1. Optimize your LinkedIn profile. First, your profile should be complete and up-to-date, including an updated photo, a compelling headline that accurately describes your niche, a summary that highlights your experience and expertise, and recommendations from people you have worked with. Also add relevant skills, certifications, publications or projects related to your niche. Finally, use relevant keywords in your description to make your profile easy to find.

2. Build and engage with your LinkedIn network. Connect with other professionals relevant to your niche. Go through your email contacts to make sure you are connected on Linkedin, send invitations to new people you meet networking and search for individuals online that may be good contacts. Use LinkedIn’s advanced search feature and join LinkedIn groups to find other professionals in your niche or complementary to your business. Once you’re connected, regularly engage with them by liking, commenting, or sharing their posts; congratulating them on their achievements or milestones; and offering assistance or suggested resources.

3. Share relevant content. You should share helpful high-quality content on LinkedIn that demonstrates your knowledge and experience in your niche, such as articles, blog posts, videos, presentations and other content you create. You can also provide curated content from third parties. Offering valuable information helps build credibility and trust and establishes you as an authority in your niche.

4. Participate in LinkedIn groups. Joining a group relevant to your niche is a way to connect and build relationships with other professionals who are interested in the same audience you are targeting. Initiate conversations, ask and answer questions from other group members and share helpful content without pitching your services to position yourself as a trusted resource.

5. Use LinkedIn ads. Advertising on LinkedIn can be expensive but it does offer numerous opportunities to target your ads to specific audiences based on their job title, industry and other demographics. While advertising can help you build your brand in your niche, often it’s more effective and less expensive to focus on a very specific goal. For example, you can advertise a webinar that will generate leads for your firm as well as promote your expertise.

6. Create and promote LinkedIn events. Use LinkedIn to promote your events and encourage people to register. This helps expand your visibility as an expert and bring in new leads.

If you have a niche, you need to use multiple strategies to promote it effectively. But make sure you take advantage of Linkedin most of all because it offers one of the best returns on investment you can get in marketing.

Need help with your marketing, contact us for a free consultation.

Many of the phrases professionals use in describing themselves are quite common. For example, you’ll find lots of individuals and firms that emphasize their years of experience, delve into their clients’ problems, help them be proactive and develop customized solutions to fit their needs and goals. Is any of this sounding familiar?

What should you do to differentiate yourself and avoid sounding just like your competitors?

Step 1: Pick 5 competitors to research. Look at their website and social media pages and google them. Try to select some competitors that you think market themselves better than you do and some that you have no idea about what they do to promote their practice. You can also google search terms someone would use to find a professional like you online and research the firms or professionals that show up.

Step 2: Compare yourself to them. Are you using similar language to describe yourself, your practice and your clients? If not, how do you differ? Do you think they are better, worse or as effective as you at talking about their work and how they help clients? Do they come across as possibly more qualified, personable or trustworthy than you? What are they doing to stand out from competitors? How are they staying top of mind with contacts or reaching new people?

Step 3: Determine your specific differentiators. Identify exactly why someone should hire or refer you over your competitors, what unique value you bring to the relationship and how you help. Is there something you are known for? Are you an “expert” in a particular area or have special skills, background or connections? You must be authentic in picking something that truly describes who you are but pay attention to whether it is really unique or just restating what competitors are saying.

Step 4: Focus on 1 simple message. You probably do many things well and may have a diverse background. But trying to talk about all of it will dilute and muddle your message. The human brain cannot remember too much information at once, so keep it simple. There is a time and place to discuss all that you do but not as part of your core message.

Step 5: Prove it. Anyone can say anything about themselves. That’s why you need proof. Your marketing should include positive reviews, success stories, case studies, activities like writing and speaking, media mentions, awards, relevant group memberships and other evidence that you are who and what you say you are.

Step 6. Consider what you can co-opt from competitors. You don’t want to copy exactly what they are doing but there is nothing wrong with getting ideas from them about what you should or should not be doing. Also, identify how you can tailor it to your specific practice and audience, including ways to improve on what they have done.

Step 7. Revise your marketing materials. Once you decide on the image and message you want to present, you must update your marketing to reflect that, including your website, social media, ads, brochures, videos, networking elevator pitch, etc. You need to be consistent and repetitive. Messages don’t sink in until we hear them repeatedly at regular intervals, preferably in interesting and engaging ways. That’s where marketing expertise really comes into play. You need the right message but also must deliver it at the right time, place and manner to attract attention.

It’s not easy to distinguish yourself from competitors but these tips can help you get started. If you need assistance with your marketing, contact us for a free consultation.

Evergreen content is content that doesn’t go out of date. It stays fresh – interesting and relevant – long after it was created. Trending or time-sensitive content is the opposite. It attracts attention when it is first shared, but loses relevance quickly. Both are useful in building a reputation as an expert, but evergreen content often has a greater return on investment because you can keep using it in your marketing. As long as it is still accurate, you can continue to share it in emails, social media posts, presentations and articles months or even years later. It also remains on your website to boost your credibility and drive search engine traffic to your website.

The most effective evergreen content should:

• Focus on a niche area. It’s better to be an expert in a niche area because you have fewer competitors and it is easier to stand out and be memorable. It also tends to result in better quality leads because you are attracting exactly the people that are likely to need your services. Your evergreen content should drill down into your niche and cover the range of issues that may come up. It should also highlight any unique expertise that you have but others may not have (ex. industry knowledge, a multi-disciplinary approach, etc.).
• Target a specific audience and the problems they need to solve. Who is your ideal client? Now write for them. Know what keeps them up at night and give them helpful information to prove you understand them and they can rely on you for assistance. An added benefit of this approach is that writing/speaking about specific problems is likely to draw high-quality leads to your site because your target audience will be looking online for the information you are providing.
• Be based on research. Don’t just guess at what might make good evergreen content; do your homework. In choosing topics, look at what content has been most successful for you in the past. Review your website, email and social media metrics to identify popular subjects. Also, what topics have others (e.g., clients, prospects, organizations, media, etc.) asked you about. It’s also helpful to look at your competitors to see what they are doing. Finally, research long-tail keywords. These are search terms that people use online that are at least a few words long. Typically, they are questions or phrases on a specific topic or problem. Understanding what people are searching for can help you frame your content so it is more likely to be of interest to your audience and be found online.

While you should invest in creating a library of evergreen content, remember that you will need to cover topical issues periodically to boost your visibility and show that you stay current in your field. In addition, evergreen content does not last relevant forever. It is a good practice to periodically review and update it. That can be as simple as adding/changing examples or statistics, reorganizing the content or creating new versions (ex. long/short; expert/novice) or different formats (ex. video, written, live presentation).

So, how can you come up with evergreen content? Drill down into the Frequently Asked Questions you get from clients, offer ‘How-tos’ on a series of topics, provide Checklists that help your audience understand what issues they may be forgetting about, and offer Case Studies that demonstrate a successful outcome. These are just a few ideas, but there are plenty of others.

If you need assistance creating or promoting evergreen content that will help build your credibility as an expert, contact me 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. A strong personal brand is essential. Learning how to shape and promote your brand can help you be more successful in your career and business whether you work for yourself or someone else. It helps you stand out in a world where your competitors are everywhere, and it can be hard to explain how you are different.

2. Highlight the important differences. Your personal brand should encompass your Unique Selling Proposition (why someone should work with you over your competitors) and your Unique Value Proposition (what benefits your audience can expect from working with you). Think about the things that make you and your practice distinct. Do you have a specific niche or specialty; a different perspective because of your background or experience; or a personal story/motivation for the work that you are doing? Then consider how these add value to your relationships.

3. Be authentic and true to yourself. Don’t pick a brand for business reasons. Embrace who you are and be prepared that you won’t be a good fit for everyone and vice versa. Trying to please everyone will not get you noticed.

4. Help people. It’s better to give than to receive. Share your knowledge and expertise. Establish yourself as a connection maker. Follow up and follow through on your promises.

5. Stay visible in some way all the time. Unfortunately, people have short attention spans. You want to be the one your contacts remember if they have a problem or someone asks them for a referral. It is impossible to network or call and meet with people all the time. You need many ways to keep in touch with them constantly. That means taking advantage of social media and email marketing, your website, blogging, writing and speaking opportunities and networking.

6. Small steps matter. You don’t have to do it all at once. Commit to one or two marketing tactics or a set amount of time per week and then expand from there.

Thanks to Christie Jacobson and Jennifer Koo for inviting me to speak and Mindy Wolfle for sharing her great tips on “Effective Networking is All About Relationship Building.”

For more branding tips, read Personal Branding Tips To Grow Your Business.

If you need help identifying or marketing your personal brand, contact us for a consultation.

One of the hardest things to do is to determine your unique selling proposition (USP) and unique value proposition (UVP). Your USP is a statement about your competitive advantages – why someone should hire you over your competitors. Your UVP focuses on the benefits your audience can expect from working with you – what value you add to the relationship and how you help. You need to be able to articulate these statements in a way that people will understand, remember and repeat to others to spread your brand.

Here’s some tips to help you get started defining your USP and UVP:

1. Stop trying to be all things to all people. Professionals and business owners often talk about what they do and who they help as broadly as possible. A lot of that is because they fear losing business. If you say you focus on X type of work, then you won’t get Y type of work, which you are also capable of doing. Now there is nothing wrong with taking whatever work you can get, but if you are trying to market yourself to reach all people, you are minimizing your differentiators and competing against more firms.

2. Know your audience. Who specifically do you want to target with your marketing? Remember prospects and referral sources are not created equally. It’s up to you to figure out the best market to pursue. Then determine what they care about. Your USP and UVP should speak to their needs, interests and pain points.

3. Be specific about your differentiators. Don’t rely on generic statements about how you care about your clients and you’re responsive to their needs. Your competitors are saying the same thing. Look at your background, education, experience, training, interests, activities, clients, contacts, perspective, services, etc. to find ways to differentiate yourself. Then identify why these would matter to your target audience and how they specifically help you add value to your clients and referral sources.

4. Focus on a niche. If you have a problem, when do you go to a specialist and when do you go to a generalist? For most people, the more serious the problem, the more likely they are to seek out specialized solutions. A niche helps turn you into a specialist, so you have less competition and get better quality and more lucrative leads. It enables you to differentiate your business, build expertise in a specific area and focus your marketing resources so you can spend less money and get a better ROI.

5. Be authentic. Don’t just pick up some buzz words that you think sound good. 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.

6. Consistency is key. All of your marketing should reiterate the same message and reinforce the same USP and UVP. That includes your networking, website, writing, speaking and other activities.

Remember your goal is to develop a distinctive and positive message that is easily remembered and helps you stand out from the competition.

Need help with your marketing? Contact us for a consultation.

Here are a few more takeaways from the event:

Karen Tenenbaum, Esq., CPA, LL.M – Consistently look for ways to build your credibility and stay top of mind, such as through writing, speaking and public relations. Also, be organized about your marketing. Know who your target audience is and create a “bingo chart” that lays out what you will be doing to market your practice every month to reach those audiences.

Ken Cerini, CPA, CFP, DABFA – Become an expert in a specific niche area of accounting. There are less accountants specializing in auto dealerships or food services than there are accountants providing tax services. You have a higher likelihood of succeeding against 10 competitors than 1,000. Create specialized materials, write articles, start a blog, attend trade association meetings and engage in other activities that will get you in front of your target audience.

Sharyn O’Mara – If you want to get publicity, then get to know a couple of reporters in your local area or who focus on your area of expertise. You want to build the relationship beforehand, so the reporter thinks of you when they need an expert for a quote or will respond to you when you make a pitch. Whether it’s in the PR or another context, try to be a connector. It’s not about getting business; it’s about creating strong relationships with people.

Allison W. Rosenzweig, Esq. – When you are marketing yourself, be genuine. Don’t always be “selling.” Instead you should focus on building a strong reputation. How you are perceived by others is crucial. Also look for ways to stay visible whether in person, online or in the press.

Matthew E. Rappaport, Esq., LL.M. – Figure out what sets you apart from your competitors and make sure you can clearly articulate the differentiating factors in a few sentences. Also, don’t hesitate to give away some value in the form of knowledge or expertise for free to establish relationships.

Edie Reinhardt – Don’t engage in random acts of marketing. Have a written marketing plan where you think through who you want to target, how you will reach them and what you want to accomplish. You can keep it simple especially if you haven’t done a lot of marketing in the past. Start with a small targeted plan and then as you build on your successes you can expand your efforts. Also, don’t be afraid to test different tactics. A lot of marketing is trial and error.

Thanks to my fellow panelists and the conference organizers.

When firms try to define themselves too broadly – too many specialties or no specialties – they spend a lot of money and lose their ability to stand out from the competition. If you’ve got a niche, flaunt it with these tips:

1. Tell everyone what you do. It sounds silly, but too many professionals worry about promoting their niche because they think they may lose other types of business they could have gotten. So even though they may be doing some niche marketing, they aren’t promoting themselves that way to everyone. Basically they are hedging their bets. Unfortunately they lose out on the benefits they would have gotten from being explicit about their niche.

2. Write. That means everything from blogs to articles to white papers. Writing is the one of the best ways to showcase your expertise. I want to particularly emphasize long-form content. Short-form content like blogging is very useful for a lot of reasons including building your credibility and digital presence. The more you write, the more likely you are to show up in search results. However, for professional service firms, it’s great to use the blog post (and other content) as a way to lead people to more in-depth information like white papers and eBooks. Offering long-form content can be helpful in getting people to sign up for more information so you now have leads to nurture. –  It also really sets you apart because people recognize that it’s hard to write something long even if they don’t read it all. With that in mind, also don’t forget about publishing actual books. It’s a lot of work, but books still impress people and have tremendous marketing value.

3. Speak. You should look for opportunities with third party organizations, but also consider doing your own event or partnering with someone on an event. It can be a live event or webinar. Also take advantage of radio and video to provide your audience with helpful information in a verbal format. Video in particular is very helpful in getting attention and beneficial for search engine optimization.

4. Develop a specialized microsite. A microsite is an individual web page or group of pages that act as a separate entity for a brand. It can have its own domain or be a subdomain. The point is that it’s a distinct area where you can provide lots of information about your niche. You should include not just information about your background and services, but more importantly provide useful content and resources. There are big branding benefits as well as search engine advantages to creating such as website.

5. Prepare a research report. Conducting a survey or culling and analyzing information from multiple sources into a report can be an excellent marketing tool. You are providing original and useful information for your audience. In addition, it is something you can promote to the press to get additional exposure. If possible, look for opportunities to partner with industry groups or other experts to give you extra credibility.

6. Maximize social media. Use social media to promote your own niche content, but also seek out opportunities to share information from other relevant resources and influencers. Be very targeted in what you share and who you share it with. Make sure to comment on other people’s posts and ask questions to start discussions. It will give you more visibility and authority on a subject.

7. Find influencers and partners. Reach out to individuals and groups with established reputations related to your niche and help them spread their message. As you build credibility with them, opportunities may arise to work with them, or get them to share your work with their audience. With organizations, get involved in committees and look to take on a leadership position. It is a great way to stay informed on the issues and make key connections that you can leverage to build your reputation.

Use these tips to make your niche marketing more successful.

Looking for help with your marketing? Contact us for a consultation.

1. Stop using canned content. Too many professional service firms buy canned newsletters, blogs and other content to use for their marketing. Although some of the material may be well-written, it is always generic. You want content that is targeted to your clients’ problems and interests; provides your unique insights; and isn’t the same stuff that’s on a hundred other websites. If you need help, get a writer/editor to provide custom content.

2. Provide quality over quantity. It’s crucial to stay active and visible with your contacts through social media, email and other marketing channels. However, quality is a key component. When you share information, make sure it’s high-quality. We are all suffering from information overload. Don’t add to it with more junk.

3. Give free advice. Offer content that is genuinely practical and useful. It will help you build trust and credibility and establish strong relationships. Don’t be afraid of giving too much information away for free. Clients will still hire you because they don’t have the time or skill to do it themselves. Remember having a recipe doesn’t make you a chef.

4. Curate and comment on other people’s content. Writing original content isn’t always necessary. You can provide value by identifying and sharing good content written by others. You are still demonstrating your expertise and interest in helping others. However, when possible, add your own comment instead of just hitting a “like” or “share” button.

5. Use social media as a listening tool. Social media is a great way to learn more about your clients, prospects, industry and competitors. You can use it for research and to stay informed about their concerns and interests. This will help you better target your message and your audience. For those uncomfortable with sharing on social media, the best part is that you don’t have to say a word. Just listen.

6. Set up google alerts. These are a great, easy and free way to monitor what’s going on with particular individuals, companies, topics, etc. Just create a search and have results show up in your inbox daily.

7. Focus on a niche. You will stand out from the competition and get better quality leads if you develop a practice niche. Clients want specialists, not generalists. According to studies by Hinge Research Institute and CEG Worldwide, the top growth firms are those that focus their practice.

8. Use multiple marketing channels. You will get better results if you utilize several marketing channels. Email, website, blog, social media, print, advertising, public relations are all possibilities. You may not want to use all of them every time, but you should incorporate several into your regular marketing.

9. Start small and scale up. Too many marketing initiatives fail because firms were overly ambitious, couldn’t put together the appropriate resources and then gave up. Begin with one project and be conservative in establishing deadlines and goals. You’re more likely to be successful if you gradually build up your marketing.

10. Develop a written marketing plan and budget. Write down what you are going to do, who you are going to target and what you want to achieve. Then set aside time and money to make sure it gets done. Be specific and consider every task, who will do it and what the real cost is to your budget. Remember time is money.

We hope these tips will help you succeed with your marketing in 2017.

Need help with your marketing? Contact us for a free consultation.

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!

Everyone wants tips to help market themselves. We’re all hoping to hear the one thing that we can do to magically bring in business. Unfortunately there is no one thing, but there are lots of little things that can help. I work a lot with lawyers and was recently on a radio show to talk about Marketing Tips for Attorneys. To prepare, the host, Ken Landau, asked me to come in with 30 tips. I’m not sure how many we actually got to, but here’s a sampling to get you started whether you are a lawyer or other kind of professional:

1. Have a strong LinkedIn profile. When someone googles your name, your LinkedIn bio is usually one of the top results. What do you want people to see there? It’s your opportunity to impress them and stand out from the competition. Don’t waste it. And don’t rely on people going to your website to read your bio there. Some may only look at your LinkedIn profile.

2. Share content regularly on social media– both your content and other people’s. Social media is like networking. You have to be out there consistently, get involved, follow up with people you meet and stay in touch. Every time you share something on social media your network will see it. Post your own stuff, but also like and comment on other people’s posts, ask questions, and start a discussion. It will build your credibility and a lot of people will reciprocate, which will expand your reach to everyone in their network. And remember to join and share posts within groups. That gets you in front of members of the group even if they aren’t part of your direct network.

3. Focus on a niche. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. Focus on a specific area, type of client, business model, etc. It’s better to focus limited marketing resources on a niche area rather than spreading them all over multiple areas. Ultimately it will bring you better leads and more money. (Check out Inc.’s, How to Narrow your Target Market for more tips.)

4. Position yourself as an expert. This goes along with focusing on a niche. Identify a topic, issue, specialty, etc. where you have experience and you can speak with authority. Get known for that by speaking and writing about that area consistently. Make sure your marketing message highlights that expertise. Again focusing on a narrow area brings better results than saying that you can help anyone with any problem.

5. Blog regularly. In determining how to rank a website, search engines look for sites with high-quality relevant information. They also look for websites that are updated frequently and have lots of pages. Blogging helps with all of these. It boosts a firm’s organic search results when prospects are searching online. And it also makes firms more credible (because they have lots of great content) for prospects who are now on the website and evaluating their services.

6. Involve employees. A recurring problem professionals have is coming up with good topics to write and speak about. Employees can help you create content that is interesting to your readers since they are often dealing with day to day issues with your clients. You want your blog posts, newsletters, presentations, etc. to address the real questions that your prospects have about their problems. Employees can also help promote your content by sharing it via their own social media channels.

7. Seek out relationships with other experts, organizations, and media. Get to know others who speak to the same market you are targeting and are well-known. They can help you build your own credibility and spread your message. But remember you have to help them first.

8. Have a marketing plan. Random acts of marketing are not effective. Create a written plan outlining who you want to specifically target with your marketing and how you’re going to do it. Then make sure you allocate resources (time and money) to getting it done.

For more tips, listen to the radio program.