How to Get Your Ideal Clients to Notice You: 3 messaging strategies that work
Do you want to know one thing all of my most successful clients have in common? They know their ideal clients as well as Swifties know Taylor. (Well, almost.) As a social media manager, this level of detail makes my job a million times easier. And here’s why it’ll be a game changer in your business too…your audience is the foundation of your marketing.
Every piece of content you create…
Every email you send
Every story you share
Every offer you promote
Should begin with answering the question: WHO is this for?
Without this knowledge, your marketing is ineffective and incredibly expensive. You end up investing time and money in the wrong platforms, content and marketing support.
In this blog you’ll learn messaging strategies to help you:
- explain exactly who you serve (and why the answer can’t be everyone)
- get your ideal clients to notice you
- make the connections, conversions and sales you want
3 common mistakes & the messaging strategies you need to know about:
Mistake one: trying to serve everyone
When someone asks you: who do you work with? Do you say something like…
“I work with pretty much anyone.”
“I help small businesses.”
“My ideal clients are women.”
It’s tempting to keep your target audience broad. Maybe you want to help as many people as possible. Maybe you’re not sure how to narrow down and define your niche. Or maybe you’re scared getting specific will limit your potential sales.
Trying to serve everyone waters down your message and means you get lost in the noise online.
Whereas, with a specific target audience in mind you can attract the right people, repel the wrong people and become known as an expert in your niche.
Tip — figure out who your ideal client is:
- Who do you want to work with? — Consider who you’ve worked with in the past and what you enjoyed most about working with them.
- Who did you not enjoy working with? — Are there any similarities/themes you can pick up on?
- What are they looking for? — Look over your client intake questionnaires, feedback forms and testimonials to see what your clients are saying.
Mistake two: over-complicating what you do and how you help
We’re excited and passionate about our work but we give our ideal clients WAY too much detail.
It’s like they’re asking for the specials and instead we read them the entire menu.
In marketing, confusion is the enemy and clarity is everything. If we make our bios, our services, or our copy too complicated, people will scroll away.
You have to remember, we’re all humans not machines. And our brains are wired to ensure we’re as efficient as possible. We’re designed to conserve energy and brainpower. If we make people do too much work to understand us, they’ll zone right out. It’s science baby!
Tip — Here’s how you can communicate with your ideal clients more effectively:
- Be clear & concise: try your best to use less words. It’s something I tell my clients constantly. When it comes to your Instagram captions, blog posts, website copy, emails and Instagram stories… save the waffle for brunch, and get to the point right away!
- Use their words: When you use your ideal client’s exact language in your copy, it magically makes you more relatable and interesting. The power of using their words is that it feels like you’re reading their mind, listening to their frustrations, and hearing them loud and clear. And we’re more likely to want to work when someone who “gets it.”
- Be generous: In every interaction you have with your ideal clients, go above and beyond to make them feel special. Respond to their comments, reply to their messages, and re-share if they tag you. This level of customer service and care makes you stand out and helps build trust.
Mistake three: coming on too strong, too soon.
Okay, you tell me, is there anything more off putting than this…
Someone jumping in your DMs the second you follow them to invite you to their webinar?
I don’t know about you, but that immediately gives me the ick. I don’t know them yet, I don’t trust them yet, I’m certainly not ready to commit to a webinar with them yet!
The reality is, most people are not buying from you the first time they discover your business. Generally, people need multiple interactions with a brand before they’re ready to make a purchase.
So let’s talk about how to approach your ideal clients at the right time…
Timing comes down to: where they are at in the customer journey.
It’s your job to nurture them from discovery, through to purchase, repurchase and becoming a loyal fan.
Tip — How to successfully nurture leads through the customer journey:
- You need multiple touch points: Whether that’s Instagram, Facebook, emails or a podcast, having multiple touch points creates repetition and familiarity with your business. And allows you to reach and connect with people wherever they are on the customer journey.
- You need multiple content types:
- Problem-awareness content. This is for people who don’t even know they have a problem. It’s your job to educate them and shine a light on these issues and the impact they have on your client.
- Solution-focused content. This is for people who already know they have a problem, and want to know if you are the solution.With this content you’ll showcase your expertise, your offers and the results you’ve achieved for clients in the past.
using these messaging strategies to create content
Okay, now it’s time to put these messaging strategies into practice! For help creating social media posts that speak directly to your ideal clients, download the free guide linked below.
You’ll get 30 days of content ideas and a simple three-step process for creating content that connects with your audience, positions you as an expert and helps you make more sales.