I can’t tell you how many people ask me – how do I find my message?
While to some it might be easy to explain what their message, many (many) business owners struggle with this and are confused when it comes to their marketing message.
When I ask business owners what they think it is, they tell me all manner of things … your slogan, vision statement, target market and audience, how you help people and some just look at me expressionless … and often say, I have no idea.
That’s why I decided to write a post about it.
And you know what? It’s totally OK not to know. There’s a lot to know when it comes to business and marketing, and no says you need to know everything, as long as you are pursuing your own learning and development as a business owner you’ll always be a step ahead.
So let’s break it down and I’ll give you a framework to help you hone in on your message. Once you have it you can use it everywhere.
First though, there’s a massive mistake business owners make when it comes to their message.
They make it is about them and not about their target audience.
Everything you do with your content needs to come from a place “how will it help” … you’ll have heard the term “what’s in it for me” – as in, your audience.
So when it comes to your business and the products and services you have, what’s in it for your potential clients?
They really don’t want to know anything else from you.
Once you know this, you’ve already won half the battle.
OK, so here is a framework that will help you when it comes to your message (or messages).
- Know your target market
Know who they are and be able to explain that to anyone who asks… for example, “small business owners with a team of 5 or less who earn $250,000 a year while working from home.”
- What are their problems?
What is your target market having trouble with? Is it systems and processes? Business development and growth? Scaling? Content marketing? Team nurturing … primarily this will be an area you can help them with.
So your target market might be trying to reach their first million-dollar milestone, but they are time poor, unorganised and on the verge of burnout – that’s why they haven’t reached that goal yet.
They are the problems: time poor, unorganised and burnt out.
- How do you help
This is your solution. How do you help with those problems? Or is it a case of when you fix one of them, the others fall into place? You might have a method, or a framework, a service or an app that will help them have get organised, have more time for themselves and their business and, in turn, reignite their passion to reach their first million.
Step out how you can help them.
- Why are you different?
There might be so many people who do the same thing as you, so how are you different? Has it been your experience or a situation you have faced? Is it all your knowledge condensed down into a trademarked formula? Or was it an accident that you became successful in your chosen profession and business?
When you can explain the reason why you are different, this opens the gates for you to stand alone from everyone else.
- The results your clients have achieved
This is the social proof … what are some of the results you and your clients have achieved? This builds the trust and credibility. Testimonials are good here. Even using videos will help get this message across with even more impact.
Now, once you have outlined all of this, condense it down into a few sentences so you can easily explain what you do in a face-to-face conversation.
This is your message.
Other elements to consider
Now there are some other elements you will need to consider … a slogan; just a few words on how you help. For example: Helping business owners reach their first million.
You can also have some content marketing messages. In staying with our themed examples, it could be your slogan, or it could be something like:
- Million-dollar milestone
- Unorganised and burnt out to $1 million in 6 months
- 5 steps to a million dollars and beyond while working from home
So they more like mini messages that you can use in your content and also when you are speaking with people. For example, you could ask a question like: “Who wants to reach a million-dollar milestone their business?”
By knowing the information to the questions in the framework above, you can start to educate people on how you can help them, while also using the messages in your content.
5 places you can use your marketing message in your content
- 60-second introduction at a networking breakfast
Often, when we attend face-to-face events we are asked to introduce ourselves (who you are and what you do), this is an ideal way to explain exactly how you help people coming from a “what’s in it for me” angle, rather than making it about you or what you do, which can be boring and unengaging.
- Blog post
Why don’t you write a blog post with your new-found message? It could be a letter to your prospective clients about the three most common issues they are facing and how you can help take their pain away with your amazing one-of-a-kind solution.
- Social media posts
Go back through your message and pull out some mini messages to share on social media. Turn on them into a question and ask it in LinkedIn or your preferred social media platform and see the type of response you get. You never know, you might get a new client or a lot more social engagement from it.
- Video
Create an introductory video for your website with your new message … simply set up your computer or camera and start to outline your message. You can always have it edited to make it more professional. Or better yet, do a live video on social media (warts and all) so you are more natural and approachable.
- Flyer
If you want to get away from online why don’t you create a brochure or flyer with the information from your message. Of course, you would need a call to action, which might be an introductory service or product you have, but in the theme of putting yourself out there and trying new things, if you haven’t tried this form of content, why not give it a go. You could also stay online and just send the flyer out to your email list.
And there you have it … how to find or create your message and use it in your marketing.
It’s important to remember though, once you have your message, you need to test it and continue to test it and even adapt it as your business grows.
If you are still in doubt or need a hand, here are 4 ways we can help you accelerate your lead generation results:
- Grab our free 4-Week LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Course
It’s the road map to positioning your profile in the top 5% of the 550 million LinkedIn users currently active – Click here
- Join our LinkedIn Group and connect with entrepreneurs who are scaling too
It’s our Facebook community where smart entrepreneurs learn to get more leads and smart ways to scale using LinkedIn —Click here
- Join our LinkedIn Influencer Program so you can “Show out” instead of just showing up
Every 8 weeks we have a new intake into our 12 – week Influencer program… Click here for more details
- Work with our team privately
If you’d like to work directly with us to create new marketing opportunities send us a quick message Click here … tell us a little about your business and we’ll organise a time for a deeper chat
