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Marketing yourself with no following?

Marketing, social media, advertising

LadySabanna

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Hello! For someone like myself who has a idea but has below average marketing skills, how does one go about gaining a following to get the word of your service out there? Most of what I plan on doing is all online, so having an online presence is going to be a key factor in my success. I’m just unsure and a bit overwhelmed on where to start first. My initial plan is to offer web/graphic design services possibly starting with fiverr. Of course I don’t want to be complacent and only use one form of media platform. Just unsure how to go about the transition of building a site and going from there. Thanks in advance vane.
 
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GigMistress

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Hello! For someone like myself who has a idea but has below average marketing skills, how does one go about gaining a following to get the word of your service out there? Most of what I plan on doing is all online, so having an online presence is going to be a key factor in my success. I’m just unsure and a bit overwhelmed on where to start first. My initial plan is to offer web/graphic design services possibly starting with fiverr. Of course I don’t want to be complacent and only use one form of media platform. Just unsure how to go about the transition of building a site and going from there. Thanks in advance vane.

You really only have two viable options: teach yourself to be a more effective marketer or hire someone to manage your marketing. It's worth noting that you've correctly identified that it is your marketing SKILLS and not abilities that are lacking. Research and practice can change that.
 
D

Deleted74396

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Getting your first Facebook likes:
Share content from your page into groups
Post as your page onto other page walls
Talk about your page in groups
Comment on other page's posts as your page
Pay for ads (I'm a big believer in organic marketing, but it's really hard when you're at zero likes!)
Invite people who engage with your page's posts to like the page

I don't have as much experience starting out with other social networks, so sorry I can't be of more help!

Once you have a decent size audience, I am a big believer in tailoring content to your audience so your engagement rate is high which in turn increases your reach.
 

Xeon

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Getting your first Facebook likes:
Share content from your page into groups
Post as your page onto other page walls

I assume one would need to contact the admins of these FB groups? Tbh, I'm not sure many admins would want people to sell / market products/services on their own FB group unless you pay them for the permission.
 

Lex DeVille

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Hello! For someone like myself who has a idea but has below average marketing skills, how does one go about gaining a following to get the word of your service out there? Most of what I plan on doing is all online, so having an online presence is going to be a key factor in my success. I’m just unsure and a bit overwhelmed on where to start first. My initial plan is to offer web/graphic design services possibly starting with fiverr. Of course I don’t want to be complacent and only use one form of media platform. Just unsure how to go about the transition of building a site and going from there. Thanks in advance vane.

If you want to get the word out about your services then you need clients, not marketing. Find someone locally and offer them your services (paid or not). Do good work. They'll tell a friend.

If you want to do this online you can do it through places like Fiverr and Upwork. Find your first clients on the platform. Do good work. They'll tell a friend.

If you want to do it through social media, join Facebook Groups for your industry and get involved in the conversation. Be helpful. Don't be pushy. Answer questions when you can add value. This leads people to recognize you as the "go-to" person for X skill. When they hire you do good work. They'll tell a friend.

Forget all of the other social media marketing bull crap. Don't waste time creating content. Don't spam pages or groups with your services. Don't run ads when you don't know what you're doing and don't have the budget for it. Find someone you can help (online or offline). Help them. They'll tell a friend.
 

Lex DeVille

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I assume one would need to contact the admins of these FB groups? Tbh, I'm not sure many admins would want people to sell / market products/services on their own FB group unless you pay them for the permission.

Lol I would publicly shame the moron who did this right before permanently banning them.
 
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D

Deleted74396

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I assume one would need to contact the admins of these FB groups? Tbh, I'm not sure many admins would want people to sell / market products/services on their own FB group unless you pay them for the permission.

No, the best way to get b2b clients is by providing value. You don't have to ask admins about this, just put yourself out there and respond to people who are interested in your services :) In fact, most admins will be glad if someone in the group is providing value!
 
D

Deleted74396

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Lol I would publicly shame the moron who did this right before permanently banning them.

Haha really? Maybe it's just the communities I'm part of but there are lots of groups where people will post and engage with people, providing tons of value, and are even encouraged to! In return they establish their authority and get clients.

It's encouraged in many groups, people usually don't mind someone providing value to their community. I'd not be put off by this OP, just find some larger groups and you'll see quite a few people providing value where you'll be welcome :)

If you can't find any PM me and I'll help ya out
 

Lex DeVille

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people will post and engage with people, providing tons of value

This part is true, but the suggestions described above regarding spamming groups and pages does not provide value.

In return they establish their authority and get clients.

You should invite those people to share their experience here since the suggestions above are supported by your beliefs about what other people have done rather than by your own results.

It is unlikely anyone picked up clients by spamming posts in Facebook Groups or pages without asking an admin first. I'm not sure why you're mixing value-creating approaches with spam.

You can't just "find a large group," "provide value" and get clients either. You're skipping important steps, like targeting, and need for the service.

Why are you telling the OP to PM you? So far your approach to marketing follows the steps of MLM recruiters.

MLM Scam Steps:
Step 1 - Talk vaguely about what others have done. Never speak from experience.
Step 2 - Defend objections and challenges with misinformation
Step 3 - Tell people to PM you for "help" to get started

I can't tell if you're about to sell the OP mentoring or if you really want to help, but lack the experience to know what you're talking about.
 
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Xeon

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Forget all of the other social media marketing bull crap.

I'm curious, what's your reasoning behind this? Nowadays every brand is doing this, along with content creation.

Does your advice also apply to B2C products as well?
 

Lex DeVille

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I'm curious, what's your reasoning behind this? Nowadays every brand is doing this, along with content creation.

Does your advice also apply to B2C products as well?

Because social media marketing is a long-term awareness strategy that avoids direct sales. From the OP, the goal is to get word of her service out there. To me this indicates she wants ways to earn her first clients and doesn't know how to attract them. You attract service clients by addressing problems they have and then offering to solve them.

For service businesses, content approaches and social media marketing are for growth once you have a client base and people care about what you have to say.

In B2C it depends on what you sell, but if you sell services, you still need direct contact with potential customers. For instance, if you sell plumbing service, it doesn't make sense to write plumbing articles that may never get read when you can run a Google Ad to someone who needs plumbing right now.

It also doesn't make sense to share those articles to Facebook Groups and pages when you could just find someone in a Group who needs help with a plumbing issue, answer their question, and offer to take care of it for them if they need more help.

A content approach DOES make sense for something like ranking a website for SEO at a local level. But that's like a four to six month approach before it produces results, so it's not an effective path to getting started.
 

Xeon

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Because social media marketing is a long-term awareness strategy that avoids direct sales. From the OP, the goal is to get word of her service out there. To me this indicates she wants ways to earn her first clients and doesn't know how to attract them. You attract service clients by addressing problems they have and then offering to solve them.

For service businesses, content approaches and social media marketing are for growth once you have a client base and people care about what you have to say.

In B2C it depends on what you sell, but if you sell services, you still need direct contact with potential customers. For instance, if you sell plumbing service, it doesn't make sense to write plumbing articles that may never get read when you can run a Google Ad to someone who needs plumbing right now.

It also doesn't make sense to share those articles to Facebook Groups and pages when you could just find someone in a Group who needs help with a plumbing issue, answer their question, and offer to take care of it for them if they need more help.

A content approach DOES make sense for something like ranking a website for SEO at a local level. But that's like a four to six month approach before it produces results, so it's not an effective path to getting started.

Thanks!
 
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Deleted74396

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This part is true, but the suggestions described above regarding spamming groups and pages does not provide value.



You should invite those people to share their experience here since the suggestions above are supported by your beliefs about what other people have done rather than by your own results.

It is unlikely anyone picked up clients by spamming posts in Facebook Groups or pages without asking an admin first. I'm not sure why you're mixing value-creating approaches with spam.

You can't just "find a large group," "provide value" and get clients either. You're skipping important steps, like targeting, and need for the service.

Why are you telling the OP to PM you? So far your approach to marketing follows the steps of MLM recruiters.

MLM Scam Steps:
Step 1 - Talk vaguely about what others have done. Never speak from experience.
Step 2 - Defend objections and challenges with misinformation
Step 3 - Tell people to PM you for "help" to get started

I can't tell if you're about to sell the OP mentoring or if you really want to help, but lack the experience to know what you're talking about.

I'm not selling anything, I have zero clients and no income/business. You don't have to be rude. I have b2c experience on FB but no b2b, I was just throwing my 2 cents in, sorry dude :(

I'm really sad I come across as an MLM recruiter, I have been trying to help where I can, sorry o_O I'm only 22 and still learning, just trying my best here :arghh:
 
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GigMistress

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I assume one would need to contact the admins of these FB groups? Tbh, I'm not sure many admins would want people to sell / market products/services on their own FB group unless you pay them for the permission.

I'm sure every group has a different policy, but I've gotten a lot of this type of posting on pages and in groups I administer, and I always remove them as soon as I see them. If the person posting them hasn't participated and is just drive-by link dropping, I remove and/or ban them, too.
 
D

Deleted74396

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I'm sure every group has a different policy, but I've gotten a lot of this type of posting on pages and in groups I administer, and I always remove them as soon as I see them. If the person posting them hasn't participated and is just drive-by link dropping, I remove and/or ban them, too.

This isn't what I was saying, I apologise :(
 
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Lex DeVille

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I'm not selling anything, I have zero clients and no income/business. You don't have to be rude. I have b2c experience on FB but no b2b, I was just throwing my 2 cents in, sorry dude :(

I'm really sad I come across as an MLM recruiter, I have been trying to help where I can, sorry o_O I'm only 22 and still learning, just trying my best here :arghh:

I wasn't rude. I said support your position with something stronger than beliefs because your beliefs about what worked for others aren't the same as proven results.

I understand you want to help. I'm not mad at you.

Get results. Speak from experience. The statements you made can (and have) lead people to years of failure wondering why it doesn't work for them (when it never worked for those who suggested it).
 
D

Deleted74396

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I wasn't rude. I said support your position with something stronger than beliefs because your beliefs about what worked for others aren't the same as proven results.

I understand you want to help. I'm not mad at you.

Get results. Speak from experience. The statements you made can (and have) lead people to years of failure wondering why it doesn't work for them (when it never worked for those who suggested it).

It's fine, you just came across mean spirited. I didn't know it was etiquette here to not ask people to PM you
 

Nick M.

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I didn't know it was etiquette here to not ask people to PM you

From what I've seen, it's not "against the rules" or "against etiquette" to ask people to PM you. Rather, there are just a lot of people who come here quickly to sell products or services. Kind of like the MLMs Lex was referring to. "PM me" just mentally lumps many posters into that category automatically because it happens so often.

However, there are several people who have built up strong reputations on this forum. They usually have lots of experience and you see it in their posts. When they say "PM me", it's easy to understand that they are here to help and that they speak from experience.

My personal rule of thumb: I never ask people to PM me. If someone has wanted to start a discussion, they'll PM me anyways.

Now, back on topic…

----

First of all, everyone has their own preferred marketing channel. Mine are YouTube and guest blogs. However, I think telling you how to market is almost getting everything backwards (especially when you're starting out). It's not about finding what has worked for us. It's about finding what will work for you.
  1. Identify your target customers
  2. Find what channels they are using
  3. Talk to them through those channels about their problems from a perspective of trying to help
  4. If you've found a real problem, they will gladly tell you what they think
  5. Create and offer a solution
I use YouTube and guest blog posts because that's where my prospective customers already are. No guesswork. No trying 100 different strategies. Just some research.

Once you do this, you'll get lots of feedback from the market. From there, just iterate and implement. My business is still getting off the ground, but that's what's worked getting from 0 to 20.
 
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GigMistress

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This isn't what I was saying, I apologise :(

I am 100% confident that what I described is NOT what you were suggesting. Useful participation in that sort of environment can obviously be a great lead generator. Unfortunately, this seems to be one of those things that is often misconstrued by newbies, leading them to make clunky and intrusive efforts that backfire. (Much like freelancers are told to "keep in touch with" clients, and so many without business experience read that advice and proceed to email their past clients over and over again saying, "Any work for me?" until the client gets annoyed enough to stop working with them entirely)
 

Andy Black

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My personal rule of thumb: I never ask people to PM me. If someone has wanted to start a discussion, they'll PM me anyways.
I also have that as a personal rule. I can’t remember ever asking anyone to PM me.

I might offer to hop on a call sometime though, but then I think I’ve published enough recorded calls in the forum that people know I’m doing it to help rather than “reel“ anyone in.

It’s tricky coming into new communities and trying to help. It’s often good to just join in, as well as help folks here and there.

I know when I joined the forum I created loads of Google Ads threads and that was viewed with suspicion by some. But it wasn’t a lead gen play for a coaching program or course and I stuck around chatting. Trust built up gradually over time.

If I was to bounce into some new forum I would have to tone it down for a bit till I got used to things, and till people got used to me.

It’s certainly possible to add too much value too quickly and be tarred with the same brush as the smash-and-grab lead gen spammers.

It’s unfortunate that “marketers have ruined everything” as Gary V says.

Just keep chipping away and it will eventually work out.
 

SEBASTlAN

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Hello! For someone like myself who has a idea but has below average marketing skills, how does one go about gaining a following to get the word of your service out there? Most of what I plan on doing is all online, so having an online presence is going to be a key factor in my success. I’m just unsure and a bit overwhelmed on where to start first. My initial plan is to offer web/graphic design services possibly starting with fiverr. Of course I don’t want to be complacent and only use one form of media platform. Just unsure how to go about the transition of building a site and going from there. Thanks in advance vane.
Engage with a community. Write a book. Lead with value.
 
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Andy Black

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