This is something I see all the time when working with clients on their social media marketing. People just cringe at the thought of marketing themselves or their businesses. I totally get it. I was in sales for YEARS before I launched my digital marketing business. And the tactics I was taught to use felt sneaky and skeevy. I felt like I was using some kind of underhanded trickery to get me in the door.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. It doesn’t have to make you feel dirty.
Let me ask you this? Do you believe that your product or service is truly helpful to your customers? Do you believe that what you have to offer will make their life better in some way? If the answer is yes, keep reading. We can work with that. (If the answer is no, just leave now! I don’t want to work with you.)
So let’s talk about how to authentically promote yourself on social media….
Let's dive into the Psychology...
Let me take a second and play pretend psychologist for you. I want you to close your eyes and imagine you’ve created a social media post promoting your business. You are about to press “post”. What feelings come up? What is holding you back? Are you afraid? When you imagine a potential customer seeing that post, how do you think that they will perceive you? I find it helpful to write down what you feel, but even if you don’t, be sure you can clearly define the sensation you experience.
Below I have listed the three most common fears that hold my clients back when they think about promoting themselves or their businesses online and how to address them.
Fear of Annoying or Bothering
This is by far one of the most common fears I address. People have ad overload these days and they are genuinely tired of seeing advertisements in their feed. I get it. I don’t want to see “ads” either. If you struggle with this fear of annoying your potential customers, pivot your message to be helpful. I’ve found that customers respond much better when you show them how you can help them by actually helping them. Of course, you aren’t giving away the product or service, but think about the specific questions your customers might have about the products or services you offer and then answer those in your posts. This type of “marketing” helps the customer to see you as an expert, and builds the kind of relationship that will make them comfortable spending money for your offerings.
Fear of Being "Pushy"
We see this one a lot in female business owners. From a young age, girls are often taught that we are not supposed to demand what we want or make someone uncomfortable by being too “assertive”. While this particular ball of yarn could warrant it’s own blog post, let’s just address how you can overcome it quickly in your marketing.
If you feel like promoting your business is going to come off as pushy, or overly assertive, consider making an “offer” to your client. A taster offering, like a free trial or a helpful guide can help introduce your customers to what you have to sell them, without coming off as demanding. Your customers can take it or leave it. Either way, you look generous and not pushy.
Fear of Appearing Skeezy
I call this one the “used car salesman” fear. And it takes a little more unpacking. The main way to address this fear is to really reevaluate the value of your offering. You kept reading this article, so I know that you believe that you have something great to offer your customers. You need to go back to that. Spend time imagining your customers enjoying your products or being helped by your services. It may be time to reach out to some of your past clients and ask for a testimonial or review. See what they love about your business and really feel into that. If you ever feel like you are trying to “trick” someone into buying from you, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING and go back to the drawing board. Not only will this kind of marketing seriously damage your reputation, in my experience, its just soul killing. It takes the joy out of the work and will shorten your career significantly.
To overcome the fear of coming off as a used car salesman, keep the value of your product in mind. Share your passion for your offering in the front of your mind and remember that awesome feeling of really making someone’s life better.
Bonus Tips:
Keep your business and your personal profiles separate on social media.
It is fairly simple to set up business profiles for Facebook, Instagram or any other social media outlet. When you do this, you can invite all of your friends to follow your business page. Then if they do, they will have “opted in” to learning about your business, and you won’t have to worry about cluttering up your friends news feeds with information about your business if they aren’t interested in buying from you.Get clear on your brand personality.
Your business has a personality that may or may not reflect your own. Do you want to inspire people with your brand? Perhaps your company is luxurious and fashionable or funny and approachable. Keep these things in mind when creating content for your business.Know who you are talking to.
I learned this one from the incredible marketing guru Marie Forleo. (If you are at all interested in marketing theory, check her out.)
The most important thing to remember when you are promoting your business on social media: KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO. Imagine the one person that will get the very most out of your product or service and speak to them directly. It is as if you are having a private conversation about how you can help. Sure, other people might eavesdrop and get interested, but your job is to attract the customers that will benefit the most from what you have to offer, and the rest will fall into place.
Wanna Hash It Out With Me?
I am always happy to talk digital marketing theory with anyone who is interested, even if you never hire me to work with you. REALLY! I just enjoy it. Leave me your email address and we can set up a time to talk shop and hash it out to make you a better marketer today!
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