Marketing has changed. There has been a shift in the industry and what you think you may know, probably isn’t accurate anymore. It's not just about business, anymore. It's personal!
People expect to receive a personalized experience from the beginning to the end. It’s not business to human anymore, people want a human touch to everything, and they expect to talk to a real person when asking questions or if they have an issue. To win over your audience you need to have a smooth experience. Marketing is no longer just about getting people to begin the process of buying, it’s now a full sales process. The old way is blasting out emails and hoping a couple people buy. Now, you’re targeting specific people and leading them through the whole process.
It’s all about personally influencing decisions.
One of the best examples of this is mommy bloggers. When mothers began to write about their experience, moms flocked to read about what other products moms used. This is because moms trust other moms! So, when a mom recommends a product that she has had a good experience with, other moms also trust the product. These mommy bloggers became influencers. Word of mouth is now world of mouth!
You want the same thing for your business. You want to connect with and influence your audience. Influencers are so important in this day and age. According to Forbes, 92 percent of consumers turn to people they know for referrals above any other source. Not only that, if you have an influencer sharing your content, you can end up with anywhere from a 3 to 10-times increase in conversion rates.
Oftentimes, these influencers are women, just like the mommy bloggers. Women are more likely to try new products and recommend them to their friends and family. And, 20 percent of women will consider purchasing products supported by influencers. So, if you can either become or find an influencer who can share your product or service. Influencers can turn into brand evangelists: 77 percent consumers are more likely to buy from their endorsers.
A major part of being personal is having authenticity. You have to be genuine! This means being conversational and transparent with your audience. And, no longer should you just be blaring a message for anyone to hear, you want to find the people who are already interested in what you have to offer. Make buyer personas or representations of who your ideal client would be. Then find those people and target them. You can also support other businesses and find people that way.
That’s how you get them to pay attention. Find out who is your ideal customer and then be present where they are hanging out online.
If you’re targeting millennials or baby boomers this is crucial. Millennials rank word-of-mouth as the number one influencer in their purchasing decisions. This includes every category, including clothes, packaged goods, big-ticket items like travel and electronics, and financial products. Baby Boomers also ranked word-of-mouth as being most influential in their purchasing decisions about big-ticket items and financial products, according to Radius Global.
All of these things mean you need to change how you will be marketing online. To be authentic and genuine, you need to be raw, in the moment, and as you are. People want to know you. Facebook has recently added the ability to live broadcast. Use it! Before people used to script every video, but that no longer works. To be engaging you have to be the real you.
If you’re having trouble with this you can always watch what bigger brands and individuals are doing. They are usually early adopters and you can use what the are doing to stay ahead of the curve.
If you want to hear the conversation and learn more tips and tricks, replay it here. Join us next week on Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST on #MagnetMarketers for our next session.
Comments