Remain Authentic While Using Social Media to Market Your Services
Marketing can sound like a dirty word. Put the words “Social Media” in front of it and you’ve got a million messy, fake-feeling emotions. I picture a bunch of people sipping their $20 lattés, sitting around a gigantic conference table talking about the psychology behind what will make someone “need” to buy a new _(insert literally anything… jeans, car, video game)__.
I spoke to a marketer extraordinaire a couple years back at a previous company. He was always full of enthusiasm and positivity for his job. I asked him about his mindset around marketing and loved his answer. He told me he knows he has a product that will make life better for his customers, so he wants to let them know about it. It’s up to them if they want it, but he at least needs to tell them about it. In our case, as CAIs, you KNOW there are so many people and families out there that desperately need to know about you and what you do so they can get help.
Here are 6 tips to help you reach those families when they’re online.
1. First of all, you don’t need to be on every social media platform. Consider your target demographic, then research what platform is most used by that demographic. If your specialty is executives, then you might reach more people on LinkedIn and Twitter. If you specialize in women, where do they spend more of their time? How old are they? Maybe you try Instagram and Facebook. If you’re working with youth, maybe give TikTok a shot, just remember you’ll also be targeting their parents, so you’ll want to try whatever platform the parents use most often. Social media marketing is all about experimenting. If you’re just getting started you can always try out different platforms and see which ones work best for you.
2. Be authentic. I don’t care who you’re trying to reach, no one wants to be given a stale pitch. And they don’t want to be reading the same exact message over and over again. We want to get to know YOU. Now more than ever, we’re craving authenticity. Look at social media accounts you really like to follow. I’m sure you will find that one of the things that draw you to them is that their posts feel like an extension of them. They feel genuine like they’re hanging out with you in your living room.
3. Get social. It’s important to post on your social media channels consistently, but it’s equally important to comment on other’s posts. Social media is about being social. Whether you have 30 minutes a day or 30 minutes a week, spend some time commenting on other people’s posts and build your online community. That doesn’t mean you just write “great picture” or a thumbs-up emoji under a post, but write something that’s YOU.
4. Your profile picture. Put a picture of yourself in there. Not the logo for your business, we want to see a picture of you. We want to know who we’re going to be working with. Make sure it’s a picture that has you in good lighting. We want to see your eyes. If you don’t have a professional headshot, it’s a good idea to get one. They don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. I’ve found photographers on NextDoor and Craigslist before to take headshots at great prices. Or ask a friend who has a good eye for photos. You have lots of options, just make sure we can see your beautiful mug!
5. #Hashtags. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they help people find you. There are tons of websites and apps out there to help you think of relevant hashtags if you want some help in that department. One quick search brought up quite a few. Here’s one I found. https://www.all-hashtag.com
6. Learn about your chosen platforms. Once you pick the platforms you want to use, dive in. Watch some online videos to get the most out of the platform.
On our next marketing blog post, we’ll dive into one of my favorites, Instagram. What are your favorite social media marketing tips and strategies? Share them below!