An article I wrote for Badassery Magazine that was recently published https://badasserymag.com/trust-marketing/
I have seen the power of using technology, namely social media, to break down barriers and build businesses. Working in the mind, body spirit, industry as a consultant and coach, helping and supporting amazing authors, experts and practitioners build their presence, connections and business via social media.
So what!? Me and every other social media “expert” right?!
Except that I threw the digital marketing rule book away!
This goes for many sectors, not just the self-development scene, as I saw this during my career in the music industry and broadcast industry that it is your vibe, your energy that attracts your tribe, your audience, your community, your collaborators, your clients and your customers… Be it a radio DJ, a brand, an author or a service provider.
Which means how you show up across all aspects of your business is equally as important — be it your social media content, your ad marketing, your PR, your website or in person… Be it with clients, colleagues or friends.
It is all one and the same. You are the consistent part to all of it.
And TRUST is huge.
Would you continue to buy from or work with someone who says one thing in their marketing, PR and online content yet act differently at their workshops, online seminars or if you meet them in person?
You wouldn’t because you wouldn’t trust them as much.
And you should never underestimate the power of word of mouth.
Leonie Dawson is an International best-selling author + artist and serial entrepreneur of 7 figure companies who attended a Gary Vee (Vaynerchuck) event in Australia recently. The marketing for the event very much promoted Gary as the keynote speaker that seemed would be teaching for the majority of the day, as it was hooked around him as the event. Gary also presents himself on social media as being one of the good guys with a wealth of information to share in order to help people with their businesses. Despite looking forward to learning from him, on the day Gary did just a 40-minute talk, mainly of self-promotion, at the very of the day after other ‘guest’ speakers NLP’d the audience into buying their products during what was not a conference but instead a massive pitch fest. So, she wrote an article about it that went viral > The Horror Pitchfest: An Honest Review of Gary Vaynerchuk, Success Squared and Success Resources Australia https://leoniedawson.com/the-horror-pitchfest-an-honest-review-of-gary-vaynerchuk-success-squared-and-success-resources-australia/
Reading the comments on this article on Facebook, this is not the first time that people have experienced this at one of Gary’s events.
What is the result of this?
A loss of TRUST with a LOT of people.
I have been talking a lot about having a strategy of Trust as one of the cornerstones of my marketing and PR recently.
This means not being seduced into doing magazine articles or interviews that are not in total alignment with what I am here to share just in order to get coverage. I mean it’s tempting… But ultimately it wouldn’t feel right to me or attract the right people to my work. Plus, my community would spot it a mile off and would then have (the right) to question me.
It means not using tried and tested digital marketing techniques that drive clicks and sales, like countdown clocks or “urgency” marketing.
I have an inner unicorn question for this…
In a world where authenticity and vulnerability have become marketing and sales techniques — how do we stay authentic and true to ourselves and our communities in an in-authentic world?
How do I build trust?
How do I help my clients build trust?
Consistency. Consistency in message. Consistency in vibe.
Consistency across all social media, marketing, PR and sales.
And it’s not always easy. Clients often come to me asking for help with consistency as it is an area a lot of people struggle with. But it is an important part for your business and your social media practice, as it supports you in building relationships and engagement over time.
Without consistency, you won’t earn that trust in the same way.
Consistency with your branding, your message, your tone, your mission, your authenticity.
How you speak to people online and offline, be it in a Facebook Live or a face to face conversation.
The good news is — and this is where I throw out the rule book…
Consistency does NOT mean posting everyday anymore or 5 times a day (thank goodness)
Consistency does not mean never taking time off from social media or marketing.
And bear this in mind… Being consistent can also go the other way. If someone is overly consistent — or a bit eager, posting too often, that too can turn some of your audience off you.
We are all different and one size does not fit all, especially when it comes to social media, which like us is personal subjective and unique.
Getting into your own balance with consistency and trusting, knowing and most importantly not taking it personally, allowing the truth that we are not for everyone in every moment, also gets our heads around our own consistency, confidence and flow.
Personal, subjective and unique.
What is it you want to create and share with people online?
What could you create to build trust?
Are you good on video for example? People like to see the face behind the business, they like to see your energy, it makes them feel good and in turn inspires them to become part of your tribe.
Or perhaps you love to write and would be better suited to building a tribe of loyal followers who enjoy your words and wisdom in that format.
Everyone’s content and consistency will be different.
Personal, subjective and unique.
And last, but not least, another block to building consistency is our addiction to the numbers. People have thought, assumed and presumed for a long time that big numbers equal / build trust. But the times are changing on this one. Many of us now know that people can and do buy followers for social media accounts.
And that in the long run it means diddly squat.
“Being famous on Instagram is basically like being rich in monopoly.” (anon)
Growing a platform and follower numbers has been and still is a big focus for many people. The good news is we are starting to see the cracks in this appearing thanks to algorithms, GDPR and second/third party data just not cutting the mustard.
People come to me with their spreadsheets (and expectations) tracking followers they gain and lose on a weekly basis, measuring success and worth on that alone. This includes comparing themselves to other people’s follower numbers and feeling they are failing because they ‘should’ have x number of followers because a competitor does.
First, we don’t know how they achieved that number of followers — follow bots, click farms, influencer friends and big budgets are just some of the factors that can help create follower numbers.
I would love to change this — if people shifted their thinking to valuing their worth based on the quality of connection, conversations and TRUST they have built with their clients, audience and community over the measurement of ‘numbers’ we would see a huge change in the way we market ourselves.
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