Promoting yourself and your business is an important part of your marketing plan. There are many ways to do this by using through advertising and social media campaigns. Some will cost money, others will cost your time. But not all will work or be effective.
Getting your message to the masses can be a tricky business. Not all marketing methods work for all industries. Should I advertise on the radio? Should I buy Facebook ads? One of the first things to consider is which road to take.
In my book I discuss marketing and making a game plan. The first thing I suggest is looking at what others in your industry are doing. Yellow Pages works for attorneys and it is obvious from the huge number of large display ads in their books. On the other hand, Yellow Pages probably don't work as much for a business consultant, which is apparent by the lack of ads.
Trust me when I say that at least one person in every industry has tried a different form of advertising and messaging at least once. If you see car dealers screaming in TV ads, it's because it works for them. If you don't see anyone from your industry advertising on TV, it's probably because it didn't work. Let others do the experimenting with their money. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.
With that in mind, social media is a relatively new way to get your name out there to the public. Maneuvering through literally millions of Twitter feeds and Instagram posts to get attention can be tough, especially if you don't already have a following. Again, see what is working for others in your particular industry.
Keep in mind that social media can be cheap, or even free, if all you want to do is set up a page for your business on Facebook or LinkedIn. It can also be expensive if you buy or "promote" your posts. Keeping track of your return on investment (ROI) can be difficult. The best and most important question you can ask a new prospect is "How did you hear about me?"
More important than all of this is how you market yourself. When people hear your name, what do they think of? Are you professional and courteous? Do you return phone calls promptly? Or are you considered lazy and dishonest? These are questions you should ask your very honest friends. You may not like the answers but you can always take the advice to heart.
One of the ways I've started promoting myself, my business and my book, is to get booked on podcasts. It doesn't costs anything* but some of my time, and it gets my message out there to a whole new audience that otherwise wouldn't know anything about me. Podcasts give you a forum to speak and explain what you do, why you do it and why it's beneficial for your customers.
I recently was a guest on the CEO Podcast, hosted by Gresham Harkless Jr. He did a great job of keeping the conversation going and was very professional. Have a listen here.
If you are in sales, a business owner or otherwise self-employed, you already know that marketing yourself and keeping your name "top of mind" can take up a lot of your time. Do your best to be as efficient as possible when messaging. If you have other suggestions, leave them in the comments section and in the meantime, stay healthy!
*There are a handful of podcasts out there that try to sneak in a fee. One recently tried to charge me $100 and I politely declined. For all I know, they may have 10 listeners.
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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