Today’s Quote: Your true value is determined by how much more you give in value that you take in payment. – Bob Burg
Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today we are going to talk about self promotion and how it confuses and frustrates new VAs.
Click the play button above to tune in, or choose your favourite podcast player below:
Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
What is self promotion?
Basically it’s showcasing yourself and your business to an audience of people in a group somewhere.
When that forum or group is owned by someone else, self promotion is often a rule not to be broken, without facing consequences.
That’s why it’s so frowned upon when you show up and start telling everyone about what you do.
All we tell you in marketing is tell people what you do – it’s confusing, I’m sure.
I remember it being really confusing. I broke the rule in lots of groups. I truly didn’t mean to but I did.
When you realize how to do it better, that’s when it becomes clear what you were doing wrong before. Let’s see if I can shed some light on a few things for you today.
So the rules are there for everyone in the group. If everyone posted about their business every day, the group owner would see people leaving in droves.
Many communities are built to be just that – communities. So just like everywhere else you network, you have to wander around and meet people. And talk to them.
Treat every networking or business group that you are in like a room of people. And every time you walk into that room, there are different people. Some are the same, some are new, some are not.
You have to build relationships with people, and the way to do that is not to hit them over the head with Hi I’m a VA and I have some one spot open next week for a new client. Hi I’m a VA and I wrote this blog post about staying organized, go read it. Hi I’m a VA and hiring a VA for your business is so smart because you’ll save time and money.
These are things we say everyday in our marketing – but to jump into a group whether you are new to it or not and lead off with that is a turn off for everyone in the group. Mostly.
And it annoys the group host because they own the group. They have built the group – their audience – and so everyone that comes into the space, they want to help their audience – not sell to them. And of course building a group – a good one especially, takes considerable effort, time and expense.
Don’t ever forget that. Just because it’s a free group doesn’t mean it’s a free for all. And you don’t have the right to get mad if someone tells you that you are breaking their self promotion rules. You just don’t.
Groups (even local networking ones) belong to someone – there is an owner, and they are using it for a specific purpose. They get to make whatever rules they want. You agree to them when you join the group, and they decide what happens when someone breaks them.
So what can we do to promote ourselves in those groups?
First of all, if you are going to spend time in any group make sure that YOUR audience is there. Don’t just join a big group thinking that your people must be in there. Anything you spend time at needs to be a good use of your time.
Second, provide value every single time you post or comment. I’ll give you some examples in a minute. Think about helping people, not selling to them. TRUST me, the sale will come if you can master the helping part first.
Don’t post calls to action – no need to take people away from the group for any reason. In fact, the longer you can keep the conversation going in the group in front of the rest of the group, the better it works for you. You are then showcasing yourself to the potential thousands of people that are there – not just the one (who seriously could just be looking for free help).
Post informational stuff – things you have learned in your own surfing. Has anyone notice this new FB feature? Where is the best place you have found to get advice around xyz (dont’ step on the group owners’ toes here)
Ask questions – Do you have a favourite CRM? I have been using Dubsado for about a year and it has some great features for coaches. I have a question about how Jane app – a client is using it and we are wondering if it can do xyz. You are looking to invite interaction and conversation about things that you are knowledgeable about or that will help people understand how you help your clients.
Look to connect – I’m headed out west next week – anyone in this group from there? What should I make sure to see? Or my client is travelling – where should I make their dinner reservation?
If you have good news, announce it but tell people how you achieved it. I got invited to speak at this symposium, I’m so excited. The woman in charge said she got my name from an event I spoke at a long time ago when they couldn’t do the event, and she hung onto it all this time and said that she knew that this year she was definitely calling me since it’s their first time in 3 years (that happened to me). Bragging is not the same as self promotion.
Get noticed, be present, actually have conversations with people. Cheer them on. Comment on their posts and the hosts’ too. Participate in the group. This is why we tell you to focus on just one group at a time. It’s more genuine.
Don’t just post a link to your newest blog post every week – again what if everyone did that? If it’s not your group, don’t do that.
Don’t cross post. When you are in certain groups with your target market, there are often other groups that people also belong too. When you post the same thing in all of your groups, people are very aware that you are not looking to build relationships, you are just using the groups for yourself.
Take advantage of promo schedules – if there is an opportunity to post something about your biz, do it thoughtfully – tell a client story or post a testimonial (collect those, btw).
Get comfortable talking about how good you are at what you do. People need to hear it to notice you, to hire you, to work with you.
Talk about who you helped this week.
Talk about a resource you came upon.
Share things that are actually valuable to the other members of the community..
I belong to a local group with over 24,000 women , and do you know that there are only 3 VAs who get recommended in that group all the time? And they get TONS of tags when someone is looking for a VA. Why? Because they have taken their time to get to know people in there. They help them. They work with them. They do great work. They get referrals. It’s awesome. I love it!
And none of them ever have to post I’m a VA and I have an opening for a client this month. Though if they did they would be very well received and everyone would jump in and say ‘work with her, you won’t regret it’ lol.
That’s what we should be striving for.
Give more than you take. Oh there it is! The quote for today.
When you stop trying to get the client or make the sale, you will get clients and make sales.
Show up first to help – and do it daily. People will see you and start to trust you. Others will recommend you. They will hire you. Give, give, give.
That’s what people see.
So, choose a FB group of business owners that contains your target clients (don’t ask me which groups to join you need to find them on your own). Introduce yourself or reintroduce yourself if it’s been a while since you joined it.
Tell people that you are a VA, but don’t tell them to hire you. Tell them why you started your business and how much you love helping ‘target group’ with ‘service’. Tell them how you are excited to be in this group of professionals and looking forward to getting to know them in this beautiful space.
When someone posts a question, just answer it. Dont’ put in a link to your blog or tell them some longwinded story, or tell them to PM you to discuss. Just answer their question. Then move on to the next question that is relevant to your services. Answer that. and so on.
It’s so easy to tell people about how you help your clients without self promoting. It takes some practice but it really does become clear when you start getting interaction on your comments from people who can see the difference, and who really want to get to know you.
I’ll leave you with this today:
There’s a blog post from Becca at Uncaged life that I always comes across when I do research for this particular topic and I decided I just want to share a bit of it with you.
It’s called
How Not to Be a Dick in Facebook Groups and it’s awesome. Love the tips in it.
But I wanted to read you this part of the post because it’s so perfect:
“Scenario 2: You’re in the room with your friends and the attractive people. Let’s say one of these attractive people asks something like “Do you know where the best pizza in town is?” and you reply “I do! Also, did you know that I’m single? Would you like my number? Here it is!” As you grab their phone and enter your number into their contacts. And they reply “Oh, um. Cool. So anyway, what’s the name of the pizza place?” And you’re all like “Call me and I’ll tell you!” This is pretty much the equivalent to commenting on people’s Facebook questions with a link to your website. #desperate
And now you’re going to say “Yeah Becca, but these people – they need what I have!” Sure, they might need it, but the ways in which you are giving it to them make you look like a desperate drunk girl at the end of the night at the bar. NO ONE is taking that shit home.
So in conclusion, be a human. Have integrity. Please don’t ever do these things, in real life or online.”
Thanks Becca, I couldn’t have said it better myself!!
Need Some Help?
If you want my help to figure out what to say in your networking or marketing, reach out to me at tracey@yourvamentor.com. I’ve helped hundreds of VAs through their challenges and got them on their way to the next thing. I’d love to do the same for you. I do private coaching, and registration for my new mastermind group The Virtual Circle is open now. Maybe one of those is right for you!
That’s all I’ve got for you this week, thanks for tuning in to learn to become a ridiculously good Virtual Assistant.