Blog No. 1 – Being relatable in a digital world

We all know that there is no point having a following unless they are engaged with your content right.  If you have 15K followers and crickets when you post then you are not engaging with your market.  Although it is great to have that number of people that follow you increase as every follower is a potential client for your business, it ain’t all about that number.  Especially while you are growing your following if you can have the people that currently follow you loving your content this will translate into quality clients, provided you are reaching your ideal client market. 
What most people want to know is that the person they are buying from or engaging in a service understand them, because if you understand them then you will be able to help them with your offering.  What you offer should move them either away from pain (outsourcing a cleaner for example) and towards pleasure (replacing those hours cleaning with a well earn girls lunch).
So what you need to be able to do is relate to your ideal client.  (If you want some hints and tips of how to profile your ideal client subscribe to our list and get our Free Profiling Tool with Content Planner and Post Ideas FREE)
The question most people ask is how the heck do I go from a business owner who specialises in, for eg. Making hand made baby toys, to being someone who is an authority and relatable social media personality to my followers?
For some of you this will be easy, alot of people start a business because their ideal client is themselves.  I started my own Network Marketing business almost 2 years ago and I built a successful, growing and engaging brand The Mummy Lifestyle Co so I could connect with people just like me.  Mums who were sick of missing out on their kids and wanted to be home more.  So in that scenario I asked myself what appealed to me.  Well I was a mum, I love my kids, but they drive me bonkers, I have a sense of humour and love to laugh at the funny side of parenting.  I also love to be active, promote healthy living cultures in my children.  Plus I love nothing more than sitting back with a wine, laughing with my girlfriends and chewing the fat about all things motherhood. 

This might not appeal to everyone but it would appeal to the type of people that were like me and would be drawn to my story and what my business could offer.  To date some of my best engagement has come from posts that are memes about motherhood, mums that drink wine and show the humorous side of the best and most challenging job we will ever have – parenting.
For others perhaps your ideal client isn’t you, perhaps you work in a service based industry like Travel where you main client is a young 20 something that wants to live in overseas in a swag for 12 months and you are in your mid 30’s with a family.  This is where Customer Profiling comes in, really sitting down and mapping out what motivates, interests, inspires and makes your ideal client laugh.  Then you can find content that is based around interaction and being relatable to that person so you can post this your socials.
Now if your that Travel Agent I don’t mean post your Early Bird flight special to Indonesia in 10 different images, that is a sales pitch!  I mean things like funny quotes about travelling, great luggage ideas, tips of compact items you can take while backpacking, 20 top places to stay in Bali.  Recommend other businesses that are aligned to your niche and compliment your business, in this example a blog with links to great hotels would be an option.  If you have real, unique and engaging content that keeps you different to the rest, then when you show your sales pitch your followers will be basically ready to sign on the dotted line.
Because they love YOU!
How many times have you said, ‘I go to this restaurant, the prices are a bit higher but the service is great and they make a killer steak’ or ‘I will drive to that bakery which is out of my way cause they make the best wheat free bread that I love’.  If you create a relationship, add value and are someone that people can relate to when you have a deal or product that meets their needs you hardly have to ‘sell’ anything.
Most of all remember that a social media a platform it is not the only part of your sales funnel.  It is little place you can hang out and connect with people in your market but it is not the entire process.  Adding in something like little thank you messages, emails or gifts are great, as is getting people of social media to connect with you either through an email list or my favourite phone, video chat or in person.  Never forget the personal touch relationships don’t start and end with social media.  But it can be an amazing platform to grow an engaged group of people who will become clients if you engage them effectively.
Until next time, 
Stay classy social people.
Stace x