July 2, 2020

By Lori Dolnick

I’ll tell you the biggest secret of marketing on every platform. And I’ll prove it works with one proven tip we’ve tested for our clients on every platform you target.

The biggest issue facing companies and brands everywhere is the loss of trust. Consumers do not trust authority, and they do not trust marketing. According to a recent Edelman study, 50 percent of consumers do not trust businesses. And according to Social Media Examiner, brands have seen a decline of more than 65 percent in organic reach – or the number of people who see your content without paid distribution. That’s two out of three marketers seeing declines in organic reach across all industries. This has led to brands advertising more on social media to get more organic reach, clicks and conversions, and that has increased the cost of that same advertising. The bottom line is that lack of trust is costing us a lot of money.

What can you do to help your design business increase organic reach and rebuild trust with your target audiences? You have to start thinking like your customer. What’s important to your customer? Themselves. Before you post, think about what they are doing, how they are thinking, and make it all about them and not about you. Today’s algorithms reward relevant content. It’s not about tricking the system. It’s about delivering relevancy.

Instagram

In an Instagram story, find your customer’s pain point or what problem they are looking to solve. Instead of saying, “Just finished this beautiful project,” try “This new kitchen has so much more hidden storage.” And look for engagement by using questions and polls in stories. Don’t wait for engagement – ask for it.

Facebook

Facebook still offers great opportunities for storytelling and expanding reach. Whenever you have an event (even virtual ones) – hit record – and share them on Facebook later as a video event. A small promotion can also expand that audience, so a small CEU that may have had 40 attendees now has an audience on Facebook of literally thousands. These kinds of videos do well because you are solving that pain point among your customers. They are afraid of missing out, and you are looping them in. And you are leveraging your investment in a person-to-person or online event by expanding your reach.

YouTube

“How-to” is one of the most used terms on YouTube, and YouTube is the second-largest search engine on the planet. Instead of creating typical product-centric videos that give all the features and benefits of the product with pretty images and video, why not repurpose that content under a “how-to” umbrella? Take the benefit – instead of the feature – of your new launch and lead with that. Label the video as “How-to,” and get the “XYZ benefit” instead of “The XYZ product.” These videos have not only done extremely well for our clients on YouTube but also in Facebook advertising. Why? Because they are highly relevant to the user!

LinkedIn

Why are people on LinkedIn? They want to find jobs or clients. And people on LinkedIn are generally educated and wealthy – so it is also a great place to target when you consider how to make it about them and not you.

What do you have for them? Talk about your people. Interviewing and capturing video of employees creates an authenticity and reality about the company that builds trust – not only with consumers but also job seekers.

When you are posting about an achievement or a conference your people are attending, turn around the post so it’s less bragging and more about the end user. “We’re getting smarter about XYZ so we can help with your XYZ,” instead of, “I just went to XYZ conference today. Can’t wait to learn more.” Think about your client’s pain points and how whatever it is you are posting about is moving toward solving those pain points.

Pinterest

Pinterest is also a search engine. One thing many social managers overlook is the value of keywords in this space. Think of Pinterest as a way consumers and designers are searching for ideas. How do your images serve those searches? Instead of creating boards about your new products, find key search terms that fit your products and pin about that. What is the design trend or the niche your products serve? That is how your pin needs to be found. Your boards and pins must reflect that. And if you advertise, Pinterest will tell you what people are searching for by suggesting the relevant keywords surrounding your pin.

Want more trust-building, cost-saving tips – find us on www.frankadvertisingus.com or email ldolnick@frankadvertisingus.com.