1. Who is the desired audience for your content? This is the most important question of all. Identify who you want to read your content. Is it existing or past clients, prospects, referral sources or others? Then break it down further. What are their key demographics and behaviors? This can include:

• Age, gender, profession
• Job title and responsibilities
• Company size and revenue (or personal income and wealth)
• Industry
• Location
• Role in deciding to hire you
• Budget and priorities
• Interests, concerns and pain points
• Information sources
• Level of knowledge about your services.

Essentially, you are creating a buyer persona, which is a detailed profile of the person you want to attract. You can gather this information by analyzing and talking with your client base and referral sources as well as through internet research.

The reason you are doing this is that the better you define your audience, the more effective your writing will be at reaching them and appealing to their interests.

2. What does your audience want to know about? Your content has to focus on what your audience is interested in, not what you want to talk about. Ask contacts what is important to them. Write about the frequently asked questions you receive. Also, do research. For example, identify and subscribe to publications your target audience reads, set up Google alerts to monitor areas of interest to them, and use social media to “listen” to what topics they care about. You can do this yourself or use paid media monitoring and business intelligence tools to gather information.

3. In what way can you offer something unique? Your goal is always to stand out from the competition. If you are talking about your business, you should focus on your differentiators – your unique selling proposition and unique value proposition. Similarly, if you are creating substantive content, such as a blog post, presentation or article, you want to offer your unique insights and analysis on that subject. This is a big problem when professionals write or speak on a topic. Dry factual recitations are not particularly interesting and are available from multiple sources. Clients and prospects want to understand how something affects them and what they need to do to solve or minimize their problems. This is an opportunity for you to shine by providing your audience with genuinely helpful information that highlights your knowledge and expertise. Yes, this requires more work, but your audience wants to see that you understand their concerns, have the know-how to handle them and want to educate them as opposed to give them a sales pitch.

4. What do you want to accomplish with your content? There are many reasons you may be sharing a particular piece of content including to increase visibility, drive web traffic, build credibility, establish expertise, stay top of mind with existing contacts, generate leads, etc. Your content won’t be successful if it doesn’t take into account your goals. Having concrete objectives enables you to establish metrics and measure the effectiveness of your content, including looking at which types of content are best suited for your purpose. In addition, when there is a clear reason for producing content and measurable results, it’s easier to stay motivated to continue to produce similar content.

5. How will you promote the content? Just because you created the content doesn’t mean it will be seen. You need a plan and appropriate resources to make sure you are taking full advantage of all available marketing channels to reach your target audience, including owned, earned and paid media outlets. Use social media and email marketing extensively. Encourage everyone within the firm to share your content with their personal networks. Incorporate strategic SEO tactics to increase the probability that your content will be found by search engines. In addition, don’t forget to test different marketing tactics and revise as needed to improve results.

6. Do you have a call to action? This goes along with # 4, but it is about accomplishing your goals at a micro-level. What do you want readers to do immediately after seeing your content? Contact you? Sign up for your email newsletter or event? Make sure to have a clear next step for your audience. You want to encourage people to continue to engage with you in some way. Ideally, your content should be leading people through your sales funnel. For example, you may have content that is intended to attract a large number of potential leads to your website. Once on your site, the next call to action may be an offer to receive related information in an eBook. This allows you to continue to nurture those leads who are not yet ready to make a decision.

CONCLUSION

Content is a valuable marketing tool when used strategically. If you take the time to understand what specific content will appeal to your audience and focus on your objectives, you’ll write content that will drive the success of your business.

1. Blog posts. The key to successful blogging is to consider what types of questions or concerns your audience has and answer them in your posts. This allows you to share your expertise, increase your visibility and enhance your credibility. It helps you stay top of mind with existing contacts as well as reach new people, all of which increases your chances of generating business.

On LinkedIn, you can share blog posts in 2 ways from your home page:

• Click “Start a post,” draft some teaser/introductory text from your blog post and then share a link to your post on your website; or
• Click “Write article” to use the LinkedIn publishing platform to write and share your post.

For tips on what to write about in your blog, see 5 Tips To Help You Develop Great Blog Post Topics.

If you don’t have a blog, check out How To Start A Successful Blog In 2021.

2. Third-party content. Many of us already share articles by other people on social media. But what you may not realize is that assuming you share useful and interesting information, doing this shows people you know what they care about, and you want to be helpful. And since it’s not your content, it’s not self-serving so it puts you in a good light. It also saves you time and effort because it is easier to share something that someone else wrote than creating original content. Now, you can share a stranger’s content (ex. a news article) or information from someone you know. If you do know the person, it can also be a good way to engage, connect and build your relationship with your contacts.

A key point to remember when sharing third-party content is to tell people why you are giving them this information. Add some introductory text to your social media post that says what you liked about the article or how it might help others.

3. Visual content. You know the expression a picture is worth a thousand words? People have short attention spans and studies show we are much more likely to respond to and remember visual information than text. So, use photos, infographics, charts, and videos in your posts. It may seem overwhelming to try to create good visuals, but there are many low-cost and free sites to buy images or design your own graphics (ex. Canva). When it comes to posting video on social media, it is acceptable to do it yourself. However, it is a good idea to invest in a ring light and microphone to improve the quality. If you plan to include these videos on your website, always use a professional.

4. Short text-only posts. While visuals often get great results, it is not universal because sometimes they can get in the way of compelling content. On LinkedIn, ordinary text posts often do well if they offer good content. Think of these posts as mini-blog posts. Try sharing tips, how-tos, do’s and don’ts, checklists, takeaways from something your heard/saw and motivational messages as text posts. The important point is to provide information helpful or interesting to your audience. Basically, follow the same rules as you would for regular blogging.

When you publish text-only posts don’t include a link to another website. This is another reason why these posts may do well. There are various opinions that LinkedIn prefers posts that don’t link away to another site and promotes them more heavily.

5. Accomplishments. On LinkedIn, you can let people know about awards you received, media mentions, speaking engagements and articles published. In fact, these posts often receive more views and engagements than other types of posts because your contacts want to congratulate you. However, I believe in the 80-20 rule when touting yourself. It is okay 20 percent of the time to talk about how great you are as long as the rest of the time, you focus on providing information of value. Now, much of this “promotional” information can be shared in a helpful way so make sure you couch it that way. For example, if you wrote an article or were quoted in one or you will be speaking to a group, let people know what information they would find useful in your article or speech as part of your introductory text. Then offer an excerpt or the full text if possible.

6. Nonwork/personal activities. The main purpose of social media is to allow people to get to know each other better. Therefore, go ahead and talk about organizations you belong to, causes you support, volunteer work you do, and interests and hobbies you have. You can also share personal stories that show others more of your personality. If you have photos from these activities, add them to the post as well. The only caveat to this is that LinkedIn is a business platform so you want to be mindful of discussing things that are too personal or may reflect adversely on your professional image. The best advice I ever read is not to share anything that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times.

Creating and sharing great content on LinkedIn is not as difficult as you may think. Use these tips to help get the best results.

If you need help with your social media marketing, contact us for a consultation.

Mistake # 1: Having a generic marketing message. We all have competitors. Why should someone hire you or refer you over a competitor? Are you highlighting what makes you different and how you add value to clients in your marketing? If you can’t explain these things very clearly and concisely, you will struggle to get good clients. It can be hard to figure out your differentiators. Too often firms rely on generic and vague assertions like they care about their clients, they provide exceptional client service or they deliver results. While that’s wonderful, doesn’t every firm say that? Your differentiators must be more specific and measurable with examples of how you go beyond your competitors.

Mistake # 2: Too much selling and not enough helping. You are probably sharing lots of information with the world whether on your website, social media, networking, or through third parties. Is that information mostly a sales pitch – or in other words, is it all about you? Professional service firms need to educate, not pitch – at least most of the time. Ideally, follow the 80-20 rule in providing information: 20% self-promotional; 80% useful content that helps people with their problems. This will demonstrate your expertise and build trust and credibility with your audience. It will also help you to stay top of mind with existing contacts as well as attract new prospects.

Mistake # 3: Neglecting your total online presence. If you have a small business, it’s about the total package – you personally and your business – and both need visibility and credibility. The first step is to google yourself and your business. What information shows up about you and your firm? How do you compare to your competitors? Whether you get business through referrals or otherwise, those prospects will research you and they need to see lots of positive things about you. So how can you strengthen your online presence? I recommend getting more online reviews and recommendations, writing articles, doing educational presentations to relevant groups, becoming active in industry/professional organizations, and volunteering with charitable organizations. Also, consider hiring a company to help with your SEO particularly if you have a consumer-oriented business and get a significant amount of web business.

Mistake # 4: Limiting your social media marketing to posting. Yes, it is important to post at least a few times a week. Consistency is key. However, social media can also be used to help build and strengthen relationships. Like networking, you have to interact with others on social media, so remember to monitor and respond to comments on your posts. Also go online a few times a week to like, share or comment on posts by your contacts. They will be appreciative and will probably reciprocate in the future. You should pay attention to notifications about your contacts as well – birthday, anniversary, job changes– and use this as an excuse to reach out and reconnect on a personal level. Offer to make recommendations or introductions for your contacts. Social media sites make this easy to do. Finally, you can also use social media for market intelligence. Look at what your competitors, clients, and industry are doing and saying. This can help you better target your message and where you promote it.

Mistake # 5: Overlooking your follow-up process. The best marketing in the world means nothing if you don’t follow up properly. Consider a CRM system (ex. Salesforce) to help you manage your contacts with prospects and referral sources. Marketing automation tools can also help handle some follow up for you. For example, Constant Contact allows you to set up a series of emails that are automatically sent out to prospects to help nurture your leads. You or your staff may also benefit from customer service and sales training. You have to pay attention to everyone a client may come into contact with. Poor interactions can easily lose you the business, while good ones can help seal the deal.

Mistake # 6: No marketing plan. This is your roadmap for achieving your goals. It should be in writing to keep you focused and accountable over the long-term. Your plan should detail your marketing message, target audience, priorities and goals, and what steps you will take to achieve them.

It’s a competitive world and you must market to stay visible and memorable all the time. While no two firms are exactly alike in what works best for marketing, avoiding these 6 big mistakes can help every business.

If you need assistance with your marketing, contact us for a consultation.

1. Design tools: Studies show that using visuals in your marketing makes it significantly more likely that someone will view, share and remember your content. But creating compelling visuals can be difficult for small firms who don’t have an in-house designer. Canva is still one of the top tools for designing graphics for social media, websites, email marketing, invitations, posters, ads and other uses. The free version works well for most small firms and it’s not hard to learn.

2. Photos: To the same point mentioned above, photos should be incorporated into your marketing, but unless you’re taking them yourself, you often have to pay for the rights to use them. (Just because you find them on the internet doesn’t mean you can use them freely.) HubSpot regularly updates its list of free stock photo sources. Another site with photos and not on the HubSpot list is Unsplash. I will admit that I don’t use these on a regular basis simply because it’s faster to use a big stock photo site with a good search tool, rather than look through several free sites for the right photo. However, these free sites provide a lot of interesting and unique photos, which may be exactly what fits your needs for a particular use. I should also mention that several of the tools mentioned in this post do provide a library of free or low-cost images. These include Canva, Hootsuite and Constant Contact.

3. Image resizer: Sometimes images are too big to use on social media or would load slowly if used on your website. Image resizers let you compress the image (also crop and edit it if needed). I’ve used ResizeImage.net and it’s free, but there are many others.

4. Audio transcription: Scribie provides inexpensive audio transcription. I’ve used the site to transcribe a podcast or radio interview, which makes it easier to repurpose for additional marketing value. Costs are less than a dollar a minute in many cases.

5. Online advertising: Claiming your Google My Business listing (which is free) enables you to be featured in the search results (as well as in Google Maps) for local searches. You can add information about your business as well as photos. This is also a good place to direct people to leave reviews about your business.

6. Email marketing: Constant Contact is probably the top provider and it’s affordable especially if you don’t have a huge database. However, if you have less than 2,000 subscribers and send fewer than 12,000 emails per month, MailChimp is a free and easy-to-use alternative.

7. Search engine optimization: Yoast is a top-rated WordPress plugin that helps websites improve their SEO. With Yoast, you can do at least some SEO work without having technical skills as it enables you to boost results by focusing on your keywords, titles and meta descriptions. It has a free version, but the premium option is very inexpensive and well worth it.

8. Website analytics: Google Analytics is free and easy to connect to your website. It provides a wealth of information from how many page views you’re getting to where your web traffic is coming from and lots more.

9. Market intelligence: Google Alerts enables you to set up web searches for specific keywords or phrases. You’ll receive email alerts whenever these phrases show up online. It’s a great way to monitor what’s being said online about you and your company, your industry, competitors, clients, prospects, topics and other areas.

10. Social media scheduling: It’s very time-consuming to consistently share content on social media especially if you have multiple accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. Hootsuite is a social media management tool that lets you schedule your posts in advance from 1 place, keep track of your activity, and get basic analytics. You can also set up keywords to monitor on social media and integrate RSS feeds in order to find content you may want to share with your followers. There are both free and paid versions. Buffer and Social Pilot are other options. I haven’t used it personally, but I know others who recommend it highly, including in a recent post on the Association of Accounting Marketing Blog.

11. Online learning: Udemy provides over 130,000 online courses. Courses start at only $12.99 and are a good way to get a basic education in social media, SEO, web analytics and other areas that will help your marketing. For a list of other companies with free or affordable options, check out this article.

12. Writing: Grammarly is an automated grammar and spelling checker that works on your email, social media, blog and elsewhere on the web. It helps minimize errors and improve your writing to make it more concise and understandable. There is both a free and premium version. TheHemingway App also can assist you in writing better by letting you know about problem areas such as overly complex sentences, passive voice or too many adverbs.

13. Content ideas: HubSpot has a Blog Topic Generator that can help you come up with ideas to write about. You just enter a few nouns that describe your subject matter, and you’ll get 5 ideas. This doesn’t always work for technical topics, but even if it doesn’t give you the exact idea, it can be a starting point.

14. Publicity. Help a Reporter Out is a free service that helps connect you with journalists looking for sources.  You can sign up for daily emails where reporters/writers indicate what types of people they are looking to speak to for a story. There is also a paid version with additional features.

Of course, there are many other free and online tools that I’m not mentioning. Check out HubSpot, Buffer and AdExpresso for more recommendations. Google users should also check out this link.

As good as these tools are, they all have their limitations. One of the biggest is that someone has to learn how to use them effectively. Sometimes it just makes sense to turn to a professional who doesn’t have a learning curve and can effectively implement and maintain your marketing. However, if you have internal resources and want to try these out, go for it.

Do you have a free/inexpensive tool you want to recommend? Contact me and I’ll publish an updated version of this blog post.

Note: This post was originally published May 12, 2017 and last updated February 4, 2021.

1. Develop a plan. Who is your audience for the blog? What topics will you write about? Who will write the posts? How often will you publish? What are your goals for the blog? What resources do you need to keep it going? How will you market the blog? Before you start, you must answer these questions. Put it in writing to keep you accountable and help ensure your blog will help your business.

2. Decide where to host your blog. Most people have it on their business website, which has many advantages. However, there are also services that can host and help promote your blog. A good example is LexBlog for legal blogs.

3. Create an editorial calendar. One of the toughest aspects of blogging is figuring out what to write. Ideally, try to brainstorm at least 3 months’ worth of topics at a time. For advice on developing blog topics, read 5 Tips To Help You Develop Great Blog Post Topics. Once you decide on topics, put them on a calendar. That means set a due date and assign responsibility to the appropriate author/editor. Build in time for reviewing and editing the material and add reminders to your calendar before the due date.

4. Include a mix of timely and evergreen posts. Evergreen content is information that doesn’t go out of date. It is always of value to people reading your blog and it can continue to drive traffic to your website for years to come. In contrast, timely posts are on a current development or trend. While they may give you a big boost in the short-term because people want that information, there is less long-term value.

5. Don’t be self-promotional. People don’t want to hear about how great you are. They want helpful and practical information that answers their questions and assists them in avoiding or minimizing problems. By giving free advice, you will be demonstrating that you are knowledgeable, so you don’t have to “sell your services” overtly.

6. Focus on quality over quantity. Yes, it would be great if you could publish a post at least once a week or even more often. However, every post must be good. It’s better to publish high quality content less often than low quality more often.

7. Improve your communication skills. Maybe you’re not a great writer. If you have good ideas, you can work with a writer to develop well-written content. Alternatively, if you are comfortable speaking, you can create videos, which can also be transcribed and edited so you have both oral and written formats. If you want to try to improve your skills on your own, here are several posts on how to make your writing more effective.

7 Tips For More Effective Blog Writing For Your Business

5 Do’s To Help You Create Content That Your Audience Wants To Read

5 Things Not To Do If You Want People To Read Your Content

8. Leverage all marketing channels. On your website, your blog will help with your search engine optimization. When people are searching for information online, Google looks to deliver high-quality relevant content. The more effort you put into your blog posts, the more likely your content will appear in search results. However, your social media and email marketing are also important ways to promote your posts. In addition, you may also want to consider some form of paid advertising.

9. Include a call to action. What do you want readers to do after reading your blog? Contact you? Sign up for something (newsletter, webinar, eBook)? Make sure to have a clear next step for the reader. You’re using the blog to help your marketing, so you want to encourage people to continue to engage with you in some way.

A blog can be an effective marketing tool for your business, but you must make a commitment. If you need assistance, a professional writer can help you develop compelling content as well as promote it to the right audiences, so you get results.

If you need help with blog writing or marketing your existing blog, contact us for a consultation.

Your brand is your reputation – what you are known for and what people expect from you personally and professionally. A strong personal brand is particularly important if you work in the professional services sector because you often get clients based on your personal reputation as opposed to your firm’s reputation. If you want your personal brand to work for you, here are a few musts:

1. Be authentic. First, stop trying to be all things to all people. Many professionals talk about themselves in broad generic terms. They can help any client with virtually any problem, and they are different because “they really care about their clients and provide personal service.” While that may be true, you sound like hundreds of others in your field. Focus on what makes you different but be true to yourself or you will come across as phony. It helps to develop a personal story – think about how your background motivates you to do the work you do or what you enjoy most about your work and your clients.

2. Showcase your expertise. Write blog posts, articles, newsletters, and eBooks. Speak at live and virtual events. Create videos. Provide good information on social media whether through your own posts or commenting on what others post. Not only will it demonstrate that you know what you are talking about, but it is also an opportunity to show some of your personality.

3. Help people. Being helpful can reap substantial rewards personally and financially. It enables you to build stronger relationships with others which can make your work and personal life more fulfilling as well as eventually lead to business. There are many ways to do this from sharing your knowledge and expertise, to making introductions and referrals, and volunteering on causes that are meaningful to you.

4. Leverage all digital marketing channels. Use owned, earned and paid media to promote your brand. Email helps you stay top of mind with existing contacts. Your website showcases your differentiators to those checking you out online. Social media does all of that plus gives you the opportunity to engage with other people to create a positive and memorable identity.

5. Get recommendations/reviews. Like it or not, people will check you out online and give weight to what others say about you there. While you can put client testimonials on your website, the best place to have them is on social media and as a Google business review. There are also some professional directories where it helps to have reviews (ex. Avvo for attorneys).

6. Take small steps. Start with a small targeted plan to promote your personal brand. Commit to at least one or two marketing tactics or a set amount of time per week and then expand from there. Marketing is cumulative and the longer you keep at it, the more successful you will be.

If you are looking for help with your brand, contact us for a free consultation.

1. Stay informed. Social media is a source for relevant news and information. That might mean business and industry news. However, it also gives you information about your clients, referral sources, prospects, competitors, colleagues, and personal contacts. You can use social media to search for and “follow” people, organizations, interest groups, topics and almost anything else you want.

This can be invaluable to your marketing and business development. It can give you insights into what others are interested in, who they know, where they go and how you can reach them. You can find new clients and referral sources as well as potential business and marketing partners. Even if you don’t feel comfortable posting on social media, there is no excuse for not engaging in “social listening” and intelligence gathering that can help your business.

Ideally, try to do this 4-5 times a week for 15 minutes a day. More if you are researching someone or something, such as prior to meeting or pitching to a prospect.

2. Post content. When you network, you do not sit in the corner by yourself. You meet and talk to people. You also know to show up regularly because one event does not create a relationship. When you post to social media, you are talking to people. They get to know you and you get to know them. The more you “see” each other, the more likely you are to remember each other and form an opinion (hopefully, positive). The key here is to make sure what you are posting is useful or interesting to your audience. You want them to value what you are posting. You can post your own original content, including blog posts, articles, tips, checklists, videos, graphics, photos, podcasts, presentations, and PowerPoints. It is also fine to post your relevant activities such as events you are attending, charitable involvement, and personal and professional accomplishments. Don’t overdo this, however, so that it seems all you are doing is touting yourself in every post.

In addition, you can share content from third parties. This can be information from individuals and organizations you don’t know personally but consider reputable or it can be content from your contacts as discussed further below. You can find third-party content by setting up google alerts, following hashtags or subscribing to news feeds.

Generally, I recommend posting at least 3 times a week, which can be 1 original post and 2 posts from third parties. If you can do more, even better. You can use a scheduling tool like Hootsuite to schedule multiple posts at one time.

3. Interact with others. Posting content is a one-way conversation. You need to engage with others to be successful on social media. There are many possibilities. For example:

• • Check your notifications. This is typically at the top of your social media pages. You can see your contacts’ birthdays, anniversaries, and postings as well as who has interacted with your posts. Reach out to those people with an appropriate message either on social media or otherwise.
  • React to other people’s posts.If a contact has posted something, at a bare minimum like it, but try to add a comment to draw greater attention to both of you.
  • Respond to comments to your posts.If someone made a substantive comment, respond in the comment field or with a private message.
  • Offer to give recommendations/reviews. Reach out to referral sources, colleagues, vendors, and clients to provide them with a recommendation or review on social media.

As with staying informed, you should try to engage with others 4-5 times a week for 15 minutes at a minimum.

While not discussed here, it goes without saying that you must connect with people on social media. When you meet new people, send an invite. It also pays to go through your older business contacts to check that you are connected on social media. Sometimes older contacts get overlooked and you are missing an opportunity to stay in touch.

Once you get comfortable doing these activities regularly, check out my related post for ideas on how to improve your results.

If you need help with your marketing, contact us for a consultation.

Owned media. This refers to marketing channels you own or control, such as your website, email, and social media. It also includes events, webinars, videos, podcasts, or publications that you host or create. Since you decide what you are promoting and when and how it appears, it is a waste not to take full advantage of owned media. Yet I regularly see professionals who forget to use these channels.

Tips:

• Promote your activities on all marketing channels you control. For example, if you speak at a conference, include it on your website, social media, and email.
• Pay attention to how your message is presented. Update the design and copy on your website and in your email template. Write compelling headlines and intro text on social media and add images to posts.
• Test different marketing tactics/strategies to improve results. Vary email subject lines, social media text, design and images, and the day/time when you send out promotions.

These activities will not cost additional money but can have a significant impact on results.

Earned media. When someone voluntarily mentions you, it carries more weight than what you say about yourself. As a result, earned media is highly coveted and the most difficult to get. Examples of earned media include client reviews, awards, press coverage, backlinks, and invitations to speak and write for third parties. Public relations firms are paid well to help their clients. However, professionals can do a decent job themselves if they are willing to put the time in.

Tips:

• Ask clients, vendors, and contacts to give you reviews on Google, social media, and other relevant websites.
• Reach out to organizations where you are either a member or have good relationships with those in charge about opportunities to write or speak.
• Let your contacts know you are looking to write or speak and ask them if you can guest blog on their websites (and offer to reciprocate).
• Follow relevant organizations and reporters on social media to learn what issues they cover so you can develop a relationship with them, offer assistance and make appropriate pitches to them.
• Sign up for HARO (Help-a-Reporter-Out) which publishes requests by journalists/editors for people who can help them with a story they are working on.
• Research awards that you can apply for to boost your visibility and credibility.
• Share your good publicity on your website, social media, and email.

These efforts take time, but they add up. As a result, once you have established credibility and have garnered some earned media, you will find that new opportunities will come to you.

Paid channels. Ads, sponsored content, event sponsorships, pay per click advertising, and paid social media can be helpful, but expensive. However, advertising today is very sophisticated allowing you to carefully select the audience you want to target and track results in detail.

Tips:

• Don’t engage in one off advertising. It’s expensive and unlikely to bring results.
• If you want to advertise, you need to commit to doing it for at least a few months to gauge results.
• Be clear on what you want to accomplish and carefully review your metrics. Clicks to your site and phone calls are great if your goal is visibility, but if you are looking for good leads, you need to pay close attention to who you are attracting.
• Test different ads, keywords, etc. to improve results.

Which marketing channels are missing from your toolbox? If you’d like help with your marketing, contact us for consultation.

1. Email. Email is an easy way to let your contacts know about your event. However, make your emails as targeted as possible. As noted in the previous post, you should clearly identify the audience you want to attract and send your emails to those who best match that profile. Hopefully, your contact database is segmented – that is, your contacts have been put into categories which allow you to select the appropriate group that would be most interested in the program. For example, you could have segments for past and current clients, different types of referral sources, prospects, or groupings based on industry, profession, job title, age, or income.

Your marketing copy should also be targeted. You want your invite to appeal to those individuals. As a result, you may want to revise your email copy for different segments of your list. Highlight the key points that would resonate with the specific group.

2. Social media. All of your event marketing should be shared through your social media channels. In addition, you may want to consider paid ads to reach more people because you can narrowly target your audience on social media. Also, many social media channels provide additional tools for promoting events. For example, LinkedIn Events and Facebook allow you to create, manage, and promote an event. Note these tools are different from LinkedIn Live and Facebook Live which are used when you want to live stream your event using the social media platform. The Events functionality is a promotional tool that works for any event regardless of where it will be accessible.

3. Website. Create a landing page for your event where you can provide more information, such as the full description and agenda, speaker bios, sponsor material, and potentially links to related content or resources. You may also want to enable people to see those who have registered already so they can connect with each other. This is something often done for large conferences and has its advantages and disadvantages for smaller events.

4. Blog posts. Marketing copy describing your program is fine, but also give people something educational – information they can use even before your presentation. Provide content that highlights why this topic is important and what your audience needs to know about it so they can ask well-informed questions during the program. Blog posts like this can help generate interest in the event and in you. Ideally, people will want to register to learn more about the topic, but if not, the posts still highlight your expertise and credibility. You can share this content on your website, social media, and email. Remember blog posts can be in video as well as written format.

5. Surveys. Last year, a client decided to survey industry professionals regarding a new law that had passed. The client’s plan was to conduct a survey and then follow up with a conference with a panel of speakers where the survey results were revealed and discussed along with related issues. After the event, a full report was published with an analysis of the results as well as additional commentary from the live event. The survey served to build interest beforehand, provided discussion points during the conference, and offered important takeaways to attendees after the event. It also provided a wealth of marketing opportunities for the firm. This was a substantial project, but you can do something much simpler and gain some of these benefits. Ask your target audience a few questions about their top concerns or their thoughts on a particular issue. You can also survey their level of interest in certain topics and encourage them to submit questions in advance. You can promote the survey prior to or along with an email invite. By the way, Survey Monkey is a great tool for creating surveys and gathering responses online.

6. Employees. Leverage your employees by asking them to share information about your event with their own social media networks. This is a good way to expand your reach as well as encourage them to feel vested in the success of the firm, so they become more effective employees.

7. Third parties. Partnering with others enables you to take advantage of their marketing channels. This can take several forms. For example, if you are doing your own event, you can look to bring in a moderator, other speakers, or sponsors who can add value to the presentation as well as help to promote the event. You can share your marketing with them as well as pass along their materials to your own network. Remember to provide links back to their social media pages and websites so they get as much publicity as you do. That will encourage them to reciprocate. If an organization is hosting the program, it will be doing its own marketing, but you can give them materials to use in promoting the event as well as share their marketing with your own network. The more credibility the organization has the more you want to promote them because it reflects well on you. The organization will also be appreciative as it helps their visibility.

8. Publicity. If your program has broad appeal or involves a timely or newsworthy topic, it may be useful to do a press release or contact media outlets to promote the event. For example, many local publications or websites publish information on upcoming events. You could also reach out to relevant organizations or groups you belong to about sharing your event.

These ideas can help you maximize your event, so you are more successful in reaching your target audience. However, remember that your public speaking should not stand alone. It has to be integrated into all the other marketing tactics you use to get more clients.

If you need help with your marketing, contact us for a consultation.

1. Who do you want to reach? Identify your ideal client or referral source including their demographics (age, profession, income, location, etc.). That’s who you want to target with your public speaking. Then research where and how to get in front of them. In other words, don’t pursue every speaking opportunity that comes along; be selective so you focus your efforts on the people that matter most to you.

2. What topic(s) should you discuss? There are 2 parts to choosing a topic(s). The first is to determine your audience’s interest. Again, do research about their concerns and pain points so your presentation focuses on those issues. The second part is deciding what you want to be known for (i.e., your niche or specialty). Typically, this is the area that would be best for your business. You should analyze what types of matter and clients are most profitable to your business currently or have the most potential for the future. Your topic should hit the sweet spot between what people want to hear about and the expertise you want to promote.

3. How will you market your program? If you want people to show up and listen, you need to market your program using a variety of methods including social media, email, publicity and possibly advertising. Also leverage employees to help promote the program through their networks. In addition, try to partner with others who can use their own channels to promote the program. You may want to bring in co-speakers and sponsors or pitch your idea to an organization/association that will market the webinar. For ideas on how to market your event, see Top Strategies For Marketing Your Speaking Event. Also keep in mind that even if people don’t attend your program, your marketing is still going to increase your visibility and can bring in business.

4. How will you follow up afterwards? It is rare to get business from one speaking event. You need additional touchpoints with those contacts in order to build a relationship that will eventually turn into business. Ideally, you should try to get the names and contact information of the attendees so you can follow up using phone, email, and social media. If you cannot get their information because someone else is in charge of registrations and will not provide it, you still want to engage in post-event marketing. Use social media and email to offer attendees and non-attendees helpful material from the program (a recording, outline, summary of key points, etc.). You can also provide related content over the course of months as a way to continue to nurture these leads. If you partnered with others, look to leverage the relationship in your post-event marketing.

5. What are your goals and how will you measure progress? Consider what you want to accomplish through public speaking. Yes, you ultimately want more business, but break that down into smaller concrete goals. For example, maybe you want to increase referral business. Obviously, every aspect of your plan needs to be geared towards this goal as discussed above. So, you want to target a specifically defined group of referral sources (ex. accountants) with a relevant topic and appropriately market the program to them before and after the program. To gauge your success, you can track various metrics such as growth in the number of referral sources (the number of individuals who could refer you business), calls from referral sources (new or existing ones), calls from prospects who were referred to you, referred clients who actually signed with you, and/or revenue generated for the firm from referrals.

However, note that establishing a direct ROI in marketing is difficult because the path to new business isn’t a straight one. A prospect may have gotten your name from a referral source who regularly hears you speak, but also gets your emails, follows you on social media, and sees you at networking events. Regardless of whether the source first met you at a speaking event, your public speaking is helping your credibility and visibility with referral sources and is contributing to your ROI. Marketing has a cumulative impact, helping you stay top of mind with referral sources in a positive way, so you get the referral opportunity.

6. What resources do you have or need? Public speaking can be time-consuming. What resources can you devote to booking, preparing for, and marketing those engagements? Do you have enough resources internally? What work can you outsource? Remember you need time/money/expertise to effectively implement your plan. Put in writing who will be responsible for each task and establish deadlines to keep everyone accountable.

Figuring out these issues in advance will help ensure the success of individual speaking engagements and your marketing as a whole. Ultimately, your speaking engagements should support and complement your other marketing and vice versa so it is most effective and generates the best return on investment.

If you need assistance with obtaining or leveraging your speaking engagements, contact us for a consultation.