Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about marketing – but not just advertising your business, or getting visibility – I want to talk about why you need to do things a certain way to get better results.
Today’s Quote: Marketing’s job is never done. It’s about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day. — Beth Comstock
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
I want to talk about some of the nuances of marketing – maybe they aren’t nuances, maybe they are tips, facts, or stats. But it’s easy to do marketing.
To do it well? You need to understand why certain things work.
If you tuned in to my interview with Alicia Croci of Wildly Creative Studio, you will know that she mentioned the psychology of sales. That’s the reason that people say yes, or say no, or engage or don’t engage with you.
There are certain things that you need to realize about sales, about marketing, and about business – that will help you get better results from everything that you do.
I’m going to talk about 10 of them in today’s episode.
Blogging SEO
Websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages– Source Techclient.
SEO is the key is getting the content you create to be seen by the people you want to see it. You have to insert the proper words not just in your SEO plugin, but also in the words that you write, the alt text in your images, the categories and tags that you use, and the headings and titles that you use too.
Blogging is an amazing source of content creation – and I bet you are sitting there right now thinking I don’t even blog. Well, you should start.
You not only get a main piece of content every week, you get to repurpose that for everything else you do.
And the fact that this stat tells us that websites with blogs get over 400x more search results should be a great incentive. It’s because every time you publish a new post, the search engines ‘see’ your website as being updated.
If you only have your standard five pages that I tell you to put on your site, and you never update them, unless your SEO setup is amazing, you will probably not be found in search results.
Is your website a powerhouse or an online brochure? I vote for powerhouse.
Content Marketing
70% of people would rather learn about products through content than traditional ads. Source Content Engine Land
I don’t know about you, but I don’t love social media ads. Not only because we are inundated by them, but I’m just not really a fan. I don’t use them – I probably should – but I like this marketing fact because it speaks to how I like to learn.
I like to learn about a product or service through content – when I see something I like (okay, yes, sometimes that is via an ad), I then go and check it out – I got to the website, I look up reviews, I google the person or product and see what else is out there about it.
I’m clearly in the 70% and that’s totally fine by me. I know that a lot of VAs are similar to my line of thinking so if that’s you, then why aren’t you using more content marketing in your business?
If you content is educating and engaging your audience, I bet you will get much better results – interaction, discovery calls, clients.
Why don’t we like ads? Because usually they are selling something. A talking head, testimonials, maybe a webinar you have to attend that leads you to a program to purchase to get any good info. Yuck.
If you are just selling and shouting, that’s an ad. Focus on engaging and educating and you’ll get a lot better results.
Email Marketing
Email marketing has an ROI of 4,400%. Source Campaign Monitor
What does that mean? It means for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $44.
How can we get return on investment from email? By sending emails.
Sending a regular newsletter can help you get in front of your audience regularly, but more than just sending an email, you have to give them an incentive to buy from you.
Email marketing is never a bother, because someone gave you their email address because they received something from you – and they are interested in what you have to say. Be sure to continue communicating with them so they can learn just how great you are, and the rewards will follow.
When I say a regular newsletter, I mean a weekly one. It’s simple math that the more you communicate with people who have already said they are interested in what you have to say, the more responsive they will be.
Don’t try to get traction with a monthly newsletter. It’s simply not sent often enough to move the needle on your goals.
If you aren’t sure what to send out in a newsletter, start with that weekly blog post we were just talking about – it’s a great way to have new stuff to send out to your list (and it sends traffic to your website at the same time!).
Are you leveraging email to its full potential or leaving money on the table? Create your editorial calendar and get emailing – 4400%, folks!
Instagram as a Marketing Tool
71% of businesses use Instagram as a marketing tool. Source Hubspot
It is interesting to me that so many businesses choose Instagram to market their business. I think it’s because it’s easy – you put up a picture with a caption and there you go.
I mean obviously there’s a lot more to it, but at first glance, that’s what it is.
And I really believe this stat, not that I’m doubting it, but when you go and look at someone’s website, you will usually see two logos – FB and IG. And they aren’t doing much on their FB page (it’s more work), but their IG is up to date.
Are you capitalizing on Instagram? Or are you missing out on potential customers?
I certainly don’t suggest just posting pictures and hoping for the best over there, you still need a strategy, but if you haven’t considered using it yet, you should have a look at who you know that’s on it.
It’s also of course a Meta brand, so you can tie your Facebook to it and your Threads too. It makes it easy to chat with the same people across different platforms.
Social Proof
Reviews influence the purchasing decisions of 93% of consumers. Source Podium
I already mentioned earlier that I look for reviews for almost everything that I purchase. They are so easy to find.
I think Amazon really did a great job of pushing us in the direction of the review. Restaurants are another big one – although I rarely go to look for reviews online for those anymore (I find that the negative folks are posting more often than the positive ones), I do ask people I know who have been somewhere what their opinion was. Verbal works!
If I see positive reviews for something, I will likely make that purchase.
Are you showcasing your customer reviews or making it more difficult for your clients to see how great you are?
LinkedIn Recommendations and Google Reviews are both good places to get your clients to leave feedback. Testimonials on your website pages and in your social media also work well.
It’s like the references we used to put on our resumes – you can tell us anything you want, but we want to hear from someone who actually knows you. It’s called social proof, and it’s an important part of your marketing strategy.
Instagram Selfies Sell
Instagram posts with faces get 38% more likes. Source Georgia Institute of Tech
Selfies sell. Sorry to say it, but for some reason seeing someone’s candid selfie makes people click more often than a logo or a product picture does.
We shouldn’t complain – I mean it’s called social media for a reason. When someone sees your smiling face, there is a connection made. They might be more willing to make a comment or interact with you. I know I sure do that.
Even pictures of you working or out at an event with other business owners, draws the interest of the people who follow you. It’s not about the selling or the smiling selfie – it’s about being personal.
I always tell you that business is about relationships, and when you share your actual self – your actual activities, that can go along way to showing the human side to your VA business.
Stop hiding behind your log and your stock images – I bet you’ll see a huge difference in interactions quickly.
Customer Loyalty
65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers. Source Small Biz Trends
Think about it – if you have clients now, you are earning revenue from them. Are you nurturing them or are you constantly chasing new customers?
It’s really important to value the people who have already made the decision to invest their money in working with you.
Sometimes we just think ‘oh great, got them’ and then keep looking.
It’s not your fault if you have done this, or are doing this – it’s natural – especially if you haven’t reached your goal revenue yet. But it’s really easy to nurture the ones who are your clients.
It could lead to more business from them as they grow, or referrals that make growing your business even easier.
Customer loyalty is something that we as consumers pay a lot of attention to.
If you have ever watched another table get served their food in a restaurant before us, when you arrived first, you know that feeling.
Be sure to make your clients feel important – manage things like expectations early on and keep it going. You know I have always said not to have super short or fast turnaround times when you get started, even if you only have one client.
Because as you get busier, that will be impossible to maintain – and suddenly that great first client is waiting a lot longer for their stuff to get done. They notice. Trust me.
So nurture them while you chase the new folks, but keep that stat in mind – that (at least) 65% of your revenue is coming from them.
Content Marketing Is Cost Efficient
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates 3 times as many leads. Source The Content Marketing Institute (2017)
This is an old stat but it still gets the message across that I wanted to share. Content marketing doesn’t cost as much as paid advertising.
You have to make it a point of starting to do this well in your VA business. It is the easiest way to get the word out about you, showcase your expertise, and really get focused on how you help your clients.
Marketing takes time, there’s no getting around it, but content marketing is a really easy way to make your budget work smarter for you.
Do paid ads or paid spots if if makes sense for you, but always make sure that content marketing is a part of your strategy.
Marketing is about generating leads, and if you know you can get 3X as many by doing something that uses less of your budget, wouldn’t you agree that’s a good step to take? I do, every time.
We talked earlier about seeing ads in our feeds, and how annoying and disruptive they are. Why not focus on providing content that the people who are already interested in you will see and react to?
Work smarter, not harder.
And finally, back to blogging.
Consistent Blogging
Companies that publish 16+ blog posts per month get 3.5 times more traffic than those who don’t. Source Hubspot
First things first, 16 blog posts per month is a lot. I get that. Don’t worry about that number so much. Let’s look at this stat. 16+ blog posts per month get 3.5 times more traffic.
The idea with this last stat is that the more frequently people see your stuff, the more they will click on it.
That’s just numbers. More usually equals more.
But in this case I want to focus on the other words – per month. It’s about being consistent and you can be consistent doing it just once a month.
You might not get 3.5X more traffic, but you are still going to get more than you would if you just posted once.
Creating content like a blog every week is not hard when you put all the tools in place to do it efficiently.
If you are using my Content Matrix you should have topics at the ready. If you have a swipe file you should be able to create a bullet point list for this week’s article quickly. And if you set a timer for one hour to write a blog, you should be able to work within that timeframe to get it done.
Systems help you get stuff done and consistent blogging needs a system.
When you create a simple system that uses your time efficiently and produces quality content, you will get the results. Make your blog a content hub, not a wasteland.
That’s it, that’s 10 marketing tips for you.
Marketing is an essential part of getting clients for your VA business. You have to do it or you won’t have a VA business soon.
So take some of these tips and implement them today. Or better yet, let me help you build your system and help you get clients.
Thank you again for trusting me to teach you and to guide you. I truly love to be here for you every week.
If I could ask you a favour – to subscribe to the podcast or leave me a review if you haven’t already. That’s something I should say every week and I never really do. But it matters and it will make sure that I know you are finding value in what I create just for you every week.
Do You Need Help?
If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about – a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
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