It’s not always the loudest business that gets heard! It’s not always the most creative business that gets seen.
We hear it time and time again the importance of growing your visibility. It’s true. It is important. After all, no-one wants to be the worlds best kept secret in business. But it’s also true that it’s not always the loudest and the business that’s OUT THERE that gets the best results.
You see, when it comes to your audience and your visibility, you want an audience that’s interested in what you’ve got to say, got to sell and got to share. But it all comes down to vanity numbers if those in your audience are not ideal clients. So, be sure to focus on the relevancy and quality of who’s in your audience rather than the sheer numbers of visitors to your website, social followers, email list signs up.
That way, you’ll realise you don’t need to be loudest. Just the most relevant. Phew, feels good to know that right?
So what does this mean? How should a small business owner go about raising their visibility and growing their audience so they don’t need to shout?
Funny you should ask. Here are my top 5 tips. Don’t forget, I’m about to start a free 5 day challenge that gets started on the 14th of September. Come and join me here.
WHO ARE YOU?
Get into the nitty gritty of who you are and what you offer. I know that sounds daft, but I often see business owners get so caught up in their own marketing spiel of what they offer that they don’t take a step back and make sure they’re clearly communicating who they are and what they offer. More importantly, what do they actually sell and what’s the transformation. People aren’t buying products…they’re buying something that solves a problem, offers a solution or provides an experience that gives them a transformation. That’s the WHAT that they’re buying. And don’t forget to speak the same language as your ideal clients. Dial up or dial down the terminology, abbreviations and phrases that are frequently used by your ideal clients.
KNOW YOUR IDEAL CLIENT
You know this, “when you talk to everyone you to talk to no-one”. (As coined by Seth Godin). To make sure you have a room packed full of ideal clients, you need to know who they are. Not just gender, age, location which many people assume is knowing your ideal clients. But insights on what their pain points are, what they’ve tried previously, what their objections are and their attitudes and beliefs around making a purchase or investing in themselves. Once you’re clear on this you’ll know how best to build rapport and how and where to find them.
WHERE TO HANG OUT
There’s no point hanging around on Facebook if you know that your ideal clients are on LinkedIn. With so many channels to be seen and heard, it’s very tempting to try and be everywhere. But rarely is your ideal client everywhere. So make it easier on yourself. And more effective, and use your time wisely on those platforms that’s going to be greatest benefit to your business. I always recommend you go with two as a maximum. And try not to get swayed by others. Just because one platform works for your business bestie, doesn’t mean it’s going to be right for you.
GROWING YOUR AUDIENCE ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE SOCIALS
Again, you know this. So this is just a friendly reminder to focus on your content marketing. Using the channels that your ideal clients use. Make the most of your time and budget by creating content that provides value and gives something valuable to your audience. That helps build trust. Everything from your website, your blogs, guest blogs, podcasts, guest podcasts, email marketing and in person events and networking. How can you share your content with your broader audience?
EVALUATE
Take the time to measure what’s working well / not working so well and make changes where you best see fit. Perhaps you’re attracting people who you thought were your ideal clients. But they’re not so ideal and you need to go back to who you enjoy working with, selling to and who’s willing to invest. What messages and content marketing do you need to put out and which platforms and channels work best for you.
If these past 6 months have taught us anything it’s about being agile in our businesses. And that includes our marketing and messaging. Infact, perhaps the business you had 6 months ago is different to the one you have now. If so, these top 5 tips and the 5 day challenge will be so helpful.
Remember, you don’t need to be the loudest business to be heard. You can infact whisper, if you’ve got a room or audience where your ideal client is. Feels empowering and less overwhelming don’t you think?
Come and join me for my 5 day visibility challenge. Packed full of practical and easy to apply training and tips with a helpful dose of accountability. Starts Monday 14th of September. You can sign up here.
I’m Sam Dixon, founder of Thrive With Sam Dixon, a Marketing Consultant to ambitious businesswomen who want to launch, grow and scale their business with flexible marketing support.
For a free 30 minute discovery call get in touch by email hello@thrivewithsam.com or come join Thrive Collective, my monthly membership community. JOIN HERE.