The magic key to focusing your marketing

If there I had to choose just one thing that would make a dramatic impact to anybody's marketing campaign it would be to have really nailed down their perfect client profile.  It sounds easy - but it's not!  However, it is definitely worth the effort.

For years I skimped on this job - and I knew I hadn't got it right.

Like most people I started out with 'anybody who wants what I offer' (a.k.a whoever will pay me!).  Then I progressed to 'web designers' - because one of the things I do is write web content and it seemed obvious.  But I hadn't specified what kind of web-designer - one man bands, specialists in a particular industry, agencies, client base, turnover, staff number ... etc. etc.  I thought that 'web designer' would be enough for people to recognise themselves or for others to connect me with any web designer they knew.  It didn't work.

Let me tell you a story that demonstrates why not:

About 10 years ago I attended two Institute of Directors meetings within 2 weeks of each other.  They were two different groups, but close enough to have some members who attended both.  I was the guest presenter for both meetings.

Part of the meeting structure was for each attendee to provide an outline of the referrals they wanted.  We were told to be specific so, at the first meeting I said "The training manager of a high street retailer".  Nobody 'bit'.

At the next meeting I decided I needed to be even more specific, so I said "The Training Manager at Arcadia*".  Immediately after the meeting Stephen came up to me and said "I've got a contact at Arcadia - he's the CEO!"  

Stephen had been at the previous meeting and I'd known him for some years already so I thanked him and then asked "Why didn't you tell me this at the last meeting?"

"You didn't ask," he replied.

"I asked for referrals to the training manager of any high street retailers," I reminded him.

"Oh, didn't realise that, sorry.  I just heard 'Arcadia' and made the connection."

The point of this tale is that you really have to be very specific for people to focus on connections - general descriptions are often heard as "Blah, blah, blah."

Of course, I got business because I network online and offline a lot, but not the kind of business I really wanted - regular clients who paid me monthly to create a reliable income.

Then I finally knuckled down and worked through a list of questions about my perfect client - and came up with a really detailed description.  The result - suddenly I started getting phone calls from people who fitted my ideal client profile - and I hadn't done anything yet!

Describing my ideal client at networking events is much more effective - nobody else has that level of detail and it means that everyone at the meeting starts imagining what that particular person looks like and making the connections with people they know who fit.

Are you up for the challenge?  Go to www.insidenews.co.uk and download the Perfect Client Profile Worksheet from the Treasure Chest.

*A large retail group that owned, at the time, Dorothy Perkins, TopShop, Burtons, Evans, and many more high street chains.

Have you 'got' Twitter?

People understand that Facebook is a social platform, LinkedIn is a business platform, Pinterest is for graphics and images; Instagram is for photos - but what is Twitter for?

Technically it's called a 'micro-blog'.  If you know anything about the history of blogging you'll know that blogs started out as an online journal - people used them to talk about what they were doing and share their thoughts with whoever was reading.  

When Twitter came along it limited people's rambling to 140 characters.  That's a challenge that has taught millions of people to be succinct!  It means you can't write a long piece, you have to get your thought over in just a few words (typically about 20).  

The challenge, with so few characters, is to write something that other people will find interesting - and, hopefully, respond to and/or share.

In the early days of Twitter (back in 2006) there were a lot of  people 'having a cheese sandwich for lunch' and 'just off to take the dog for a walk' (and there are still plenty of tweets that aren't very interesting).  The people who really got Twitter used it to 'join up the dots'.

What do I mean by that?

Twitter is great to use for finding interesting content so if you follow people who post it, you'll be able to keep up with your chosen areas of interest easily.  For instance, if you follow the thought-leaders in your area of interest you'll get to see all their blogs and stay right up-to-date with the latest information in that area.  

You can also get followers by sharing (Retweeting) posts that lead to great blogs, articles and websites and gain a reputation for being up there at the leading edge.  It's called 'curating content' - in other words being someone who is 'in the know'.

Some people see Twitter as a numbers game - the more followers the better, but I see it as a connecting tool - the right followers who get benefit from what I post will share my content with their followers and spread the word.

You can start conversations by responding to comments that interest you - but Twitter isn't like Facebook, it's unlikely that you're going to have an in depth conversation on Twitter, but it's a great place to start the conversation.  If someone is interesting then take the conversation into a convenient coffee shop (if geography allows) or onto Skype for a proper chat.

For people to find you worth following you need to forget about cheese sandwiches and step away from the 'what am I doing right now' concept that started it.  The secret of success is to post things that add value for the people reading your Tweets.  This means:

• Tips - your posts
• Advice - in response to other people's questions
• Interesting facts - that are relevant to your areas of expertise
• Quirky info - anything you think might capture people's attention
• Asking questions - people on Twitter are really helpful and will usually respond if you ask good questions
• Links to your blogs 
• Links to other people's blogs that you've found valuable

If you usually post good quality material you can get away with a bit of promotion if you've got a new products or service about to launch.

Never ONLY post a link though - always tell people what the link is about; there's so much phishing online that a link with no explanation can be seen as dangerous.

Make sure you review your feed at least once a day - I use Hootsuite to manage my Twitter as it makes it really easy to see when people have commented and enables me to respond promptly.

Twitter is a means of making connections that you can then explore further if you think there's value in that.

Diary of an online marketer

People ask me how I get time to do so much online posting so I thought I'd share my secrets.  This is a fairly typical week.

It's Monday morning and my first job is to post the week's social media.  As I have already created about three months posts (that I recycle) all I have to do is to change the dates and post them in batches.

I use Hootsuite to schedule my posts, with a Pro account; it's one of the few things I actually pay for as it saves me hours in time and ensures I don't forget to post!  I have a number of batches to update:

My Follow Friday (#ff) on Twitter for the week.  I add new batches as I find people I want to recommend - definitely my clients, but also lots of other great people that offer fantastic services.  My strategy is to have ONE post per person and say why people should follow them; e.g.

#ff for networking connections @NetworkerGlenys - she knows EVERYBODY!

My tips that I post into my Twitter, Facebook Page, Google+ company page and my LinkedIn personal account.  These are hints and advice on a variety of subjects around my expertise with a link takes readers to a blog that is about this subject. e.g.

#onlinefonts: Don't use fancy fonts, they're hard on the eyes and don't always appear as you planned. http://ow.ly/lveSg

Every two or three weeks I update my Free Stuff (Twitter, Facebook Page, Google+ and LinkedIn personal account) and Success Strategies (Twitter, Facebook Page, Google+ and LinkedIn company page) that run alternate days.

This sounds like a lot, but with the right formula I can upload all these in about 5 minutes.

Next job is to write two blogs for various blog sites I post to.

I write weekly for Birds on the Blog and, although it doesn't go out until Thursday, I try to get this done on Monday morning so it's done, posted and scheduled.  I also write for my InsideNews.co.uk website once a fortnight alternating with this blog and a LinkedIn post on the in between weeks.  If I have time and something I want to get off my chest then I may write more often, but that's the minimum.

When it gets to about 4.30pm and my brain needs a break I go and read my LinkedIn updates and see who has been in contact, answer messages and take a look at the groups where I'm active.

It sounds like a lot, but actually is less than two hours including writing the blogs and finding good images to accompany them.

I try to keep Monday for marketing activity so, if I'm planning a series of LinkedIn webinars or a workshop or want to promote something (like my book The Reputation Game), I will add in writing the email marketing, blogs and promotional material here too.  That's additional time to my regular marketing, but easily fits into this day.

That's Monday done!

Tuesday morning I do my email and then look at any LinkedIn messages or contact requests and my Twitter feed.  I take a quick scan down the mentions feed (I use Hootsuite so I can see specific groups of posts) and comment or respond where necessary.  I look at the home feed and comment on anything that catches my interest, read interesting blogs and join in conversations that interest me.  I look at my Clients list and retweet their posts randomly.  This takes me no more than 15 minutes and I try to do this daily.

Tuesday afternoon, when I need a break, I take a look at my Facebook Page (and my personal account home feed) and comment, share, like, etc.  I often look at some of the other pages I follow to catch up as Facebook only puts a small percentage of what people post in the home feed of those who have liked the page.  I probably don't spend more than 15-20 minutes on this, if that.

Wednesday is pretty much the same as Tuesday.  Although I try to check into a couple of groups on LinkedIn at some point and see if there's anything I can comment on or help people with.  I also see if my searches have shown any new potential contacts to open conversations with.

Thursday I'm often out at a networking breakfast so I don't always have time to look at my Twitter feed first thing, it tends to be a lunchtime activity, whilst I try to keep the crumbs out of my keyboard!  Again, I check my Facebook connections and Pages and respond to any LinkedIn messages and contact requests.

Friday is another networking breakfast day so tends to be pretty much like Thursday, although I usually spend more time on Friday afternoon in LinkedIn groups seeing what's going on and talking to other members.

The weekend: Whilst I try not to work at the weekend, I do tend to sit down in front of the computer at some stage to catch up on my email.  I usually take a look at Hootsuite too and check my Twitter feed and my Facebook Page and LinkedIn accounts for any comments that need my attention.  I know a lot of people do social media at the weekend so it makes sense to keep an eye on it.

If I'm doing additional marketing then I will add in loading email campaigns and extra blogs alongside other regular activity.  I think the easiest way to get a new habit established is to link it to an existing one - that's why I started doing my Twitter check right after doing my email inbox, it made it easier to remember!

I also schedule these activities into my diary so that I don't overlook them.  It makes consistency so much easier!

Give it a try - you might be surprised at how much you can get done in just a few minutes a day.