Marketing A Service Based Business & Finding Clients
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The document provides strategies for marketing a service-based business, emphasizing the importance of a clear message and effective online presence through tools like blogging, social media, and networking. It encourages entrepreneurs to engage with their target market and establish trust by providing valuable content and interactions. Key platforms for marketing include Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, along with the importance of public speaking and collaboration with peers for increased visibility and credibility.
Marketing A Service Based Business & Finding Clients
- 1. Marketing Your Service-Based Business & Finding ClientsErin Blaskiewww.erinblaskie.com@ErinBlaskie (Twitter)
- 2. A Little About MeLaunched my virtual assistance firm, BSETC (www.bsetc.com) in 2004Have serviced over 300 entrepreneurs around the globe with their online businessCurrently have a team of nineteen service professionals
- 3. A Little About YouEntrepreneur looking for clients.Entrepreneur looking for increased visibility.Entrepreneur unsure about where to start when it comes to marketing their business.Entrepreneur looking to sell products.
- 4. Marketing Starts With a MessageBe really clear about your goals.Your goals will begin to paint the picture of what you need to do, where you need to start and what you need to achieve.Be really clear about your message.Make sure that your message clearly states what you do and what you’re about.Make sure it is consistent throughout your websites, blog, social media, branding and anywhere else you “play” online.
- 5. What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.-- David Ogilvy
- 6. Telling You About Me is Just One SideThink about the conversation you are having with your target market:How can they get to know you?Where do you engage most with your tribe?How transparent are you in your activities?What sort of tools are you utilizing in your biz to help spread that message?
- 7. Why Effective Marketing MattersShortens the “know, like and trust” timelinePeople buy from people, not businessesYour target market has to know you to be able to like and trust youSpread your message and solidify your brand out in your industry
- 8. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- 9. What Does Marketing Today Look Like?BloggingSocial mediaSpeaking engagementsMedia (traditional or new)Connecting with your peers / industryMarketing (offline and online)
- 10. BloggingCreate a blog that showcases your expertise and offers interactivityCreate interesting, compelling and engaging blog posts by asking questions and encouraging commentsCarve out a niche topic area where you can really showcase your expertiseSpread the word about every blog post
- 11. Quick Blogging TipsWith your blog, you can:Add articles you’ve written, or others have written, with relevant content to help build up a good resource for search engines.You can post your upcoming events or, events and promotions for your clients.Post videos to the blog as entries.Post your audio recordings.Use Posterous.com to post articles and resources from other sites around the web.
- 12. Social MediaFocus on the primary threeFacebook, Twitter and LinkedInCreate accounts in your name and your company nameUse Tools to Keep Responsiveness High But Not DistractingReach Out to People You Don’t Know
- 13. Twitter, Twitter, Twitter <3Twitter can be an excellent source of leads!Use websites like WeFollow.com and Twellow.com to do searches for Twitterers.You can search on location, keyword and a myriad of other search terms.If you are looking for something specific like “real estate agents”, look up the associations on Twitter and see who is following them. You can then choose who to follow from that list.Once you are following them, reach out but NOT only about what YOU do to make money. Have conversations and build connections.
- 14. The Power of FacebookFacebook is second in my book to Twitter but it is still a very important tool to be using.Facebook’s power lies in its groups, fan pages and search functionality.Micro-communities exist within Facebook that you can become a part of and attract new business.The same rules apply here – take the passive marketing approach as opposed to the more aggressive approach.
- 15. Facebook GroupsWith Facebook groups, you want to seek out the people who would hire you for work.Look for groups with names that resonate with who you are seeking out.Answer questions.Provide helpful links, resources or links to your blog posts.Don’t join every group on Facebook. Join a few key groups and really maximize your relationships there.
- 16. Facebook Fan PagesMake sure to create a Facebook fan page for your business.Showcase your expertise and bring in your blog feed, if you have one.Post often to the wall to keep people up to date with what you are doing but keep it business related.If you attend events, upload photos / video and post those to the wall and tag people you’ve met in them.Add a Facebook fan page widget to your website.
- 17. Love for LinkedInSetup your profile and make sure it’s as complete as possible.Frequent the LinkedIn Answers section and provide answers to questions that you can and do so often.Make connections via importing your email addresses / account and add the info to your website.
- 18. Real-Time SolutionsProvide real-time solutions to peopleOne of the things I’m seeing more and more often on Twitter is random project opps. For example, when I need something and don’t have that person on my team, I reach out to Twitter and ask for quick replies.Answer questions and create real results. A tip: use your blog! When someone asks a question, post the reply to your blog and then link the blog to them. Even better if you have a website that has the blog integrated.
- 19. Today, marketing is about engaging with the tribe and delivering products and services with stories that spread.-- Seth Godin, “Tribes”
- 20. Speaking EngagementsReach out to people hosting teleseminars, webinars and live events to ask to speakSpeaking publicly raises your industry’s awareness about who you areSpeaking publicly lends you credibility and showcases you as an expertVirtual events allow you to reach out without traveling to live events
- 21. Media (Traditional / New)Internet RadioGuest speak on someone else’s radio programCreate your own online program at Blog Talk RadioOnline VideoRecord videos for use on your websites, social media sites and YouTubeDo live, streaming video using Ustream or Justin.tv
- 22. Connecting With Your PeersOutreach for Joint Venture PartnersFind people doing something complimentary to what you do and pair up with them to offer solutionsJoint venture partners can also become valued affiliates for your business and vice versa
- 23. General Marketing TipsOne-to-Many ApproachYour opinions, advice, answers and solutions should service many people – not a single clientReach out daily to people through social networks, e-mail and your blogProvide tons of free content to attract in more people who think like you doReward the people who are consistent, reliable members of your tribe
- 24. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they don’t find them, they create them.-- George Bernard ShawQuoted from John Naisbitt’s “Mind Set!”
- 25. Engage With Me So That I May Engage With You@ErinBlaskie on Twitterwww.erinblaskie.com and www.bsetc.comerin@erinblaskie.com
- 26. If you are not moving closer to what you want in sales (or in life), you probably aren't doing enough asking.-- Jack Canfield