-part 3 of 6-
The problem is that we’re now all publicists and promoters, constantly talking at others in an attempt to sell what we’ve made. Social media has become an echo chamber of “buy now,” while offering little reason or value as to why someone else should. Few of us stop to consider why what we’ve made will help someone else’s life; we just want to sell it to as many people as possible. And that’s what happening on social media-an endless stream of selling at each other. So how do we break through the barrage of promotion to get our own work noticed?
The answer I’ve found and lived by since before social media even existed is deceptively simple: by doing great and valuable work. But once you’ve built up your skillset and are exceptional at what you offer, then you need to put your work or offer in front of people, and position it in a way that stands out and gets attention. Luckily, creative people excel at thinking outside the box and creating funny or interesting content; but if you are marketing a product nobody wants, creative genius won’t be an asset.
Quotes and Expert Roundup
So think about your audience before your start, but know that you will only know so much. Then listen. LISTEN. And your audience will tell you what works and what they crave more of. If you do this over the long haul, you’ll win. –Jerod Morris of Copyblogger
One tip I want to specifically give businesses who are starting content marketing campaigns is this: Do not shy away from asking for feedback. Don’t be afraid of your customers! You want to know when your content isn’t meeting the mark, right? If you do something as simple as add a “let us know what you think” call to action on your content, or even come right out and ask on social “hey, what’d you think of this piece?” you might get some invaluable feedback. –Nicole Kohler of WebpageFX
I always cringe when I hear a marketer tell me that their product/service can help anyone. Figure out who you can help the most and truly figure out what they need. –Michele Linn of Content Marketing Institute
Remember that quality matters and so does consistency. Consider building your email list (with MailChimp or Constant Contact) for delivering great content and as a way to engage community members in the future. –Nicole Miller of Buffer
It’s better to have a much smaller audience that is targeted than a larger one that doesn’t convert. –Neil Patel of Quicksprout
“What is your industry doing that could be considered a trend? Figure it out, and pitch a reporter that trend, with your company leading the story. Reporters prefer trends over one-offs.” – Peter Shankman
“Build something your customers want to be passionate about but don’t know it yet. Passionate customer are by far the best sales people in the World.” – John Rampton of Adogy
“Focus on branding above all. Strong brands naturally attract attention, links and buzz, which are all elements that play into search engine rankings. As such, building a strong brand actually helps improve SEO, helping you get more traction, more quickly.”- Jayson DeMers of Audience Bloom.
“If you want traction you should know what news organizations are talking about and how you can ride that wave to get mentioned. Never come to a reporter pitching a story that is only about you or your company. It sounds simple but too many startup founders do it. Reporters usually don’t have time to learn about the company. Before you pitch, do you know what makes a newsworthy story for reporters at the publication? Start with that question. Be a student of the news in general. Take a hard, in-depth, exhaustive look at the stories in that publication as well as others. What trends or events are they covering? Can you craft a pitch to fit into what they cover? The most you can hope for usually is a mention in an article, maybe a quote. If the reporter wants to do more than that, he or she will.” – John Boitnott
“You understand why your company or product is awesome and you understand the disruption that led you to creating your company or product to begin with. Don’t lose that focus when it comes to building your online exposure. Work to create influencers and brand evangelists, so they can help you succeed when the time is right.” Brent Csutoras of Kayrai Media
“Assume that no one really needs what you sell, because they probably don’t. In a little over 25 years, we’ve gone from an economy based on scarcity of goods and services to one that offers unimaginable abundance. There’s very little you can sell that can’t be gotten elsewhere. Focus instead on how you sell what you sell. Completely differentiate your customer experience and make sure it’s remarkable. Products come and go but there will always be a market for truly remarkable experiences.” – Doug Stephens, Founder of Retail Prophet and Author of “The Retail Revival”
“Never stop researching. Research your sales – or lack of them – to previous days and even years. Research your inventory sell-through and vendor sell-through. Research your competition and research their customers. Research your customers and the customers you want to gain. Research your employees before hiring, and research selling techniques and customer service care to help them succeed. The list goes on and on… very simply, always research what you can do to improve your sales, your marketing, your merchandising, your employees and even yourself. Never stop researching.” – Nicole Leinbach Reyhle, Founder and Publisher, Retail Minded
“Marketing is a contest for people’s attention.” – Seth Godin
“Search engine marketing and search engine optimization are critically important to online businesses. You can spend every penny you have on a website, but it will all be for nothing if nobody knows your site is there.” – Marc Ostrofsky
“I don’t want to admit it, but I do enjoy the feedback from the audience. It’s instant feedback. It’s like, you could do a movie, shoot it for a year, wait six months, it comes out and you gotta do three weeks of marketing. Three weeks of that, and everyone goes, ‘It sucks.'” – Jimmy Fallon
“Imagine your reader as someone you know. It can be hard to set a consistent tone for the writing in your blog. Do you write casually or formally, in long third-person articles or short first-person sentences? It can help to pick someone you know in real life (a friend, a colleague, even a family member), and then imagine your blog is written for them. Picture that person when you’re writing, and you’ll be consistent.” – Avery Swartz (www.camptech.ca)
“For purposes of marketing, writers are designated as poets, novelists, or something else. But writing is about matchmaking, an attempt to marry sensations with apt words.” – Teju Cole
“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” – Leo Burnett
“If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language in which they think.” – David Ogilvy
“Create a link through which you can market your dream products. Create a blog or a website of your own depending on what you want to be recognized for. Share your experiences through these media.” ― Israelmore Ayivor, Shaping the dream
“The valid point or a valuable contribution of a deserving person has not been truly appreciated if he is respected equally with those people who only desire but don’t actually deserve to be applauded.” ― Anuj Somany
“I’m a professional writer and I consider it part of my job to publicise my work and these days part of that job is done online.” ― Sara Sheridan
“If something is built to show, it’s build to grow.” ― Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On
“Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.” –Nikos Kazantzakis
To establish oneself in the world, one does all one can to seem established there already.” – Francois de la Rochefoucauld
