How to incorporate people into your marketing

Hi All,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. In contrast to last month, the sun is shining, and the end of term is speeding towards me - which means at least 52 extra dates to squeeze into the diary.

This is issue number 25 of social for growth, which feels a bit like a milestone - so if you are still reading, thank you, and if you are new to subscribing, I hope you enjoy it.

This month, I'm sharing:

• The importance of incorporating people into your marketing.
• How you can start imcorporating your people into your marketing
• A few tips from my live with Felice Ayling MCIM to help you feel more confident in marketing yourself.

Why include people in your marketing?

'People aren't interested in our people; they are interested in the services we offer and the products we sell' - is still a common misconception that a lot of businesses hold.

In today's world, we are all suffering from information overload - there are a lot of messages to consume, content to read and videos to watch!! In short, there is a lot of content out there, and we are all competing for space.?

Let's face it: if you are an accountant, coach, copywriter, or IT consultant (the list goes on), there probably isn't much difference in your business on the surface to the firm down the road, and people won't understand those differences unless they choose to get to know you and engage with you.

The best way to do that is to create an emotional connection—posting a photo of the office dog might do this. However, as research shows, the best way to do this is to incorporate people into your marketing—this will boost engagement, create conversations, and, over time, help people understand that you are their people, the ones who can help them and that they need to work with.?

BUT, here's the problem: you, your team and probably your clients don't really want to be the face of the business. It feels uncomfortable and unnatural, and you have no idea what you would say. Plus, you're focused on solutions, not 'showing off' or sharing experiences.

However, social media posts that include real people achieve an average of 40% more interaction. Websites that feature real people on their homepage see an increased conversion of 95% (according to research by VWO).

And let's face people drive conversations and create emotional connections.

How do I incorporate people into my marketing?

Personal branding and employee branding are buzzwords that are thrown around a lot! The reality is we all have a personal brand - it's simply how people would describe you when you are not in the room. In a work context, it's your professional reputation, and it's not all about being fake and perfectly polished.

Depending on how many hats you wear, you might even have more than one 'brand you'? . (Me) Mel - the marketer, has the same values when it comes to my business, family and friends; however, how people would describe me probably differs depending on which group of people you are talking to.

Your team might not be ready to go all out on the personal branding (although you would be surprised how amenable people are once they understand how it can benefit them)?

But there are still? plenty of ways you can start to incorporate people into your marketing, create that emotional connection and give things a personal touch:

??Have an about page or team page on your website: Lots of people don't!!. Make sure you include images that actually reflect the people you are. Don't just show your senior leadership team—especially if they are not the ones dealing with the clients from the outset.

??Use images of real people on other areas of your website: Whether you are selling shoes or IT solutions, you are still selling to human beings. Including faces and high-quality images builds the human connection and makes people far more likely to feel connected to your business. Increasing website dwell time and the likelihood of them getting in contact. Having professional photos that reflect your business and tell your story will increase engagement and make your team feel happier about sharing the content.

??Incorporate your team, members, customers, and suppliers into your social media content: You can share behind-the-scenes photos, put a team member or customer spotlight on them, or simply thank a supplier. You might even be able to share a photo from a client meeting - if you ask nicely. More often than not, people are happy to be featured - it promotes their business as well.

??Leverage your networking efforts: If you or any of your team members regularly attend events, encourage them to share them on their own social media. Great for employee advocacy - as they are representing you. It is also a chance to highlight the people they met and remind those who attended the event about your business and what you stand for.

??Sending out regular emails to your clients? Get your people involved. If you have a regular newsletter or welcome sequence, you can use it to showcase your people by including them in the content. Spotlights about achievement or behind-the-scenes information will boost your open and click-through rate.

??Spotlight your clients' businesses: If you have clients you love working with - feature them in your marketing. It can be as simple as a customer testimonial or a case study. Or, if they are happy to get involved, a video testimonial or a simple post highlighting why you love working together will strengthen your audience's understanding of how you work and demonstrate that you share their values.

??Incorporate Video: Video can instil fear into even the most confident of us, but done correctly, it will increase engagement with your audience and build rapport with them far quicker than static posts can. Coffee chats, webinars, and conversations between team members demonstrate that you work collaboratively and can remove some of the ick factor.

??Collaborate with others: Finding complementary businesses or individuals to work with will help you get in front of a new audience and increase your reach on posts.?

??Encourage your employees to advocate for you: Including your team in your marketing is all very well, but encouraging them to share and engage with your content will build your network and help them improve their conversations with suppliers, clients and prospects.?

??Invest in social media training for your team: Leadership teams and salespeople who regularly use and share content on social media (particularly LinkedIn) see an average of 120% better ROI as they understand how to use the platform to their advantage and how to create and share content that builds their professional reputation and benefits them personally.?

If you would like to learn more about my practical social media training for you and your team, do send me a DM or email me at melanie@thesussexsocial,co.uk, and we can discuss developing a bespoke training programme for you and your team.

How to feel more confident in your marketing

Last week, I had the pleasure of being joined by Felice Ayling MCIM for a LinkedIn live on how to be more confident in your marketing. You can watch the replay by clicking this link.

But, if you are more of a reader, here are our top takeouts.?

1) Confidence is a learnt skill: It isn't necessarily natural, and it doesn't mean being loud and brash - it's about a belief in your ability, which can take work.?

2) Don't get sucked into the noise on social media - remember you bring, and that's your superpower. There is space for everyone.

3) Find your people and seek support from others around you.

4) Put yourself out there - your content doesn't last forever, and what's the worst that can happen?

5) The right people in your audience are more important than thousands of followers and loads of comments- focusing on quality will help you feel more confident.

6) The more you do something, the easier it becomes, so just post it.?

7) Remember why you started. Being confident in your marketing will help you find people’s values align with. It will make such a difference to your business.

Shout outs this month

I've not had as many one-to-ones or done as much networking as I would have liked this month, but special mentions to:

Jodie Newman for helping me to unpick my core message and put it back together again!! More on that soon.

Rachael Bosanquet Super-efficient, also super helpful and a lot of fun for a co-work day.

Louise Winters An awesome lady helping us all to banish the shoulds. I would highly recommend a one-to-one with her!

About Me...

I'm Mel - your Digital Marketing partner helping your business to stand out and using your marketing to build real relationships you can take off line. I have been described as the perfect blend of creative and analytical.

I am passionate about helping you develop and implement practical and manageable strategies that fit with your business objectives and the time, money and resources you have available.

I do this through a combination of training, consultancy and project based work that helps you develop the strategy, plan and skills you need to move forward.

I have some availability from September to take on new clients so do give me a call or 07811324032 or send me an email if you would like to find out more about working together.