customer, remember that • Select a voice for your brand messaging Are you the humorous type? Is your brand voice more authoritative or passive? • Publish content on a consistent schedule Use a content calendar to organize and plan posts • Keep a consistent visual design Establish a template layout consistent with logo placement, colors and fonts • Utilize Marketing Automation Tools Applications like HootSuite and SproutSocial schedule and automatic postings
- 32. LAW #7: NO “ONE SIZE FITS ALL” APPROACH @GoMoMarketing There are over 200+ Social Media Channels worldwide and with an overwhelming number of choices you need to carefully select the most appropriate ones for your business. Don’t try to take on more than you can manage by creating irrelevant social profiles.
- 33. The 6 Irrefutable Laws of Effective Online Marketing @GoMoMarketing LAW # 1: YOU ARE A BRAND LAW # 3: ALWAYS BE OF VALUE LAW # 2: BE MINDFUL IN YOUR MARKETING (80/20) LAW # 4: LEVERAGE YOUR ASSOCIATIONS LAW # 5: BECOME A TRUST AGENT LAW # 6: CONSISTENCY IS KEY LAW # 7: THERE IS NO “ONE SIZE FITS ALL”
- 34. @GoMoMarketing Digital Footprints: A Word Of Warning An exert from “The Expert Expert” on the topic of social media: “It is immensely simple to access anyone’s electronic media information. Opposition research can economically and effectively be outsourced to experts in digging up uncomplimentary information. Nothing is immune. Moreover, the use at trial of inconsistencies, gaffes, and excesses developed from electronic media almost always come as a surprise without advance warning. Beware of the internet.” TIP: Be a Contrarian; Where there is risk, there is also reward. A well structured and documented strategy ensures a game plan for calculated risks
- 35. Frequently Asked Questions From Consultants @GoMoMarketing Q: How do I market my qualifications and experience as an Industry Authority? • Develop + Maintain a professional website that tells a your story and answers the most important question: “Why you?” • Showcase your body of work with photos, articles and case studies • Capture customer and affiliate testimonials for “social proof” • Establish a detailed LinkedIn Profile and start connecting with your networks • Diversify your marketing mix with articles, videos and infographics
- 36. Frequently Asked Questions From Consultants @GoMoMarketing Q: What online platforms and social media channels should I be using? • Invest in a professional website with a blog feature (ex: WordPress) • LinkedIn is “The Professionals” social media channel – You need to be there! • Create a business/services page on Facebook: It’s the world’s largest social medium For the more advanced: • Creating a Yelp! Profile is a proactive move if you expect reviews. PIVOT! • A Google+ (personal account) establishes authorship of blog articles and greatly increased SEO factors on articles •Constant Contact + Mail Chimp simplify email newsletters and distribution • Content Curation tools like Pocket + Feedly catch relevant articles for sharing
- 37. Frequently Asked Questions From Consultants @GoMoMarketing Q: Do I need to publish content to be viewed as an Expert and how do I go about it? • In short, YES. Original content is a great way to purvey your industry authority and leverage your brand. Create a blog to house the content and a couple of social media channel profiles for your business to promote and share with the masses. Content Ideas: Opinion Articles, “Best of” articles from the web, Your case studies, FAQ’s, “How-To” Guides, Video Marketing, Infographics, Webinars, Podcasts Website/Blog (Platform Foundation) Social Media + Email (Distribution Mediums)
- 38. Frequently Asked Questions From Consultants @GoMoMarketing Q: How do I stay up to date with technology and focused on my marketing goals? • Devote time to learning + working on your marketing goals on a consistent schedule • Read books on the subject to open your mind and inspire your marketing ideas • Utilize the additional online resources available for small business marketing • Take a class for online marketing (Lynda.com or Udemy.com) • Retain a professional Digital Marketing Consultant to help you take action PRO TIP: Consistent progress over time will yield results. If you have an action plan formulated you are more likely to stay focused on your goals. PERSISTANCE CONQUERS RESISTANCE!
- 39. Additional Resources @GoMoMarketing Websites: • MarketingProfs.com – Frequent (free) webinars • SocialMediaExaminer.com – Social media strategy + podcasts (Follow on Fa • ContentMarketingInstitue.com – Great blog and “How-To” guides Recommended Reading (Audiobooks Too!): Duct Tape Marketing By: John Jantch Book Yourself Solid By: Michael Port
- 40. Momentum Marketing’s CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT CYCLE @GoMoMarketing OUR SERVICES • Brand Development + Analysis • Digital Marketing Strategy • Website Redevelopment Consult • Social Channel Creation • Content Development • Video Marketing • Email Marketing • Social Media Management • Event Photography + Promotions • Employee Advocacy • Digital Marketing Training • Business Development Coaching
- 41. Speaker Information Sabrina Franklin Principal Strategist Momentum Marketing Sabrina@goMomentumMarketing.com www.goMomentumMarketing.com @goMoMarketing www.LinkedIn.com/in/SabrinaFranklin
Notes de l'éditeur
- About Me: Reluctant to adapt to the shift of online marketing. I did not start as a marketing blogger, I started out 6 years ago on a personal blog. I’m a two-time cancer survivor. During my medical battle I had many concerned friends, aquaintances and family members take interest in my journey. At the time, it seemed that the best way to keep everybody updated with my progress was to create a blog. It started very small: I would post every so often during my treatment milestones and when I felt compelled to share what I was going through and how my outlook was. I created a window into my life and I was surprised at the following it received. People I didn’t know very well and even complete strangers that had heard about my battle took interest in my blog. Post-cancer, I went on a carpe-diem tour of the world. 30 countries in 4 years. I keep everyone updated on my journey and shared my experiences online. The feedback was amazing; I had followers whom lived vicariously through my adventures. I was probably the last person to connect the dots when it came to parlaying the social media and online skill set I had developed into my career as a marketer. At the time, in 2010, big brands and household names were the only real players investing and developing their online brand and promoting it through social media channels. I worked for an environmental remediation company at the time as their marketing manager and saw an opportunity to spearhead their website development project and to start producing educational articles based upon the FAQ I answered a lot with clients. And so began my journey into digital marketing for business. Almost 2 years ago, I took the leap of forming my own consulting business, helping other companies navigate the internet of things. I called my company “Momentum Marketing” because the scientific law of momentum, stating that mass multiplied by velocity = momentum. For example, a heavy truck moving rapidly has large momentum; it takes a lot to get that heavy truck moving and it would take a lot of force to stop it as well. I took this philosophy and adapted it to my niche of the marketplace; the small business and the independent consultant. Though small, and slow to build momentum, they are more agile and their leanness can make it easier to “get the ball rolling”, so to speak. And so a company was born. I whole-heartedly can attest that one of the greatest tools for gaining leverage in your business, growing your company and showcasing all the elements of your business that set you apart is the utilization of digital marketing. The image and value you offer online serves as a beacon for those who require your services to find out more about you, and as such investing in your “digital reputation” is a smart and essential element of doing business in today’s marketplace. Despite the wide availability of tools and resources that are at the disposal of business owners, there is still a hesitation of sorts to dive into the internet of things within certain industries. I have been asked to present on the topic of “Leveraging Your Expert Industry Status Online”, which is a broad subject which I will try to cover the in the allotted time frame of one hour, which is no easy task. As expert witness and legal nurses here in attendance can understand, there is wide range of knowledge and experience in this room. Some people here operate businesses involving civil engineering, construction services, while other operate in the field of medicine and document authenticity. Though diverse in skill sets, the commonality is that you all are, or aim to be, authorities in your area of expertise. This presentation was crafted to provide insights as to how you as an expert in your field, can market themselves to a bigger audience and provide social proof and promotion of your qualifications and service offerings. There is no one size fits all approach to marketing. Some of the suggestions I made in this presentation may compliment your business growth goals, while other suggestions may not be applicable to your line of work. I encourage you to take it all in with an open mind. My goal today is to have everyone walk away with a greater understanding of the capabilities and power that digital marketing can provide your business. It’s said that the human brain can only juggle four thoughts at a time. This presentation covers a lot of ground in a short about of time, but not to worry, a copy of this presentation will be made available to those who connect with me on LinkedIn and for those you opt-in to my mailing list by providing their business card at the event of the presentation, will email you some further resources on the subject. So, let’s get started….
- buying and selling has changed. For marketers, the most important change has been an abundance of available information – the kind of information that helps people research before they buy. Not very long ago, information was scarce. The companies who sold products also controlled all of the information about those products. They decided what to tell potential customers, and what to keep under their hats. They used advertising to attract buyers, and filled in the details once that buyer expressed an interest. In that old buying model, the sales team was the major influencer over your buying decision. It was a one-way conversation – in other words, it wasn’t a conversation at all. Now, up to 70% – and sometimes as much as 90% – of the buying cycle is done through self-education. Buyers now have access, 24 hours a day, to nearly unlimited sources of third-party information.
- You are what Google says you are. If you get this, then you get the importance of building your personal brand online. Your potential boss, classmates, investors, and future mother-in-law have access to more information than you would willingly share. So we search. First on Google. Then Facebook and every other social media site known to man and Android. What we find—not what you tell us—will form the basis of our first impressions. Gone are the days when eye contact, a firm handshake, and a smile are enough to pass the seven-second test. While we still make snap decisions, the human brain is rewiring to care less about verbal and nonverbal cues from face-to-face interactions.
- There is a spectrum of opinions here, but in my view, marketing is actively promoting a product or service. It’s a push tactic. It’s pushing out a message to get sales results: “Buy our product because it’s better than theirs.” (Or because it’s cool, or because this celebrity likes it, or because you have this problem and this thing will fix it, etc.) This is oversimplification, but that’s it in a nutshell. This is not branding. Branding should both precede and underlie any marketing effort. Branding is not push, but pull. Branding is the expression of the essential truth or value of an organization, product, or service. It is communication of characteristics, values, and attributes that clarify what this particular brand is and is not. A brand will help encourage someone to buy a product, and it directly supports whatever sales or marketing activities are in play, but the brand does not explicitly say “buy me.” Instead, it says “This is what I am. This is why I exist. If you agree, if you like me, you can buy me, support me, and recommend me to your friends.” Branding is strategic. Marketing is tactical. Marketing may contribute to a brand, but the brand is bigger than any particular marketing effort. The brand is what remains after the marketing has swept through the room. It’s what sticks in your mind associated with a product, service, or organization—whether or not, at that particular moment, you bought or did not buy. The brand is ultimately what determines if you will become a loyal customer or not. The marketing may convince you to buy a particular Toyota, and maybe it’s the first foreign car you ever owned, but it is the brand that will determine if you will only buy Toyotas for the rest of your life. The brand is built from many things. Very important among these things is the lived experience of the brand. Did that car deliver on its brand promise of reliability? Did the maker continue to uphold the quality standards that made them what they are? Did the sales guy or the service center mechanic know what they were talking about? Marketing unearths and activates buyers. Branding makes loyal customers, advocates, even evangelists, out of those who buy. This works the same way for all types of businesses and organizations. All organizations must sell (including nonprofits). How they sell may differ, and everyone in an organization is, with their every action, either constructing or deconstructing the brand. Every thought, every action, every policy, every ad, every marketing promotion has the effect of either inspiring or deterring brand loyalty in whomever is exposed to it. All of this affects sales.
- Gauging performance of your peers is almost as crucial as analyzing your own campaigns. It is important to take the attitude that your competition is analyzing your business and taking ideas from your hard work and that the tables need to be balanced.
- Know The key element here is blog content created on a narrowly defined set of keyword phrases and topics. One of the best ways to become known is through organic search. This phase would also include advertising that draws awareness to other, more advanced forms of content such as eBooks and seminars. In many businesses a referral introduction is the first exposure that someone gains to an organization. This calls for content that is geared towards this type of exposure and specifically acknowledges your referral process. Like An eNewsletter can be a tremendous content tool for nurturing during the like and trust building phases as it allows you to demonstrate expertise, knowledge, resources, and experience over time. A series of blog posts around a specific topic turned into an eBook or email series is another great content play that helps tell your story. Trust Once you’ve gained attention you must move towards that all-important next step. We will buy products we simply like, but we’ll rarely commit to organizations unless we trust them. Your customer generated videos, case studies and stories make great content here. Your SEO efforts (others trusting and linking to your content) and Social Media participation comes into play in the trust phase. Getting your customers involved in the content creation game is an essential element and one that many are happy to be involved in. The ability to tell why your organization does what it does in stories that illustrate purpose in action is perhaps the key trust building content piece of the puzzle. Try Try is a phase that many people skip, but I think it’s the easiest way to move people to buy, particularly in highly competitive and highly priced situations. Here the content needs to represent a sample of the end result. This is where eBooks, online and offline seminars and evaluation type processes in the form of content shine. Many people miss this point but this is an audition and it’s where you need to deliver more than anyone could possibly consider doing for a free or low cost version of what you sell. This is one of the first places where you plant the seed for a referral as well as a sale. By producing content in the try phase that clearly demonstrates how much better your paid product or service is than most, you can differentiate your business and create evangelists out of those that don’t ever buy. How to content in the form of videos, workbooks, examples, cheat sheets and checklists – the kind of stuff your competitors are charging real money for – is the stuff that the try phase in built on. Buy Content that converts consists of proof. You must be able to show real results, customer stories and clearly cast your buyer into the future receiving the promised results. Many people miss the idea of content during just after the buy phase because the thinking is that the person has already made a decision and the product or service will speak for itself. The total customer experience is measured by the end result, not the build up to the sale. In order to deliver a remarkable customer experience you’ve got to continue to educate with content. Creating content that acts as a new customer kit or orientation to your business or product is the first step. Most businesses should also consider quick start guides, in-depth user manuals and customer support communities. You can easily build this kind of content with your customers using services such as Get Satisfaction or Zendesk. Repeat Don’t wait for your customer to call you when they need something, stay top of mind through content that educates at a higher lever. Use email and print to start to share how others have gotten more advanced results with your products or services. Create customer events that have a content sharing component. Create a results review process where you help your client measure the results they are actually getting by working with your firm and use this process to capture content in the form of success stories. Refer Start this phase by documenting your referral process. Create tools that make it easy for you to teach your rabid customers and strategic partners how to refer you. Create eBooks, videos and teaching events and offer them to your strategic partners to cobrand and present to their clients.
- CYBER- FACE Gone are the days when eye contact, a firm handshake, and a smile are enough to pass the seven-second test. While we still make snap decisions, the human brain is rewiring to care less about verbal and nonverbal cues from face-to-face interactions. BLOGGING As Tom Peters first wrote in Fast Company magazine, your most important job is to become the head marketer for the brand called YOU. And today, more than ever, that brand must be built, marketed, and sold online. STORY TELLING Since the dawn of day—and I’m talking the prehistoric past—stories have existed as the tried and true means of communication. Studies have proven that 70% of what we learn is consumed by storytelling. TRUST It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation but only a second to destroy it. Actions, attitudes, and values must be believed. “Fake it until you make it” might have worked in the past, but information is too easy to come by these days. SELLING IS HUMAN The first step in building your brand is believing in yourself. Ask any professional pitch man what the key to selling is and you’ll learn that it’s belief in the product. Look in the mirror—at you—and think about what you see. If you do not believe in your brand, how do you expect anyone else to buy in? It’s a matter of coaching and confidence. As you learn more about YOU, you feel better prepared to go to market with your skills, talents, and expertise, all of which make up your dramatic difference.
- LEAD One of the most potent ways you add value is to lead. Your clients are quite often looking for someone to offer them direction. Take a stand and declare a point of view about your industry that you consistently support and become a leading voice for your point of view. Don’t worry about pleasing everyone, leaders take a stand, welcome all points of view and defend what they believe – and that’s where the value is created.
- Take your head out of the cyber sand. We are living in an environment where trust is at a deficit. 1. Make your own game. Try new ways of doing things. Stand out from the crowd. First movers have an advantage. They quote Warren Buffet on when to enter a market: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.” 2. Be one of us. Be part of the community. Don’t be the self-promotional jerk in the community who is continually handing out business cards and asking for business. Contribute to the community. You need to give first if you want to receive. The more you give, the better. 3. Use the Archimedes Effect Archimedes propositioned that if he had a long enough lever and a fulcrum on which to place it, he could move the world. Leverage your message. 4. Try to be Agent Zero Cultivate your personal networks and recognize their value. Connect with good people. Connect between different groups. 5. Become a human artist. Learn how to work well with people and help empower people. You need to learn the etiquette and start off by listening to the community before you burst in with a full head of steam. 6. Build an army. You can’t do it alone. You need to find people who are willing to collaborate with you.
- Be bold. Be a disrupter. Create your own game by being a contrarian. Be transparent and authentic with a caveat. - Find the balance of disclosure that works for your business. - Be methodical and deliberate in how you approach marketing - TAKE CALCULATED RISKS
- About Me: Reluctant to adapt to the shift of online marketing. I did not start as a marketing blogger, I started out 6 years ago on a personal blog. I’m a two-time cancer survivor. During my medical battle I had many concerned friends, aquaintances and family members take interest in my journey. At the time, it seemed that the best way to keep everybody updated with my progress was to create a blog. It started very small: I would post every so often during my treatment milestones and when I felt compelled to share what I was going through and how my outlook was. I created a window into my life and I was surprised at the following it received. People I didn’t know very well and even complete strangers that had heard about my battle took interest in my blog. Post-cancer, I went on a carpe-diem tour of the world. 30 countries in 4 years. I keep everyone updated on my journey and shared my experiences online. The feedback was amazing; I had followers whom lived vicariously through my adventures. I was probably the last person to connect the dots when it came to parlaying the social media and online skill set I had developed into my career as a marketer. At the time, in 2010, big brands and household names were the only real players investing and developing their online brand and promoting it through social media channels. I worked for an environmental remediation company at the time as their marketing manager and saw an opportunity to spearhead their website development project and to start producing educational articles based upon the FAQ I answered a lot with clients. And so began my journey into digital marketing for business. Almost 2 years ago, I took the leap of forming my own consulting business, helping other companies navigate the internet of things. I called my company “Momentum Marketing” because the scientific law of momentum, stating that mass multiplied by velocity = momentum. For example, a heavy truck moving rapidly has large momentum; it takes a lot to get that heavy truck moving and it would take a lot of force to stop it as well. I took this philosophy and adapted it to my niche of the marketplace; the small business and the independent consultant. Though small, and slow to build momentum, they are more agile and their leanness can make it easier to “get the ball rolling”, so to speak. And so a company was born. I whole-heartedly can attest that one of the greatest tools for gaining leverage in your business, growing your company and showcasing all the elements of your business that set you apart is the utilization of digital marketing. The image and value you offer online serves as a beacon for those who require your services to find out more about you, and as such investing in your “digital reputation” is a smart and essential element of doing business in today’s marketplace. Despite the wide availability of tools and resources that are at the disposal of business owners, there is still a hesitation of sorts to dive into the internet of things within certain industries. I have been asked to present on the topic of “Leveraging Your Expert Industry Status Online”, which is a broad subject which I will try to cover the in the allotted time frame of one hour, which is no easy task. As expert witness and legal nurses here in attendance can understand, there is wide range of knowledge and experience in this room. Some people here operate businesses involving civil engineering, construction services, while other operate in the field of medicine and document authenticity. Though diverse in skill sets, the commonality is that you all are, or aim to be, authorities in your area of expertise. This presentation was crafted to provide insights as to how you as an expert in your field, can market themselves to a bigger audience and provide social proof and promotion of your qualifications and service offerings. There is no one size fits all approach to marketing. Some of the suggestions I made in this presentation may compliment your business growth goals, while other suggestions may not be applicable to your line of work. I encourage you to take it all in with an open mind. My goal today is to have everyone walk away with a greater understanding of the capabilities and power that digital marketing can provide your business. It’s said that the human brain can only juggle four thoughts at a time. This presentation covers a lot of ground in a short about of time, but not to worry, a copy of this presentation will be made available to those who connect with me on LinkedIn and for those you opt-in to my mailing list by providing their business card at the event of the presentation, will email you some further resources on the subject. So, let’s get started….