October 17, 2022 I remember when my daughter Ali was born thinking that she was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen (I still think that!) I’d show everyone every baby picture, share every story about her new skill on social media, I gushed about her all the time – things really haven’t changed much since then, huh? But what I discovered eventually is that just because I talked about her a lot didn’t mean that everyone else knew her the way that I know her. To post a picture of her standing is different from experiencing her first step. To share about her aversion to certain foods is different than the process of convincing her it was good for her. To have others acknowledge my lack of sleep is still very different than the joys of our first night getting to sleep all the way through  Just because I talked about her didn’t mean people knew her like Kathy and I did. And in the same way, we do the same with our businesses. We assume people know and love it the same way we do just because we post on social media. Ready for others to truly get to know you and your business? Keep reading to learn how you can do just that!  How much do your clients, prospects, and audience know your business – like really know it? Do they know your most treasured milestones? Do they know the heart behind why you started it? Do they know what you’ve overcome to get to where you are now? Just like I did with my daughter, we make assumptions about our business. We think that people know as much about it as we do. But that’s impossible, right? We know our businesses well. We have poured our hearts, souls, blood, and tears into our businesses. We know them inside and out. And because of that, we also assume everyone else knows and loves our “business babies” as well as we do. But they don’t. Which means that if we want people to know and love and invest in our businesses, we need to make sure they know our businesses well also. Today’s marketing idea is for you to write a post answering a common question about your product or service. It’s possible you don’t even know what common questions people may ask (I mean… what could people possibly not know about our babies?) If you’re stuck on what those questions are, go to Google and type in, “common questions about ___” and pick one of the questions that comes up. It doesn’t matter if you THINK your audience knows the answer (because chances are, they might not!) – just give them your response to the question in your own words. Have fun and go big with this too! There are so many ways you can use so others can get to know your business! You can share your answer as a post on Facebook, a video on TikTok, a story on Instagram, and even a blog post! Sharing about your business will bring people from knowing about it on social media to knowing it and loving it.  Just like it’s important for people to get to know your business and have their answers to their common questions, it’s also important for them to get to know you. If you’re tired of answering all the basic icebreaker questions (I mean, how many times can you share your “two facts and a lie”?) then here’s one that’s just different enough to have some fun! Today on social media you can post: “When it’s raining outside, my favorite thing to do is ____” (fill this in with your favorite thing to do)  And then encourage people to comment with their answers! You’ll give people a way to learn about you and you’ll learn a lot about people through this simple, yet fun question!  TikToks could become the new music videos when it comes to product placement – Remember back in the day when we used to watch MTV and wait for our favorite music videos? Turns out MTV is out and TikTok is in… for music and for product placement ads. It might not seem like much to be in a TikTok, but according to Jake Terrell, “Even if it’s just 15 minutes of fame, it could be one heck of a 15 minutes.” Speaking of ads, which do you think is better? Buying ads on social media or placing products in shows? Some researchers are saying both! Read More Sonic the Hedgehog’s Bad Design Marketing Rumor Addressed by Producer – A few weeks ago we talked about purposely making a spelling or grammar mistake in an email to get the attention of your readers. But non-purposeful mistakes can still work in your favor… especially if you’re a teenage alien. Read More I can’t wait to hear how it goes this week as you share common questions about your business, what you like to do on rainy days, and get to know your audience also! On that note, now I have to know…  When it’s raining outside, what is your favorite thing to do? Hit reply and tell me about it! Alex Branning Branning Group alex@branninggroup.com |