Are you marketing like that sleazy guy in a bar with a bad pick-up line? Or are you earning the right to ask by “dating” your potential customers?
The sleazy guy might buy you a drink, but you don’t know him. You don’t trust him. And you’re certainly not going home with him! (Or if you do, you regret it in the morning!)
Too many companies today market like that guy: They create a lead magnet, slap it on social media, then it’s “Give me your contact information and buy what I’ve got!”
But marketers who “date” their target market do it differently. They take their time and find out who their customers are and what they need and want. They’re authentic and likeable.
They share who they are and what they know without asking for anything in return. They stay in contact, so you get the chance to know them, like them, and trust them.
They’re earned the right to ask. Whether it’s just asking for somebody's contact information or asking them to do business with you, you need to earn the right to ask, now more than ever.
Why? Because in times of massive uncertainty like we’re in right now, people are nervous and suspicious. They don’t know where the economy is going or how to prepare for the next fire/flood/market crash/global supply crisis.
With all the AI and disinformation out there, people don't know what’s real and what’s not. They don’t know who to trust, and people won’t do business with people or businesses they don’t trust.
So how do you break through the noise and angst? How do you earn people’s trust in you and your business? You do it through brand awareness campaigns.
A brand awareness campaign is not flashing your name and logo on billboards or banners on buses like those personal injury attorneys: “Turn Your Pain Into Rain!” It’s not pitching how great your product is all over social media or on late-night infomercials.
Brand awareness is serving, not selling. It’s creating relationships with people by being real and authentic. It’s giving people value by helping to solve their problems or supporting their goals without asking for anything in return. It’s using social media properly by sharing information people want and need.
It’s not only showing them that you’re the authority in your field. It’s also about showing that you truly understand them and know what’s important to them. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Over the years, I’ve built several successful businesses by starting them with brand awareness campaigns. Now, anytime I launch anything, I always run a brand awareness campaign.
I'm constantly retargeting people with new information and more value. I’m constantly on the lookout for what people might need based on what’s going on in the world.
Here are some keys I’ve learned for running an effective brand awareness campaign:
Keep Showing Up: Back in 2007, I remember people like Chet Holmes talked about the Rule of Seven, which said that potential customers needed to be exposed to your brand at least seven times before they’d want to do business with you.
With all the noise out there now, now marketers say that, depending on your industry, it takes somewhere between twenty-seven and seventy-seven exposures to gain customer confidence!
With the Internet, you can get that much exposure easily but be smart about it or you’ll get lost in the crowd. Show up on platforms that your target audience goes to. Create ads that are attractive and give excellent information with no call to action. Use social media metrics and do more of what’s getting you the most watch time. If your content isn’t working, fix it and keep going.
Quality Counts: I always tell my students that the stuff you offer for free has to be as good or better than your paid stuff. I know that sounds crazy and counter intuitive. If you’re giving it all away for free, why would anyone buy what you’ve got?
True, some people will just absorb all the terrific content you give them and never buy anything. But those aren’t the customers and clients you’re looking for.
You’re looking for the people who know they can’t or don’t want to do it on their own, the people who would rather pay for the speed and certainty of having you do it for them or with them.
Stay Current: In 2007, I could see that the real estate market was poised to tank. So, I started branding myself as The Foreclosure Queen. I wrote a small book on dealing with foreclosures and short sales and gave it away to lenders and asset managers.
