Brandmerry Blog Archives
Why You Should be Repeating Your Brand Story and Messages Online
Do you feel like you’re always repeating yourself in business? Specifically, with your marketing, are you afraid that you’re going to bore your audience with the same thing over and over again? In this blog, I’m sharing why repetition is important when sharing your brand story and messages online.
Do you feel like you’re always repeating yourself in business?
Specifically, with your marketing, are you afraid that you’re going to bore your audience with the same thing over and over again?
And that Brand Story, I mean how often should you share it, and won’t people get tired of hearing it if you’re sharing it on your blog, website, email, social media, and more?
The good news and I know this might sound crazy, but the odds of them even seeing your content the first time it’s posted is SUPER slim.
So, that’s the silver lining I suppose...we get to repeat ourselves in order to better market our business online.
Today, I’m sharing why repetition is important, how to modify your stories based on need and how to avoid boring the shiz out of your community.
WHAT REPETITION IN MARKETING IS NOT
It’s important to note that repetition is not saying the same thing, exactly, over and over again. I like to call this the “copy and paste” issue.
You discover something works so you copy and paste it over and over and over again, beating it into the ground rather than making small changes.
As a great marketer, you have to be obsessed with your numbers, this is why analytics are essential when running an online business. Your numbers and your analytics play a huge role in the success of your marketing.
When it comes to repetition, especially as it applies to storytelling, you can use this analytical information to make decisions on what you should and should not repeat and your business.
Let’s say you have an amazing post where you shared your brand story, and it did really, really well. You would want to put that in your Story Bank, which is essentially a log of different stories you can share and incorporate into your content.
The same works for visual storytelling. I'm obsessed with brand photography, because of the storytelling that it provides just by looking at a photo. So when you look at your analytics and see a photo does really well, you’ll want to reuse that photo later.
When you have this information on what’s working well, you want to make small adjustments and give your content a little update. For instance, maybe you could take that brand story post that did well and add a new photo to it. You could take the photo that worked well and write a new copy.
The core is repeating itself, but you’re making small changes to keep it fresh and exciting for your audience, without having to do more work on your part.
A BRAND STORYTELLING EXAMPLE:
Part of my Brand Story or Founder Story is “the eight-month struggle.”
You might have heard a variation of this story before because I’m always sharing it. But if you haven't, in short, it is that I spent eight months while working a nine to five and building this business with a baby, typically in a carrier on my back.
I spent eight months working on it, focusing my energy on picking my colors, fonts, logo design, designing my website, mapping out my programs, the whole thing.
After eight months I found myself with no community and no money to show for my efforts.
This is part of my Brand Story and I use it in variations all the freaking time.
I’ve shared a variation of this to talk about time management and the importance of dividing your time between building the backend of the business and building community.
I’ve shared this story when talking about the importance of branding or my freebies and program Brandmerry Academy. I share how I wasted time worrying about my fonts, colors, and logo missing the real purpose and foundation of branding. Now I teach entrepreneurs the right way to brand their business online.
I’ve also shared this story when talking about focus and comparison, which are important pillars of my brand. I share how I lost months worrying about what other people’s brands looked like and doubted my own ability because I didn’t focus on my mission, my purpose, and my story.
IT’S THE SAME STORY, just shared in different ways based on what I’m sharing in my business.
You can do the same in your business, making sure your Brand Story does more than just sit on your “About Me” page of your website.
The art of repetition in business is sharing the same story or collection of stories in different ways.
WHY REPETITION IS IMPORTANT IN MARKETING
Now, that we’ve covered how to effectively repeat stories in business, let’s dive deep into why this is so important.
Remember, the information I’m sharing here doesn’t just apply to storytelling, it applies to marketing as a whole. Think of repeating not just your stories, but your messages, offers, freebies, etc...and why it’s essential when building an online brand.
---
Unfortunately, the number of contact points needed before someone becomes a customer is growing. There is just so much information online and with the algorithm changing frequently, it’s important that we’re consistently showing up for our audience if we ever want to make money online.
While there's no clear number for contact points, the standard is:
BRAND AWARENESS: 3 points of contact before someone will pay attention to your brand
SALES: 7 points of contact before someone will take action or make a purchase decision.
As you can see repetition is necessary when it comes to marketing your business, because the odds of someone seeing your content, thanks to the algorithm, and taking action after one message is very slim.
In addition to the multiple contact points needed, there is also the concept of The Frequency Illusion (or Baader-Meinhof phenomenon). It’s the illusion that we see or hear the same thing everywhere.
The best way to describe this is when you’re thinking about buying a new car and you decide on the one you want and then you see it EVERYWHERE!
This illusion is something we as marketers need to remember and use to our advantage. It’s why you see retargeting ads when you search for something on Google or visit a website.
The reason so many marketers are using this principle in business is that the more we, as consumers, start to see or hear the same message we begin to think of it as important. It heightens our awareness and moves the brand, product or service up the importance meter; essentially you’re adding importance and urgency to your offer.
You can achieve this by consistently showing up with your content so you’re top of mind, sharing your brand story so people actually know who you are, and utilizing retargeting tools in advertising.
Repetition is key in not only making sure our audience sees our message and making sure it is of importance to our audience, but also because it builds brand credibility and trust.
The final thing I’ll share with you on repetition in marketing is the power of sharing your core stories and messages across all platforms. When we do this we’re creating brand affinity and brand messaging consistency and consistency builds trust.
If someone lands on your Facebook page and then heads to Instagram and maybe your website, is it the same? Does it feel like the same brand and message? If not, you’re breaking trust.
When we think of utilizing this for your Brand Story, I want you to think about posting the entire thing on your “About Me” page, then sharing a variation of that on your Homepage and Blog sidebar, Facebook, a one-liner on Instagram, and so on…
...this repetition and consistency in messaging will build trust with your audience quicker.
3 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR REPETITION IN STORYTELLING
1. SWITCH UP THE EMPHASIS
As I mentioned in the beginning, it’s important that even when sharing the same story, think of your Brand story, that you switch up the way you tell it and the emphasis.
Focus on pulling different parts of the story based on your central theme or goal. If you need a refresher scroll up for my brand storytelling example.
This works wonders because the art of storytelling is about showcasing a moment in time. So when I share my Brand Story, I might focus on the moment when I realized I lost myself in the branding process because of comparisonitis. Then, I might share the story later and focus on the moment when I realized branding wasn’t about the font, colors, and logo.
You can also switch it up based on what’s happening in your business or what’s timely in the world. For instance, when COVID first started I saw so many of my friends, family, and community members worried about working from home with kids. So, I started sharing more of my stories and experiences of running my business and working from home with my son for four years.
You can modify stories, emphasizing different parts, and sharing them in different ways to build brand trust and affinity.
2. EMBRACE THE ART OF REPURPOSING YOUR CONTENT
Your audience needs to hear things multiple times, this is why I love repurposing to make sure my content every week is reaching my audience!
As we’ve mentioned it requires multiple touchpoints for your audience to take action, but who the heck has time to come up with new content every single day? Not me!
That’s why I shared an entire blog post on The Art of Repurposing, which you can check out here.
I can't tell you how many times I put something on my Instagram Stories, and I'll send an email, and I'll make an Instagram post and then, after all those other posts, I'll post on Facebook and someone will respond with, “Oh, I didn't even know you were offering this!”
The reality is our audience is busy living their lives, so if we’re not repeating our content and repurposing it we’re doing a major disservice to our marketing.
Just like your Brand Story, the concept of repurposing is taking your content and sharing it in multiple ways on multiple platforms.
You can check out my blog on Repurposing here.
3. IDENTIFY YOUR CORE BRAND STORIES
Did you catch the plural there? The truth is there are so many types of stories we should be sharing in our business. Aside from your Brand Story or Founders Story, we also have a collection of stories that showcase your brand values, pillars or framework of your offer, and your brand mission.
The more you, as a brand, can share these stories the more you’ll attract a community of people who are in alignment with your brand and brand mission and that is important.
Once you have these stories in your Story Bank, you can add additional stories and sprinkle them into your content at any time you’re posting...and yes you need a story every time you post content!
Think of it like this, you create a content calendar of posts you want to make over the next 30 days. These are timely pieces that promote your freebie, your offers, and share value. Then you go through each of them and pair it with a story from your Story Bank.
Do you see how easy it is to incorporate storytelling into your business? And it’s so powerful.
CONCLUSION
Repetition is good for marketing. As marketers, we can't be afraid to share the things that we spend a lot of time and energy on and we know will be of value to our audience.
We can't be afraid to share these stories time and time again because the reality is our audience needs to see them time and time again.
If you’re ready to put more weight and importance on the art of storytelling, because let’s be honest it’s so important, then I’m excited to invite you to get my Tell Better Stories Workshop.
This 2.5-hour workshop replay will teach you how to become a better storyteller online. We’ll cover your Brand Story, Storytelling on Social and Storytelling to Sell.
Learn more at brandmerry.com/stories.
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
How to Sell Authentically Online (3 Changes to Make Today)
Do you sell products or services online and notice that every time you have to have the “conversation” you feel gross or freeze? No worries, we’ve all been there, however, if you’re not selling you’re not making money so let’s fix this belief!
How to Sell Authentically Online
(3 Changes to Make Today)
BY MICHELLE KNIGHT
I’m really passionate about the topic of selling because I see so many entrepreneurs struggling with the idea of selling their products and their services.
Many of the clients that I work with, especially in those beginning stages, are really worried about sounding sleazy or sounding pushy or being aggressive with their audience in any way. And, and a lot of that really comes from the way that they look at selling.
I’ll give you an example...I call her Susie.
Susie as the girl in the Facebook group who sees that you're also in the Facebook group, maybe her Facebook group maybe not. About one day after joining the group you receive a message that says, “Hey, I'm also in this Facebook group [inserts Facebook group] and I'm just wondering, do you build sales funnels?” She then proceeds to pitch her mini-course she just created or her freebie or her masterclass or whatever.
And of course, you’re like, “Ok, but I don’t know you and you don’t know me!”
It's these types of strategies that people are using that we're on the receiving end of that give us this bad taste in our mouth when it comes to selling or promoting our services.
But at the end of the day, if you want to create a revenue-generating business, a profitable business, you have to sell, right? You have to talk about your products and your services.
So how do we do that? How do we do that in a way that feels authentic to us and that is focused on our community and as a result leads to what I think is a more reputable, a more energetic, a more attractive brand overall.
I promise there is another way to sell online that doesn’t feel gross to you or your audience and increases your conversions and we’re going to dive deep into that today.
YOUR MINDSET AROUND SELLING ONLINE
We all know that strategy is so important when it comes to building a profitable business, but if your head is not in the right space, those strategies don't work.
The biggest block that I see entrepreneurs have when it comes to selling is their view or belief about selling.
The sooner that you change your mindset from selling in terms of pitching and you focus more on the connection, the easier all of this will become.
When you’re focused on connection, over selling, you’re focused on your audience.
When you’re focused on selling, you’re focused on the product or the service. If in your mind you're like, I'm going to sell this person. I'm going to get this person into my program because then I'll hit my number. Or then I'll hit my monthly goal. You're just focused on the product and the service.
But things start to really shift when you decide that you’re going to show up and you’re going to listen to this person tell you their pain, their struggle, their problem, then you’re going to offer up what you have as a solution to that problem and they have a choice to take it or not take it.
When you can switch your mindset in this way, I am telling you it changes everything, not just for your audience, but also for you because the process doesn’t feel inauthentic.
This simple change in your own mindset, your own belief on what selling really is will have a big impact on your conversion rate and the success that you experience from selling your products and your services.
YOUR MARKETING IS THE SALES PROCESS
When you think about online marketing and sales, it’s crazy. We are asking people we’ve never met before to invest in our product or service, often sight unseen. And the reality is there are a lot of people offering the same thing, so not only are you asking them to do this but to also make the decision to choose you.
And that’s really what it’s about...the brand as a whole.
This is where your marketing comes in; more specifically relationships and human marketing.
The selling is happening long before the pitch or sales conversation. All of the branding, content and interactions that are part of your marketing strategy are meant to lead people closer to buying your product or service.
Zig Ziglar says, “If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you!”
The foundation of every sale you make comes from the consumer trusting you over another brand, and that trust happens long before you make an offer, send a link or have a phone call.
IT’S NOT A SALES CALL, BUT A SALES CONVERSATION
Look, I no longer have sales calls - I have sales conversations.
This small shift in my mindset and in my actions changed my conversion rate from not so great, to 90%.
Let’s break this idea down.
When you’re getting ready for a Sales Call, you’re prepping for that call. You’re mapping out how and why they should buy from you, what you need to say in order to close the sale and once again all of your focus is on the service or product.
When you switch to having a conversation you actually listen!
When you frame the conversation to listen more, it is no longer about you and your product, it’s about your audience and your problem.
It’s no longer about what my product offers, but what about my ideal customer specifically needed.
When you’re listening to your ideal customer, it’s important to listen for a few key points (p.s. This counts for email communication as well).
What are they struggling with?
What do they want?
What obstacles are standing in their way?
And because you’ve listened to these three main points, you’re able to frame the offer specifically for them.
If you’ve ever struggled with what to say in a sales conversation, try listening and you’ll discover they will tell you everything you need to know.
5 SALES OBJECTIONS
Zig Ziglar states that there are 5 core sales objections, and I’ve got to admit I believe him 100%.
No need
No money
No hurry
No desire
No trust
Why is this important? Because not only can you address these objections in your relationship marketing leading up to the sale, but you can also use this knowledge to pinpoint where your ideal client is on a sales conversation.
When you have this information you’ll become a better marketer and you guessed it...sales queen!
CONCLUSION
When you look at the info above, you’ll notice it comes down to three core areas; mindset, relationships and sales conversations. It’s important that you identify the area you feel you need to put the most energy in your business to start seeing better results and feel more aligned with the process.
Selling is so important, because without there’s no money! That’s why in my signature group program Roadmap to Freedom, we dedicate an entire phase to the Art of Selling. I know how important it is to not only work on confidence around selling but also how to prepare for sales conversations, how to handle objections and so much more.
To learn more about Roadmap to Freedom visit brandmerry.com/freedom.
P.S. If you want to watch this blog content + learn 3 of my favorite selling strategies be sure to watch the video below.
P.P.S. I’ve got another video on boosting your Confidence While Selling, which you can read and watch here.
- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -
DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES
LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS
MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR
- READ THE LATEST POSTS -
MEET MICHELLE
Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.
How to Create Better Brand Messaging
Brand messaging is one of the most crucial parts of a profitable brand and business. If you want to make money you need to clearly communicate with your audience. In today’s blog, I’m sharing How to Create Better Brand Messaging and the 3 C’s you can’t live without.
How to Create Better Brand Messaging
May 9, 2019
PREFER TO WATCH, INSTEAD OF READ? I’VE GOT YOU BOO. SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH A QUICK 4 minute video!
Brand messaging is one of the most crucial parts of a profitable brand and business. If you want to make money you need to clearly communicate with your audience.
In today’s blog, I’m sharing How to Create Better Brand Messaging and the 3 C’s you can’t live without.
Brand Messaging is one of the most important things you will do for your business. If you’re messaging is falling flat every single strategy, marketing tactic or advertising dollar you throw at it won’t help.
Today on the blog I’m sharing How to Create Better Brand Messaging and more specifically the 3 C’s you can’t live without if you want to create messaging that not only magnetizes, but also converts.
1. CONSISTENCY
This is one of the most important things that you have to have with your Messaging. If your messaging is not consistent you're going to break trust with your audience.
This means that you need to have a unified message for your brand - I call this core brand messaging and it's one of the things that I teach in my program Roadmap to Freedom but I'm gonna give you a little sneak peek.
Core brand messages are 10 to 15 messages that stand true for your brand as a whole not every single program, not just the things that you offer, but for your entire brand.
When you can create a unified blend of messages for your brand that allows you to have consistent messaging on every platform, including your website, your about me, your freebies, your Instagram profile, etc… it’s going to create consistency with your audience and it's going to build trust.
2. CONNECTION
What you are saying has to connect with your audience so one of the things that you need to know and one of the crucial parts of messaging is understanding who you're speaking to. Sometimes we create messages because we're like “Man that sounds good” and we forget about our audience.
What does your audience need to hear?
What do you know about your audience that can make your messaging even better?
You always have to focus on the connection - is the connection there with your audience?
To identify this you need to know what they're struggling with, what they desire and what's standing in their way.
This will allow you to create messaging that hits all of those touch points and will create a deeper connection with your audience.
3. CLARITY
You need to clearly state the benefit for your audience. Again ideal client work is one of the most important things that you can do for your brand as it affects every single thing that you create but it plays such a big role in your messaging and marketing.
When you're creating these messages, yes you're sharing what it is you do, yes you're sharing your story, but if you can't clearly state the benefit of those things in a way that has your audience going “Yes I need that, I want that, sign me up!” then you're going to miss the mark.
It’s so important that you have clarity around what your message or what your product or service ultimately provides.
Making sure your audience can see how that benefits them is essential for strong messaging.
You can be putting a ton of content out there on social media, you can be putting a lot of money towards advertising, but if your messaging isn't strong it's not going to work in your favor.
Messaging is one of the coolest parts about branding and one of the things I absolutely love about teaching.
If you want to hear more about messaging, which is actually only one part of my process then be sure to sign up for my free masterclass at brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass.
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.
How to Use Facebook Messenger Bots For Your Brand {Video Inside}
How to Use Facebook Messenger Bots For Your Brand
In today's video I'm going to be sharing with you three simple ways to use Facebook Messenger bots, specifically mini chat, to not only grow your audience, but also increase brand awareness, and more importantly, engagement. But before I dive into those three simple steps, I want to share with you an upcoming masterclass that I'm hosting on how to create an authentic brand that allows you to grow your community with ease and leads to more clients. You can find an upcoming time and all the information in the link below.
But before I jump into those three simple steps, I want to go ahead and invite you to an upcoming training that I am doing. I'm going to be sharing five steps on creating an authentic brand that grows your loyal community and leads to more clients. You can join here: https://brandmerry.com/authenticbrand
1. Using Messenger Bots for Live Video Notification
This has been so much fun for me in my brand and business, and I'm so excited to share it with you, because it has really not only increased live viewers, but also increased engagement, which is so important with the social media algorithm. We want people not only showing up to watch, liking and hearting your content, sharing and commenting. All of those pieces are really, really important.
So the more people that you can get on the actual live video, as opposed to watching it on replay, is going to help you stand out online. So how do you do this with mini chat? So there's so many different ways to use Messenger bots, but I absolutely love creating a really simple form in Manychat for an upcoming live video that you are hosting. Maybe for you it's a live video, a live training, a challenge, or a weekly or biweekly segment, like Mondays with Michelle, which I do biweekly on my Facebook business page.
Creating a really simple opt in form using Manychat, putting a cool little title telling them if they sign up they'll get a notification right in their Messenger box, so they don't miss a single thing. Then, when they sign up, you can schedule a broadcast to all of the amazing women and men who have signed up to get the notification, and send them a really cool notification that says "Oh my gosh, we're live." They can click the button and join you live right there and then.
It's also a really cool idea to follow up with any posts afterwards asking if they have any takeaways or questions, or reminding them about a special offer that you mentioned on the live video, which they will hopefully be live on, with that really awesome reminder.
It takes the guess work out for people wondering "When is that person going to go live? Do I have to set a reminder?" And what if they forget, because life gets in the way. We are all by our phones most of the time, so it's really cool to have just a little Facebook Messenger pop up and say "Oh yeah, I'll watch right here on my phone."
2. Using Messenger Bots for Pre-Enrollment to a Launch
So maybe you're rolling out a new course, or a new program, and this is a strategy that I absolutely loved doing for my signature course, Your Brand New Adventure. And it worked really, really well. So what I did is I created a wait list on my website, by embedding a Manychat form onto my website, so that they could go to my website, to the sales page, and click to get a messenger reminder when the cart opened.
Then about a week before the cart opens, I sent a Facebook message to them, just letting them know that they had signed up to join the wait list, and the offer was now available. It was so powerful, I had 50% women buy on the very first day, and the other 50%, yes 100% conversion on a wait list, signed up before the cart closed.
And all I needed to do, because they were an engaged audience, is send them a reminder message mid way through, just letting them know that that special pre-enrollment offer was ending, and then again on the final day, saying "Hey, now if you're interested, here's the information to learn more."
It saved me a ton of time when it came to pre-enrollment for my launch, I didn't have to send out a ton of emails. It was just three simple Manychat messages, and I was done. So it's a really cool tool to use in your arsenal.
One thing to keep in mind is that Manychat and other messenger bots do not allow sole promotion. So you want to make sure that the people who sign up for your wait list are engaged before you actually promote a free order. In order to do that you can add a couple of questions like "Are you still interested in the Brand New Adventure that you signed up for. Click yes or no." And once they respond, they will be considered an engaged audience.
3. Using Messenger bots to Announce a YouTube Video or a Blog Post that just went live
This is really important, especially when it comes to YouTube, because Google wants to see that people are responding to the video shortly after it's published. And the same goes for your blog post.
So the more eyes that you can get on that content right away, the better. So using Messenger bots to send reminders to your audience when a blog post is published, or a YouTube video is live, is really, really powerful. You can create a simple signup using something like Manychat, where they can just sign up for notifications, and then every week, or biweekly, or whenever your schedule is for your blog, or your YouTube channel, you can send a little reminder to their inbox saying "Hey, here's today's topic. I'd love for you to head over to the website, or YouTube. Hit like, write a comment, and let me know your feedback."
It's a great way to get instant feedback, and instant eyes on the content you're creating. Messenger bots are seriously exploding, and I'll share with you my personal favorite, which is Manychat. It's free to use, it's a really, really great tool to add to your online business. But it's really important because it improves engagement, and engagement is so important with the way Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, basically every single algorithm, is functioning today.
So the more people that you can get onto your live videos, or into your programs, on to your blog posts or your YouTube video right away, the better it is going to be for you and your brand. But here's the thing, I shared with you three simple steps today on how you can incorporate Messenger bots, but if you don't have a clear voice for your brand and your business, none of that stuff, that fancy stuff, makes any sense.
Which is why I'm really going to encourage you one more time to join me for my upcoming masterclass on five simple steps to create an authentic brand that allows you to grow your community with ease, and leads to more clients. You can click the link right here https://brandmerry.com/authenticbrand to sign up at the time that works best for you.
You can watch the whole video for a more in-depth version of this and several bonus tips below!
Head over to YouTube and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ https://youtu.be/zc19LlZCIu0
And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!
Michelle Knight is a Branding and Business coach for female entrepreneurs who are struggling to gain visibility and traction to take their business to the next level. She works with her clients to dive deep into their story so they can create a brand and message that positions them as an expert and allows them to create their desired income to free up time in their schedule for what matters most. Learn more >>
Crafting Your Brand Messages with 3 Must Have Tips
Crafting Your Brand Messages with 3 Must Have Tips
Today I'm talking to you all about messaging. You guys, messaging is my freaking gluten-free bread and vegan butter. Here's the thing. Messaging is key. It is so freaking important, and I don't want us to get confused between content and messaging, because I truly believe that content is the live video that you put out there and the social media posts that you do. The training that you make. The freebie that you create. Your messaging is the core. Your messaging is really what it is you do and why your audience should care. I say this a ton, but if you can read a piece of content and you can't identify why your audience should give a shit about that piece of content, then your messaging isn't strong enough.
#1: Why Should Your Audience Care
I have written emails and asked myself that question at the end, and it was like you're just talking about nothing here Michelle, delete it. It's so freaking true. That's the number one thing. Let's dive right in. Number one is ask yourself why should my audience care about what I'm saying? If you can't answer that, it's time to dig a little bit deeper. Messaging is key, because messaging really paints a picture of what it possible for your audience. I love using messaging as a core of my business, so I actually work with all of my clients to create 10 to 15 core brand messages that say what they do, why their audience should care, and how it benefits their audience. Building basically their programs, their content, everything from these 15 core brand messages.
#2: Go Further
Number one again is asking your audience, asking yourself why should my audience care? Number two, is going further. Oftentimes we'll write a bullet or we'll write, "Hey, if you join this freebie, you'll learn X, Y and Z." We'll say something like, "You'll learn how to really tap into your story." I don't know about you, but I just heard crickets between all of my audience, because unless you really know me and have been following me for six months, you're probably like, "Great Michelle, I'll let you tap into this story, but I don't know what that actually means for me."
I always tell my audience, go a step further. When you think you're done, keep going further. If I thought I was done with tapping into your story, I would be so freaking wrong, but if I went a step further, I would say, "Hey, tap into your story so that you can create that standout brand and really position yourself as an expert online." That's something my audience knows to be true. That is something that my audience can say, "I need that." Because that's the key to messaging. We want our audience to basically raise their hand and say, "Give it to me, please."
Talking about connection, we're talking about the connection and the trust that you built that has your audience saying, "I need that. I want that." If you're no longer feeling so pushy with your offers, because people can read exactly what is in your offer and say, "Oh my gosh, give me that now please." Again, you want to really take it a step further. When you think that your messaging is clear, ask yourself why should my audience care, and frame it in a way that your audience actually understands. I'm going to give you a really good example because I just love examples. I don't know about you. Oftentimes I'll ask my clients, "What does your audience want?" They all want more money. Great, but what do they really want? They want more money so that they can go out and buy things.
#3: Be Specific
What would they buy? What would they buy with that money? They want to travel, they want to take that dream vacation, they want to save for their home, they want to have money so they can leave their nine to five, they want to be able to send their kids to a good school, they want to pay off their debt. Now we're talking. Now when you create messaging, rather than say so that you can make a bunch of money, we'll say, so that you can pay off your debt, finally feeling free from the burden of debt. So that you can take that trip that you've been planning in the back of your mind for five years. So that you can leave your nine to five and spend time with your kids. Suddenly your audience gets it, and it clicks like this, and it's amazing. That's what the messaging should do.
A few things. I want you to ask yourself, "Why should my audience care?" I want you to always go a step further. I want you to be specific with the results that your audience is looking for, and I want you to be really clear. I want you to be clear with what you do and again, why and how it benefits your audience and I promise you that you will see as opt-in rates go up, you will see conversions go through the roof, you will see your ad costs move down. It's really amazing what happens when you spell it out for your audience and have your audience saying, "I need that. Give it to me, please."
It makes marketing so freaking easy. Take the time, do the messaging work, get really crystal clear on that, constantly asking yourself, "What more could I offer here? How specific could I be? Why should my audience give a shit?"
IF YOU WANT TO WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO WITH SOME BONUS TIPS WORKED IN YOU CAN DO SO BELOW!
Head over to Youtube and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over on Youtube to help more people see this information ↠ https://youtu.be/dKFAQe4awjs
And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!
Michelle Knight is a Branding and Business coach for female entrepreneurs who are struggling to gain visibility and traction to take their business to the next level. She works with her clients to dive deep into their story so they can create a brand and message that positions them as an expert and allows them to create their desired income to free up time in their schedule for what matters most. Learn more >>