Category: Branding

Personal Branding Advice From Linkedin Influencers

There are over 10 million users following the personal branding hashtag. New posts are constantly being fed into it. It’s a hot topic, and rightfully so. 

I took to Linkedin and asked my network if they’d share their thoughts on the subject.  

So, without further ado, take a gander at what all these thought leaders are saying about this not so little thing called…yes…personal branding. 

Thought Leaders’ Thoughts On Personal Branding

Selim Maalouf: Industry Marketing Strategist at Makingchips 

Your personal brand is the idea that people have of you in their mind.

Everyone has a personal brand. You just have to reach out and actively shape that brand so that it aligns with your goals.

Nick Bennett: Director of Field Marketing @ Logz.io 

Write consistently, daily if possible. Worry about value vs vanity metrics. Learn patience. You won’t build your audience overnight and there’s no hacks or shortcuts. Do it right and you’ll be amazed at how it pays off.

Nicholas Ayala: Empowering SaaS founders to eliminate operations chaos.

Be authentic by adding your personality and thoughts. Often people try to appeal to everyone, but in that, you take away what can make you genuine. It’s okay to have others post their points of view, those discussions are what makes connecting with others great by exploring those perspectives.

Joseph Yarrington ★: Digital Marketing Fanatic 

This one may be unique:

Practice orally telling a friend/significant other your content.

If your hook and story aren’t interesting enough to keep someone captivated in real life, chances are, they won’t captivate people online.

Practicing orally helps me get my pacing down, determine which points are the most interesting, and get immediate feedback (typically from their eyes and whether or not they are glazed over with boredom or dazzling with anticipation).

Adam Knihtila: #CFOAdam | Healthcare CFO 

If you make an impact on even one person it was worth it. Creating relationships takes time and effort. Be authentic. Share the highs, lows, and everything in between.

#CFOAdam

Lauren Maersch: Strategic & Candid Finance Leader 

Go beyond your written profile. Show your authentic self through your personality and how you interact with others around you. Share your expertise and engage with others to learn from them. 

You’d be surprised how much you can learn from your network – the more engagement you put in, the more you learn back.

Helene Cohn: Beauty Copywriter + Lifestyle Brand Storyteller 

Be authentic and genuine. Don’t say what you think others want to hear. Don’t act how you think others want you to act. It’s PERSONAL branding for a reason; be your true and authentic self. 

Showing your personable, conversational side along with pieces of personality (are you witty? Inspiring? Friendly? Etc) lets people know the real you. And they’re way more willing to want to work with you/buy from you when they feel they’ve made a personal connection with you.

Adam Justice: COO at Best Value Medical

1) Be a credible source of expertise

2) Focus on 2 or 3 Platforms you do well

3) Be consistent and put in the work

4) Good graphics and images are great, remember to mix in personal stories and iPhone pictures that are genuine

5) Quality tops quantity every day. Take your time.

http://thunderbolthost.com/

Noelina Rissman 💌: Human Content Writer

Focus on just two or maybe three stories that you’ll share to represent your brand. By doing so, your message won’t be scattered. If it’s a story your target audience resonates with, even better.

Austin Holland: Creative Director at Adapt Studios 

My words of wisdom are: Don’t be afraid to try. 

Very often, people get so wrapped up in perfecting something before they start, causing them to never begin at all. Go for it, you’ll learn more and get a better result through trial and error than you ever would wasting all of your time at the start!

Frank Lazur 🚀: Digital Marketing Manager

Look at every mistake and failure as an opportunity to learn, instead of as an excuse to quit.

Matthew A. Wilson: Emmy Award Winner | TED Speaker

Personal branding is a tool to communicate your professional needs in a sustainable fashion to those in a position to meet them.

Kathy Svetina: Financial Puzzle Solver 🧩 

If you’re doing this on LinkedIn, think of it as a giant room full of people having conversations about all sorts of things. You’re not posting, you’re communicating with other humans. Join in with your regular speaking voice.  

Writing a post = starting your own conversation topic. You do it enough, people will eventually start to participate. 

Writing a comment = joining a conversation. We all have different perspectives that we can learn from – add yours!

Liking posts = smiling or nodding in agreement. 

Easy peasy 🙂

Helene Maughan: Helping Small Businesses Take Control of Their Brands

Think about what words you want associated with your personal brand. Then choose your colors & logo, design your website, write your content keeping those words in mind. Any time you post to social think, does this fit my brand words? Post them up next to your computer. 

My other advice is to actually get personal. I’m not talking about fake personal because your audience will know if you’re faking it. People want to buy from YOU. Letting people know you on a personal level will give them a better connection and hopefully an emotional response to you and your brand.

Rita Kamel: Recruiter 

Articulate your personal branding by crafting a compelling value proposition. Use online strategies consistently to spread this message in line with your goals… And watch magic happen.

Kavitha Vijeyavelan: Digital Story Teller | 📊 Content Marketing & Content Strategy Nerd

I would say personal branding is about showing the world an authentic side of you- but you have to decide carefully what side you want to show the world. We are all multidimensional and have many sides to us. So the side we want to show the world should be in line with meeting our goals.

Kaitlin Brennan: Content Creator + Comedian in Los Angeles

Here are my  three improv mantras that also help me be a better person:

1. Talk less, listen more

2. Don’t be funny, be honest

3. Vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness

Christina Strickland: Helping brand marketers 

I agree with everyone that says “be authentic.” Related to that, I’d add “be original.”  I’m seeing so many carbon copy coaches and experts lately that I can have a hard time telling one apart from the other. Same posting cadence, same video angle, same speech patterns, same clothes, etc. Breakaway from the sea of sameness!

Laura Fravel: Personal Brand Strategist & Coach

Get crystal clear on your brand story – who you are, your why, and your unique value. It’s the foundation of your entire brand.

In Conclusion

Consistency, patience, putting some of this advice into practice can help elevate your brand, and skyrocket you to success.

How To Build Your Personal Brand

Personal branding is my thing. 

It’s something I innately understood from the beginning of my professional career. 

But, I do realize it doesn’t come naturally for everyone. And, since it’s such an essential process in building your leadership and credibility, I wanted to dedicate an entire article to growing your personal brand. 

If you’re looking for a promotion, considering transitioning to a different career, or searching for a new job, having a strong personal brand can catapult you toward your goals. 

No matter where you are in your career, having a well defined personal brand is important. It’s something you have complete control over and will differentiate you from the rest of those in your space. 

It’s your story, and only you have the experience to tell it.

What Is A Personal Brand?

“Personal branding” is a term thrown around a lot on sites like Linkedin. But what does it mean?

You are your own company, your own brand. You have a unique set of values and skills that define you and advertise what you have to offer. By sharing your story across platforms like a blog or social media, you show potential partnerships, clients, and employers what you bring to the table. The more effectively you’re able to translate who you are, the more successful you’ll be. It doesn’t matter if you’re an employee, a freelancer, or a CEO; you need a personal brand. 

Here’s the thing, there are a bajillion people online. And, they’re all trying to be seen and heard. It’s a bit noisy. 

Having a strong personal brand sort of propels you closer to the top of the heap. Because not all of those bajillion people are working on their personal brand, with just a little effort, you’re leaps and bounds ahead of half a bajillion of those in your space. 

When you establish your personal brand, you carve out a well-suited space for yourself.

Read: Humanizing Your Brand

Flat lay of a laptop with a stay nasty sticker, white iphone, black t-shirt with a skeleton giving the peace sign, and a person with white tennis shoes.

How To Build Your Personal Brand

“Find your voice! Avoid chasing shiny objects that aren’t on-brand for you. While there are best practices, the most important part of personal branding is to find what makes you YOU, the value you bring to your life and work, and how that translates to your network.” –Jenny Calvert, Senior Manager Brand Services, Hermann 

You want to create a personal brand that will not only attract a specific targeted audience but will be a standout against your competition. It might sound easy enough, and it can be.

With your branding, your goal is to establish authority in your space. And trust.

Who Are You?

So, what’s your superpower? Writing, sales, code? Then dig deeper. What do you specialize in within that space? There. That’s your superpower. Grab a pen and notebook, or open a new document. Create a list of your skills and experiences. What are your likes and dislikes? What type of work ignites your flame, and what snuffs it out. How would others describe you? Lastly, what kind of work do you want to focus on? All this information can be formatted into a well thought out bio you can use on your social profiles and your websites ‘About’ page.

What Do You Want To Be Known For?

It’s human nature to want to be acknowledged and appreciated. What is it that you want to be recognized and appreciated for, both in work and life? What vision do you have for yourself and your personal brand?

Group of white daisies with a card with the quote "Let nothing dim the light that shines from within," by Maya Angelou.

Read: Using Linkedin To Promote Your Brand

Who Is Your Audience?

“Become intentional about how you spend your time and who you connect with. Consider the value you’re able to offer someone by adding them to your network and vice versa. Especially when it comes to social media. We only have a limited amount of time, energy, and resources. So, you want to be mindful of how you spend yours to be as impactful as possible.” Chantelle Marcelle, Senior Marketing and Customer Acquisition Manager, Hermann

Do you have an idea of which industry you’re best suited for? Or, if you’re going after contract/freelance work, who are you targeting? Are you trying to get noticed by recruiters? CEOs? Thought leaders? Once you have that piece nailed down, you’ll find it’s easier to create how you’ll need to tell your story.

Building your personal brand isn’t just about knowing who you are; it’s also about understanding who the audience is that you’re looking to connect with. And, that target depends on what you’re trying to achieve. 

Knowing who you’re going to be talking to will help frame your messaging with every piece of content you publish. 

Who Is Already Doing Well In A Similar Space?

Brands need to do competitive analysis, and your personal brand is no different. Find out who your competition is, and what they’re doing.

Also, lean on those considered to be industry experts. Connect and learn from what they are doing. Many are always teaching how they’ve achieved success.

Network and Connect

A lot of your career opportunities will come from your network. Which means, you must build one—both online and in person. Linkedin is an excellent place to network, as are local in-person networking events. 

“Things I’ve learned: quality and quantity together will supercharge your growth. Diversify your content formats or types/topics of posts, so your posting always feels fresh. Focus on growing engagement, not followers. Followers will come. Engage with people if you want others to engage with you. People forget the golden rule, and you’ll gain way more by being interested in people than gaming the algorithm to gain followers.” James Gerber, Vice President Account Services, Crackle PR

In-person networking means you need cards to hand out. You can get some made that are moderately priced through sites like Moo cards or Vistaprint.

Make arrangements to meet people for coffee or schedule phone calls. Stats show that over 85% of jobs come through someone met due to networking.

low-angle photography of metal structure

Be Present Online

In today’s internet climate, if you’re not online already, you’ve missed many opportunities. Have profiles on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook. Anywhere your industry is, you need to be. Don’t just have a stagnant account. Take a little time, every single day, and work it. Share relevant 3rd party content, as well as your own—tag people in your posts. And make sure to strike up conversations in the comment sections.

Word of advice: have a personal website with an ‘About Us/Me’ page, ‘Services/Resume’, and an email capture or a way to be contacted.

Revisit And Refine As You Grow Your Personal Brand

Over time, you’ll add new skills and experiences. Make sure to keep all your information up to date. Having excellent branding isn’t just for companies; it’s for you, too. 

Nurture your personal brand, and watch as opportunities grow!

How To Define Your Target Audience In Your Target Market

There are over 7 billion people in the world. And as of July 2020,  more than 4.5 billion of all humans are online. And, they spend at a bare minimum, an average of 4 hours and 25 minutes per day on the internet.

Not all at once, of course. 

But, between working and scrolling, people are present online all hours of the day and night.

This means that now, more than ever, brands must also be online if they want to establish connections with their target market and audience. 

The Difference Between Target Audience and Target Market

Not every single one of the 4.5 billion internet users is going to be right for your brand. So, you need to figure out how to capture the attention of those people most likely to buy into your product or service. 

You do this by setting up a target market and target audience persona. 

But, before you start, you should understand the difference between the two. 

They are very close, actually. 

A target market is an entire large scale group of people your brand wants to sell to. Whereas, the target audience is broken down into those from the target market who you predict will actually take action.

For example, your target market might be “pet owners in Michigan”. But, your target audience might be “apartment dwelling pet owners age 25-35 in metro Detroit”. Messaging would be completely different when you break your audience down into segments. 

Why You Need To Define Your Target Audience and Market

You know your brand isn’t right for everyone. By not establishing your audience, you’re going to seem very…hm…generic. 

Once you identify who your market is, you’ll be able to refine your branding and marketing to better appeal to that demographic. 

Using the pet owners as our example, you now know who you’re going to be ‘speaking to’. This knowledge will guide you into crafting visuals and messaging that appeals to pet owners in your target audience. 

Create your target audience by:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Income
  • Location
  • Profession
  • Marital status
  • Lifestyle
  • Values
  • Beliefs
  • Behavior (spending habits and brand interactions)

Through various platforms like Google Analytics, and native social media channel analytics, you can learn what days and times you’re most likely to reach the largest portion of your audience. 

Why It’s So Important

You’ve worked hard to get this product or service launched. And, you know success rests in how you market it. 

You now have to make sure your message is showing up in front of the right eyeballs. 

That is why targeting is an essential part of marketing, and your audience needs to be identified immediately. 

36% of people will read something if it speaks to them and mirrors their views. Even further, most people would prefer to have repeat information on things they already know and agree with. 

This means your brand needs to play in the same sandbox as your prospective customer. 

The right targeting and the right messaging will allow you to: 

  • Speak directly to those who want to hear what you have to say.
  • Earn high quality leads willing to complete your call-to-action.
  • Carve out a space that sets you apart from your competitors. 

How To Hit Those Targets

Hopefully, you have a basic grasp of your target audience. Once you have an idea of who you’ll be talking to, it’s time to:

  • Identify and analyze your competitors to get an idea of what’s working for them. 
  • Create a customer persona based on the target audience bullet points listed above.
  • Address your audience’s pain points and show them how your product or service can solve their problems. 
  • Be present on social media. Now, you don’t have to be active on every single platform. Pick two or three and work those. 
  • Encourage interaction and user-generated content. 
  • Build brand loyalty by nurturing relationships.
  • Refine your brand based on what’s working and what isn’t.
  • Also, make improvements to your product or services from the feedback of your loyal fans.

Just like all other aspects of marketing, there will be constant monitoring and refinement involved because of how fast things evolve on the internet. 

At the end of the day, just knowing who your audience is and where they are, allows you to spend some time hanging out with them. 

And that is what ends up being most important to your success.

Your Guide To Pillar Content And Topic Clusters

Search engine algorithms are in a constant state of evolution and are becoming more ‘human’ in the way they understand and respond. 

This is largely due to the way humans are now using search.

We are getting more specific and conversational in our search queries, especially with the increased use of voice search. 

Learn more about topic clusters and pillar content by reading on. 

So, What’s This Really All About?

We aren’t simply querying “shoes”? But, “White shoes with pink stripes” would be more likely, and we demand that search engines understand our long-tail keyword searches (4 or more words in a search).

Not only do search engines now understand long-tail searches, but they’re also more proficient at bringing up results specifically relating to the user’s inquiry. 

What does all of that information mean to copywriters, content marketers, SEO teams, and the like? 

It’s our mission to make sure the content we provide our users takes into account every possible angle they would 

a) Use in a search 

b) Have questions they want answered

Our user’s search is becoming more specific, and it’s our job to keep up with it in order to provide the most meaningful content.

We do this by creating pillar content around topic clusters. 

Read: How To Write A Blog Post Built To Convert

What Topic Clusters and Pillar Content Pages Mean

Topic clusters are all types of narrower topics relating to a larger-or primary- topic–your pillar content. 

Each subtopic (topic cluster) is covered in great detail. For example, your broad topic is “cameras”. Each topic cluster would be related to anything about cameras. Your content calendar would have ideas to keep you busy for days with subjects around camera lenses, focus, posing, lighting, etc. 

The goal is to have posts relating to every single topic your target audience would care about as it relates to your pillar content, “cameras”.

Each of those blog posts would link to each other, and also link to the pillar content topic page. 

Your pillar pages are going to be extremely in-depth and detailed. It will link to all the topic cluster articles, which you’ll link to and from this very long-form article.  

Long story short, your pillar page is the wheel, and the topic clusters are the spokes. And they work together to increase traffic to your site through SEO. 

The Benefits Of Pillar Content

Once upon a time, pillar content had a different name. It was called cornerstone content. But somewhere along the way, the term changed. That’s fine, they’re one and the same, with the same type of benefits. 

Pillar content helps with: 

  • Longer page dwell time
  • Shorter website bounce rate
  • Social shares and backlinks
  • Evergreen content
  • Search engines like pillar content
  • Increasing website traffic
  • Higher quality content establishes thought leadership
  • Did we mention, it’s great SEO?!

How To Create Those Pieces Of Pillar Content

Whatever niche or industry you’re in, chances are you have, at the very least, a general idea of your target customer persona. But, you have no idea how to create this the content we’re talking about. 

Here is an outline look at how it all works: 

  • Figure out the topic you want to rank for
  • Determine the keywords you’ll focus on
  • Create your pillar content page
  • Write your outline–your H2s are super important here
  • Find gaps in your topic and write about those
  • The content can be as long as 16,000+ words
  • Each H2 section should be as long as it takes to fully cover that particular topic
  • Edit for flow, grammar, spelling, and layout
  • Have your web designer come up with a stellar template

Read: Organic Content Is Your Kingdom

What To Do With It When It’s Done

When it comes down to it, the main purpose of pillar content is how it can be used. Think about it. You have created this huge document that fully covers a topic. Once it’s completed, there are so many different ways to generate more content from that once piece that it’s ridiculous. 

If you follow Gary V, you know he’s a huge believer in pillar content. He shared a deck listing all the different ways to use that one article. 

Here are some examples of ways to use your pillar content:

  • Pull out different sentences or paragraphs and share them on your social channel. Always link to the full article. 
  • Create images with a quote from the article
  • Make a downloadable ebook
  • Link future and past blogs to applicable areas 
  • Create newsletters
  • Make a slide deck
  • Design an infographic
  • Write a video script
  • Remarketing ads
  • Answer questions on sites like Quora and link back to the main article
  • Try influencer marketing, reach out to your connections to ask them to share across their social platforms

This Article Is Not Pillar Content

At all. We noticed all these super detailed, in-depth breakdown articles about pillar content. So, we decided to break the mold and explain the topic in shorter terms. 

Hopefully, this simplifies the process and helps you with your pillar content strategy. 

References:

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/what-is-a-pillar-page

https://neilpatel.com/blog/pillar-pages-explained/

Growing Your Instagram From Scratch For Your Business

Getting Instagram followers seems like it should be easy. Especially if you’re sharing great photos. Yet, growing your Instagram can prove to be a bit slow, and not quite steady. 

There are over 1 billion active Instagram users every month, which means it’s busier than a Los Angeles highway during rush hour. Helping your brand cut through the clutter to compete with other popular brands is doable. But, you need a plan in place. We’re going to teach you how to organically grow your Instagram from scratch. 

Rule One: Brand Your Brand

Whether you offer a product or service, growing your Instagram means your page has to reflect what you’re offering. But, you need to do it in a way that attracts followers. Your messaging and aesthetics need to not only represent your brand, but they also need to be up to Instagram users’ standards. They demand aesthetically pleasing images with sweet or interesting messaging. Not to mention, they must align with their Insta-beliefs. 

  • Choose a branded color scheme
  • Choose images that correspond with those colors

Rule Two: Refine Your Targeting

Having a target audience is essential, and that goes for all social platforms. First, you must have a clear vision of who your brand is trying to attract. Then create posts with messaging targeted to that audience. You want to hang out with people who want to hang out with you, too. It needs to be a mutual thing, or your Instagram account will fall flat. 

  • Research the demographics of your followers, and the type of client or customer you want to attract.
  • Pay attention to your competitors and who their followers are and if they are relevant to your own brand.

Rule Three: Hashtags Are Key

Instagram is all about hashtags. The more popular the hashtag, the more cluttered the feed. Best practice dictates using a variety of hashtags, from the high volume ones to the low volume. Using all 30 that Instagram allows isn’t necessary. 

  • Place 7-15 hashtags placed at the bottom of the post or in the first comment
  • Opt for hashtags that are in your niche, along with one’s closely related

Rule Four: Influencer Collaboration

Whether you’re a brand, product, or service, there are influencers out there looking to work together. You can first look into who is the most active of your followers, and reach out to them. A mention on an account other than your own is worth a thousand words. The influencer may expect a product in exchange, money, or a shout out on your own Instagram. 

  • There are 3rd party influencer platforms available that can help you create an influencer campaign. ApexDrop is one of many. 
  • Have a campaign budget available if you plan on working with influencers.

Insta-success isn’t a thing. It takes consistent posting, using the right hashtags, and reaching the right audience to grow your Instagram account organically. But, if you do it the right way, you’ll watch those numbers grow, both on Instagram and in your brands’ bottom line. 

The Viral Power Of Word Of Mouth Marketing

There is nothing more ‘sticky’ or powerful as a trusted opinion. 

Think about it. 

You need a new mattress, right? 

You do the research but get super confused by all the different types of mattresses out there, and all the conflicting reviews associated with each brand you look into. 

So, what do you do? 

You go to your social network.

 You post a question on Facebook. You text family and friends. 

Most likely, you will make your decision based on the answers you receive. The mattress with the most thumbs up from your trusted network is the one you end up purchasing.

That. Is Word Of Mouth Marketing. 

But, What Is Word Of Mouth Marketing?

Ok, so you want the actual definition of Word of Mouth Marketing? Fine. 

According to our non-biased source, Business Dictionary: Word of mouth marketing is “an oral or written recommendation by a satisfied customer to the prospective customers of a good or service. Considered to be the most effective form of promotion, it is called word of mouth advertising, which is incorrect because, by definition, advertising is a paid and non-personal communication.” 

In other words, if someone likes your product or service, they’re going to tell friends who will tell friends and so on. 

Consider this Fabrege Organics Shampoo commercial from the early 1980s starring Heather Locklear. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcskckuosxQ

That, right there, is exactly what Word of Mouth marketing means. You try and love (or hate) a product and tell a friend, who tells their friends, and so on and so on and so on. 

In effect, depending on how far-reaching a consumer’s network goes, they have the possibility of making or breaking the success of your product or service. 

The Effectiveness of Word Of Mouth And Consumer Behavior

Research shows word of mouth marketing is the most powerful tool. Especially when it’s working in your favor. 

The mattress scenario from earlier in this article illustrates how word of mouth operates. Telling a friend, and so on. But, why does that work so well? 

Because we trust our friends. And, due to the fact that we know our friends aren’t going to steer us wrong, we are more likely to base purchase decisions on their recommendations. 

The positives of WOMM: 

  • You don’t have to spend a penny, your consumers are doing the marketing for you
  • A community grows around your product or service
  • Brand loyalty expands exponentially
  • Built-in trust value 

To truly understand word of mouth marketing, you need to understand the psychology behind it: Decisions are motivated by the people around us. 

Picking a mattress, where to go to dinner, and even what to order from the menu, all actions are based on choices and recommendations from others. Sort of a herd mentality, or as it’s called on social platforms, Sheeple. A herd of sheep-people, helping to inform or sway opinion. 

Are There Disadvantages To Word Of Mouth Marketing?

Like the yin to the yang, there is negative in all positive. 

Negative words spread just as rapidly, if not more so, than the positive. One bad experience from the right person can cause a major brand crisis. 

It can take time and concerted effort to combat the loss of sales and damaged reputation if word of mouth goes awry. 

The good news is, even though the internet makes messages immortal, you can make a comeback from problems associated with the negative word of mouth issue. 

  • Find the original source of the negative review
  • Contact the person and take the complaints offline. Redirect the messaging to email or through direct messaging. 
  • Learn about the problem
  • Work with the customer to make it right

Through compassion and customer service, it’s possible to gain the person back as a customer and brand ambassador. 

Keep in mind, there isn’t always going to be a happy ending. But, try for a ‘happy for now’ finale. 

Think outside of the box written on a chalkboard over the drawing of a square for the Adapt Studios blog on word of mouth marketing.

Creating A WOMM Strategy

The competition is fierce for pretty much any given product or service. Even though WOMM can result in about 5Xs more sales, only about 33% of businesses try to amplify their message through a WOMM campaign. 

If you know that 90% of all consumers make a purchase decision based on trust, then doesn’t it make sense to earn the trust of more consumers?

  • Encourage and empower your employees to talk about you in their network
  • Generate an emotional response through powerful storytelling 
  • Always be a part of the conversations
  • Have a referral rewards program or an affiliate program
  • Create an influencer marketing campaign
  • Encourage user-generated content
  • Highlight positive reviews
  • Respond to both positive and negative reviews 

Whether you’re looking to establish your product or service, expand your reach, build your brand awareness, or any other motive, having a word of mouth marketing campaign is your most effective tool. 

And, since so many of your competitors aren’t engaging in this practice, you’ll have the edge. Grab that opportunity and start spreading the word!

References:

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/psychology-behind-word-mouth-marketing

https://jonahberger.com/is-word-of-mouth-better-than-advertising/

LinkedIn Hacks For Increased Visibility

It’s no secret that Linkedin is one of the best B2B platforms for networking. Whether you’re there to learn from great minds, expand your connection base, or sell your services, Linkedin could be one of the most beneficial social media platforms for you. Over there, it’s all about post engagement–both on your own and on others, if you want to gain any traction. How is it done, you ask? Well, let’s explore different LinkedIn hacks you can do to gain better visibility. 

First Of All

If you’re just starting out, or you’re just starting to take Linkedin more seriously, there are some things you’ll need to do.

  • Establish your space. What niche/industry are you going to focus on? Best practice dictates you write what you know. It’s okay to stray from your industry, though.
  • The stuff you share should entertain, inform, inspire, and educate. But, not necessarily all at once. 
  • Be approachable and relatable. 
  • Create a consistent publishing cadence. Decide what works best for you, and stick to that schedule. It could be once per week, or once per day. Totally up to you. 
  • Be social. After all, Linkedin is a social platform. And, it could be arguably the most social out of all of the social platforms. This is the most obvious of LinkedIn hacks.
  • Don’t forget to set up and optimize your personal profile. Add a banner image, your avatar, and fill in all your “about you” information. 

Leverage The Linkedin Algorithm

Your post is most vulnerable within the first 30 to 90 minutes after you’ve hit publish. The more eyeballs it gets, and the more comments and likes, the better Linkedin will show it some love. That means Linkedin will allow your post to be seen by people outside of your first tier of connections. 

Also read: How To Become A LinkedIn Thought Leader

Avoid 3rd Party Links

Well, don’t put the 3rd-party links in the body of your post, at least. You can, however, put a link in the first comment. Linkedin prioritizes Linkedin posts. They want you to stay on their site, and clicking a link means you’re potentially straying away. 

Pay Attention To Hashtags

There’s a section on your homepage dedicated to trending hashtags. Click on one, see what is being said, and form your own post. Jump on that bandwagon and ride it. Why not? That’s what it’s there for. It’s also a perfect place to join conversations. Which, in turn, could create new connections. 

Comment Like You Mean It

If all you can come up with is “Great post”, then fine. But, add why you think it’s a great post. By adding some more meaningful words to your comments, you add value to another member’s post. That has the potential to boost up your network, especially when what you say resonates with that user’s connections. 

Also, always respond to comments left on your own posts. If you can’t figure out how to continue a conversation based on what was said, just thank the person for stopping by and leaving their thoughts. 

Play Devil’s Advocate

It’s okay to be a little controversial on a hot topic. Sure, there will be trolls and haters popping in to tell you how awful you are, but that can be a bit fun. However, only take a stand when you believe in the stand you’re taking. Don’t sell out just to gain some attention. 

Join A Tribe

There are groups on Facebook and Linkedin dedicated to reciprocal liking and commenting on posts. This is a way to have guaranteed engagement on your posts, especially in the first 30-90 minutes of it going live. These pods will give your post that quick boost it needs. 

Hashtag The Heck Out Of Posts

Find a few hashtags that are related to what you’re saying in your post. And, choose hashtags relevant to your industry. Five is a good number. You could use more or even less. Just use them. You could find one or more of your posts trending in those hashtags, which is not only a great feeling but it’s also good for increasing visibility. 

Hey Look At Me

Well, not really. I’m a mess right now. But, when you’re publishing a post on Linkedin, tag some people in your network that you’d think would like or comment on it. LinkedIn hacks like this pushes your post into the timeline of their friends and followers. It definitely gets you seen by people who wouldn’t have otherwise seen you. 

Give Shout Outs

People love being seen and heard. They also get a little thrill seeing their name mentioned by someone else, especially if it’s in a positive light. So, on occasion, spread some love to people you appreciate.

You can do this in the form of a “Must Follow” post, and tag some of the people you enjoy following. Or, you can congratulate or give kudos to coworkers. Or just randomly tag people whose attention you’re looking to get. 

Being active for 1-3 hours per day is the last of the LinkedIn hacks. But, if your network grows and earns you new business or employment, then wasn’t it all worth it?

Humanizing Your Brand

In order for someone to “buy into” your brand, they have to trust what’s being sold to them. What you say matters, but how you say it matters even more. To build this necessary trust, you can’t come off sounding like a robot, humans don’t trust robots. Look what happened with the whole Skynet fiasco! By humanizing your content, you transform from a faceless company to a friend. Read on for pointers on how to make your content have a life of its own. 

What Does It Mean?

By humanizing your brand, you give it lifelike qualities that allow your users to connect with it on a human level. This means, your voice needs to be consistent on every platform, from your website to your social channels.

To turn your brand into a familiar face, you need to: 

  • Show personality: Decide if you want to be funny, raw, silly, intelligent. Have a catchphrase. 
  • Write like you speak: Your brand image is highlighted by the uniqueness of your voice. But also, be aware of the language your users use.
  • Show off your team: Nothing makes a brand more human than showing off the humans behind the brand. 
  • Share user-generated content (UGC): It not only makes your claims more believable, but it also creates a community rallying behind your brand. 
  • Tell real stories: The internet is savvier than ever, and people can sniff out the real from the make-believe. Be real. It smells better.
  • Be Engaged: Whether it’s through social or in the comments of your blog, respond and interact with your users. 
  • Influencer partnerships: With built-in relationships, influencers introduce your brand to their online friends. One good word from a highly respected influencer can turn your product or service into a bestie with all that influencer’s followers.

What About Social Media?

As a brand, going online means you need a social media policy in place. It dictates how your brand is going to respond to a crisis, as well as day-to-day interactions.

Anyone performing social media on behalf of your company should have knowledge of this policy. It needs to be a living, breathing document that is consistently updated. 

As for your brand on social media, here are some humanization pointers:

  • If you have more than one community manager, sign off each post with their name
  • Talk like a person and be personable
  • Take a side, and stick to it. But, stay away from things like politics and religion unless those are part of who your brand is
  • Show emotion. Use emojis, and emotion-based words.
  • Be active on your social platforms
  • Share images and videos that dive deeper into the product or services you offer

Think of humanizing your brand in the same way you’ve grown your own personality. As you grow, so does your brand. 

How To Create A Social Media Strategy

During relatively normal times, it’s important to have some type of social media strategy in place. Right now, with companies of all shapes and sizes suffering due to shutdowns, it’s imperative to stay in touch with your audience. The best place to do that is to be in the same spaces they are which is on social media. Once you have determined which social platforms to concentrate on, you’ll need to have a strategy in place to make the most of those spaces.

Get engagement

Now is the time to up the ante for user engagement. Your audience is more connected, and online more often. Encourage moving your body, staying healthy, staying positive, and staying sane during this time. Let your audience know that we are all in this together.

  • Sample social post: The entire month of April is “Move More Month”. Now, more than ever, people are throwing on their walking shoes and hitting the pavement. What are you doing to move more this month?

Get Action

With every post comes an opportunity to connect with your audience. Use a strong call-to-action (CTA) to encourage your users to engage with you. This will increase traffic to your social media page, website, and keep your brand in people’s minds. It’s free advertising! When sharing blog posts in your IG story, add a link and encourage followers to swipe up! Tip: Negative posts can either be deleted or publically addressed before moving to private messaging. 

  • Sample Instagram post: Socially distancing doesn’t mean you can’t go the distance. Show us how you’re staying connected while keeping at least 6 ft of space. Tag us in your photos and we may share them on our page!

Get Trendy

Pay attention to current trends happening across social platforms and jump in on the ones that make sense. Take the I-Spy game spreading all over Facebook.

  • Sample FB Post: Flattening the Curve might sound daunting, but we can toast to its success once this is over. In the meantime, let’s play a game that’s all over Facebook. “I spy with my little eye”, something blue in your camera photos. (And the blue image for this post might be Lake Michigan or a mash-up of all the Great Lakes)

Get Festive

Give a nod to ‘real’ holidays, but also celebrate the super fun and relevant ones. You can find a list of quirky national holidays here: http://www.holidayinsights.com/  

  • Sample social post: Monday, April 13th is National Scrabble Day and with everyone home, board game usage has seen a huge resurgence. Call to action could be: What’s your favorite board game? Or, what games have you been playing? 

Get Pinning

Focus on sharing useful and original content. Pinterest is a very active network that can take products viral. Have boards that are both entertaining and product-based. 

  • Sample Pinterest Boards Subjects: Make boards about travel, fun destinations, and how those relate to your product. Show users real-life scenarios where your product is the hero.

Get Tagged

Set up a relevant branded hashtag. It will also make it easier for you to see who is tagging you on Instagram.

  • Sample Branded Hashtags: It could be something as simple as #XAtHome, or #StaySafeWithX. X, of course, is your brand or product name.

Get Real

Share employee stories and photos of how they are handling this time. Remote work stations, playing with their kids, anything that connects to the audience. Make your brand more human. Consider doing Facebook live or even pre-recorded videos. 

  • Sample Post: Make an announcement regarding how your company is taking care of its employees during this time. Show your remote workspaces or a pic of your Zoom meeting thumbnails. 

Your social media strategy can be as simple or complex as you deem necessary. Whichever you choose, the important goal is to be present so that when this is over and a bad memory, your brand hasn’t been forgotten. Remember to be thoughtful and tasteful in your messaging, everyone is feeling uncertain right now. 

Organic Content Is Your Kingdom

We’re all getting restless. But, as anxious as we are to be able to move around freely, there’s still a sense of hesitation due to the unknown. What is out there waiting for us? In what way is it going to affect us? How can we possibly recover from this? And, all of those questions are just on a personal level. Business owners have a whole slew of concerns piled onto the personal slush pile. I have some words of advice based on over a decade of professional content writing and strategy. I really hope this helps you to navigate your own organic content strategy and writing. 

Content Congestion

More than ever, you must up your organic content game. Up until now, the saying was “Content is King”. Truth is, your content and its context is going to be your entire Kingdom. Businesses that put up a basic website, secured their social handles, and then didn’t do much with them? Well, they are either going to have to start pushing a budget into their online marketing efforts or simply fade away. For the foreseeable future, every audience imaginable will be searching for you online. We were headed toward a complete online culture prior to the pandemic, and that seal has been removed. We’re there, all in. 

There’s going to be, what I’m calling “Content Congestion”. Meaning, as much content as there has been online up until now…it’s going to get even more congested. More content being published on social channels, as well as websites. And, that will make it even harder to be found. 

You must have content. Lots of it. On your website, on your social channels, and on your company or personal blog. If you want to reach the right audience, you must have the right message, at the right time, for your organic content to show up in their search. 

Position Competition

Because there’s going to be a massive uptick of online content, that means it’s going to be harder to hit page one. Another little phrase I’m using is “Position Competition”.  Every company using your keywords are all vying for the same search engine results. Page one. 

Again, this means you must have content. It does NOT have to be the best written. What it does need is the best possible answer to your audience’s question. 

You can find what sort of topics people are searching for as it relates to your product or service by using SEO tools. My personal favorite is Answer The Public. Using one or two keywords, this tool pulls up real-time search engine queries related to the topic you’re searching for. Once those are displayed on the screen, you’ll have a whole series of questions you can use as topics to talk about across your platforms. Take some of those questions and use them to create content for your blogs, for social media, for videos, and for subtopics on your blog. Answer the questions to the best of your ability, edit your words using another tool like Grammarly, add an image, and hit publish. Just do it. And find a comfortable cadence for consistency’s sake. The more content you have, the better. If you’re already creating content, it’s time to double down. 

Seen and Heard

The ubiquitous ‘they’ claim that everyone has a story. Sometimes, that story is obvious. Other times, it takes some digging. But, your story is there. And, it’s important to start crafting that into words and weaving it across all your platforms. Plant those seeds and grow your garden so the world can enjoy its glorious flowers.

Once you have your flow, and you’re creating consistent content, use what you’ve created as a script, and record a video. Video is the fastest-growing consumable content product. It definitely can be daunting. Personally, I can’t stand how I look and sound in videos. But, I know that it’s a valuable piece of content that will make a business become human. So, it must be done. Because, it’s us humans that run the business, and at the end of the day, it’s our story that needs to be told. Through us. Video and content are where our business and personal brands need to collide. 

If you need help with your organic content strategy or ideas, please…don’t hesitate to reach out. We can guide you toward creating content that will make you the envy of every competing business. You can contact me directly at mbrodsky@adaptstudios.co  or you can go through our website contact form: Adapt Studios.