Online marketing has quickly become crucial for businesses to survive these challenging times. This Pandemic has forced businesses to focus on marketing strategies more than ever to help stay connected in a safe and effective way with their clients. At Flagship Bank, we use social media to stay connected with our communities and small businesses and let them know we are here for them and all of their Banking needs. I recently attended an Online Marketing workshop with Steve Fredlund, Founder of Small Small Business and went through an exercise you can do to create the most effective messaging online for Marketing your business.
"Running a small business or nonprofit can be lonely; long hours filled with thousands of decisions and sometimes utter chaos; many of us are surrounded by people with regular jobs who will never understand our struggles and passion. And while COVID-19 can drive us to deeper levels of isolation, we can flip that on its ear and recognize there are many of us who are feeling this way. And it is in this shared experience of feeling alone that we can find community; it's quite ironic actually."- Steve Fredlund, Founder of Small Small Business
Below is an exercise you can do to help identify your "perfect client" and determine the most effective way to communicate your business offerings to them.
Primary Offering
What product/service do you want to promote? Some examples to consider:
- Highest profit margin
- New launch
- Re-energizing an existing offering
- Area of desired growth
Make sure to be specific. For example, if you have a roofing business you may want to specify “retail, non-insurance-driven roofing repairs”. Or like here at Flagship Bank, "PPP loans to help small businesses during Covid".
Perfect Client (Avatar)
Who is the person that best represents your target audience for this offering?
- Create an avatar; the person who best represents your best target audience for this offering. They can be real or fictional.
- What is their name?
- Age, occupation, location?
- What's their life like?
If this person is real, check out their social media and see who or what else they are following. If fictional, find someone with the same characteristics and do this for that person.
Avatar's Online Location
Where are they online? Where do they gather?
- Social media? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, SnapChat, LinkedIn, TikTok? The age of your target audience will help determine which platform to use.
- Newspaper forums?
- Listening to podcasts?
- Reading blogs?
- Attend conferences?
What other services or products are they buying? From who?
Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
What does client need and care about?
- Considering THIS CLIENT’S NEED and THIS OFFERING, what do you do really well that your competition does not?
This becomes a core part of your message. What unique value do you add that sets you apart? At Flasghip Bank, we pride ourselves in our personal attention and customer experience that is missing from bigger Banks.
Impact of Offering
What is your Avatar’s life like before and after receiving your offering? Your Unique Value Proposition?
- What is their emotional change?
My client used to feel ____ and now they feel ___. For instance, a small business owner may be worried when they take that PPP loan, but after they receive the funds they are relieved.
Call to Action (CTA)
What is the immediate next step you want them to do after hearing about you or your product/service?
- Call you? Email you? Click on your website? Don’t get ahead of yourself; just the most simple next step.
Create a call to action! (Click here for more info, enter email address for freebie, download button). Ask what the most immediate next step is you want them to take.
Create the Message
Now you are ready to create that perfectly targeted content! You check all of these boxes and deliver your message. Here's a recap:
- Who are you selling it to?
- Where can you find them online?
- What are they currently feeling?
- What are you selling (be clear & specific)?
- Why is your offering different?
- What will they feel after buying from you?
- What should they do next?
"Be intentional about surrounding yourself with other small business owners who are seriously looking to grow their business; we are out there. If your network is primarily those who are content with where they are, or apathetic about growing their business, then it's going to be tough for you to stay energized about igniting momentum in your business. Find those who are going to inspire, encourage, and motivate you to action; build a community of like-minded people who will commit to helping each other reach your dreams. Surrounding yourself with the right people is absolutely critical, especially during these challenging times."
We hope this exercise was helpful. To learn more about Small Small Business and how they can help you contact: Steve Fredlund at Steve@smallsmallbusiness.com
