How Can You Get Your Core Message and Image Shared?
Try and get a prospect’s undivided attention. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Cue final Jeopardy music.
It’s hard to get noticed because of all the reasons that are top of mind.
Paying attention these days on social media is like trying to pay attention to a particular wave crashing on the shore only to find dozens more coming simultaneously. You don’t know where to look – and every wave blends into the next one coming right behind it.
But – we do pay attention to friends and colleagues who give us a recommendation. Word of mouth is still the best way to market your products and services. I listen when a friend tells me of his favorite new app that saves him time for a chore I’m struggling to accomplish. You asked your friends what’s the best new restaurant in town to eat at? You trust when a friend at work recommends a better service or technology that has helped him solve a problem.
When a business associate recommends me to a prospect, I can capture their attention and get a meeting because of the power of personal connection. There is nothing like being walked to the front door and getting an endorsement and introduction from someone who knows what makes your business or brand different, valuable, and trusted. But how can you capture that lightning in a bottle?
Harnessing Attention
So, how can you harness word of mouth for your business?
- Tell a Simple Story: If you do something no one else does, you create an easy way to share your story. When asked why Bitty & Beau’s Coffee Shop is different, they tell you about who they hire (developmentally disadvantaged people. They don’t talk about their coffee.) Lefty’s catalog (for left-handed people who need gardening and kitchen tools) or UntuckIt. (Shirts for men who like to wear shirts untucked). Every brand needs a simple story they can tell quickly.
- Find a Visual Hammer: Laura Ries, in a book on this topic, urges brands to find a visualization of their story. But not any visual. It would be best to have a “visual hammer” that hammers a verbal nail. The Marlboro cowboy Coca-Cola’s contour bottle. Corona’s lime. The Susan B. Komen pink ribbon, the Aflac duck, the green jacket from The Masters, or the Christian Louboutin Red Soles. The Louboutin story is shared all the time by people who say – do you know those fancy shoes with the red soles? If you only remember the red soles, you can Google red sole shoes and Louboutin pops up – even if you can’t remember the French name.
- Make Sharing Easy: As my friend and marketing thought leader Mark Schaefer says, content isn’t getting noticed if your content isn’t moving. How can you make it easy to share your brand’s story and visual hammer so others can easily find it? Tools for social sharing are apparent – but beyond that, what else can you do to encourage, support, and simplify the sharing. When your brand has a crisp and story-rich hook, sharers can easily help you spread the word.
How are you making it easy for others to do your marketing for you?
Once you have a simple, but a differentiated story to tell, be helpful so others will want to use your words in their mouths.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by https://thenowtime.com/
