5 Ways You Need to Market Differently Online
Whatever ways you used to find clients, that’s almost certainly changed since the beginning of the pandemic.
I used to tell my clients offline marketing was the way to start, and the fastest way to bring in high-value clients.
Obviously, that’s not the go-to method now, even with the world opening up a bit.
So, what DOES work? 🤔
Here are the 5 Ways You Need to Market Differently:
1. Narrow your target market.
One reason that transformational entrepreneurs struggle to find their ideal clients online is that they’re casting the net too broadly. If you help many different kinds of people, it’s hard to find those people.
That seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it?
What USED to work: You’d just attract people with your great energy in a networking event. Because they met you, you’d get some clients that way.
Nope, not any more.
Let me use an analogy: If you just say, “I want to go fishing,” it’s hard to know where to send you. Do you want to catch trout, which means you need to go to a stream? Or do you want to fish for bass, which you can find in a lake? What you need in both cases is different equipment for two different locations.
It’s like that with fishing for clients. 😉
While you may be able to serve men and women, young and old, employees and entrepreneurs… the language that you use for one group (the bait) won’t resonate with another group.
Instead, pick ONE group. It’s much easier to find them. Once you know the group, you can launch an online search.
Here’s how: Imagine you’re one of that group, and you’re looking for a solution to your problem. What would you do online? Where would you go?
Great! Now you know where to show up.
2. Laser in on your pain points and benefits.
One of the things that always makes me smile is when someone tells me, “I’m a life and business coach.” To me, that’s like saying, “I have a shoe store, and we bake bread too.”
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t trust a bakery that was also a shoe store!
You also can’t be too vague or jargon-y about the help you provide.
‘Getting unstuck’ or ‘removing limiting beliefs’ is language that is familiar to coaches and healers. But it likely won’t be meaningful to the majority of the people who might be your ideal clients.
Here’s the assignment: Identify 3 (and only 3!) things that your ideal client struggles with. Those 3 things must be things that their best friend would understand, because their best friend might end up referring them to you!
3. Craft a one-liner about what you do.
Once you’ve done #2, this step is much easier.
What USED to work: People would actually listen, even if you rambled a bit.
Not any more.
Attention is more scarce than ever now that people are focused online. If it takes you several sentences to explain what you do, people may not read it. When you can explain in one sentence the major struggle, and the major benefit of working with you, you’re FAR ahead of the curve.
Some examples of good 1-liners:
I help parents who struggle with their kids over grades, to help the kids succeed and have peace at home.
I help coaches and healers who struggle to find their ideal clients, to attract their ideal clients, be well-paid and make a big impact.
I help people suffering with chronic illness to reduce the pain, and get their lives and energy back.
Can you see how specific and succinct those are? Now it’s your turn!
With a great 1-liner, you can reach out to people and they’ll be clear on what you do. This means that it’s much easier to get people to say yes, both to talking to you, and working with you.
4. Plan on being seen.
What USED to work: In the old days of being a coach, it was all phone work. Zoom wasn’t a thing yet, and Facebook didn’t have Facebook Live.
(Remember the ‘flip cam’ for creating personal videos about 10 years ago?)
Yep, the world has changed.
If you’re uncomfortable on video, I get it. My first videos were cringe-worthy. But you CAN improve.
Facebook Live is a great way to start sharing your message with the world. It also gives you a fairly low-risk way to start honing your video skills, and establishing your brand message.
If you haven’t done Facebook Live, or you’re not using it regularly, consider doing a weekly video. Just 10 minutes can start the ball rolling for attracting your ideal clients.
5. Create an online referral network.
It’s wonderful when you get a referred client. Since people are 4X more likely to become clients when they have been referred, having people in your network send prospects to you is a great way to get new clients.
If you don’t have that network already, you can create it.
The truth is, referral networks are something that has always worked. They’re just much more important now, because referrals are the #1 way that people find out about services.
Just like with making new friends, you can’t reach out and just ask for favors. Instead, reach out and form relationships, and see how you can be helpful to them. It’s a wonderful way to create connection as the world opens up, and it means that you have people out there 24/7 aware of what you do.
In this post, I’ve just scratched the surface of what you need to know to attract your ideal clients online.
I’m doing a FREE Facebook Live training: ‘Online Marketing Secrets: How To Find Your Ideal Clients Online!’
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