Do you have a website, Facebook page, blog, and other social media pieces, but are discouraged by the time it takes to keep them going with little return? Check out this story to find out the secret sauce to make these work for you:
Brad’s Frustration
Brad was sitting in Marilyn’s office, looking tired and frustrated.
“How are you doing today Brad?” Marilyn asked.
“Oh, I’ve had better days,” he answered.
“You look a bit frustrated,” Marilyn observed. “Is it your business?”
“Yes, and that’s why I’m here. I feel trapped, tired, and frustrated, and I just don’t know what to do.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for!” Marilyn answered. “Please tell me what’s going on, and hopefully I can help you.”
Brad wiggled in his chair a bit, then sighed and continued.
“I hired a so-called professional to help me with my business. He told me I needed a website, so I hired him, and he made a website.
“Then he told me I needed to get a Facebook page, so I said go ahead and he made a Facebook page.
“Another guy said I needed to get on Instagram, he got me on Instagram.
“Then he said I needed to get on X, he got me on X.
“My neighbor told me I needed to blog at least once a week, so I do.
“She also told me I need to have a monthly newsletter, so I do.”
Brad sank further into the chair and cradled his head in his hands. “I spent a lot of money on all this. Now I spend a lot of time posting on all, wracking my brains thinking up content. And yet I have no new customers for all this work.
“I spend as much time on the internet as I do on my business, and I hate it. It seems like a waste of time, as I’m not getting anything from it.
“What am I doing wrong?”
Marilyn’s Solution
Marilyn shook her head. “You’re not doing anything wrong really, you’ve just gotten some bad advice.
“All of these items you mentioned are important. But like clothing, every business owner doesn’t need every one of these. It all depends on you and your business.
“You’ve kind of got the cart before the horse. Before getting all these pieces built, you need to have a strategy.
“All of these pieces need to be part of a bigger picture. They need to be branded together, need to speak with one voice, need to be targeted to one audience.
“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle. If you have all the pieces turned face down, you don’t know how to put them together. You can try, and it can be done, but it’s difficult and frustrating.
“If they were all face up, you could put them together easier, but it would still be a challenge.
“But if they were all face up and you had the picture on the box, that would be the easiest.”
Marilyn started scribbling on her white board. “The picture on the box is your marketing strategy.
“The pieces are your website, your Facebook page, your blog, etc.
“Put together right, they make a clear and effective strategy.
“And you won’t have to spend so much time and energy on it.
“This isn’t your fault at all. These advisors were hopefully meaning well, and trying to help you, but didn’t understand this. Although…” she winked, “I bet some of this was just trying to get money out of you.”’
“Yes!” exclaimed Brad. “I stopped after several thousand dollars, I couldn’t afford any more!”
Marilyn nodded, “Yes, unfortunately, there are people out there who will string you along until you just can’t pay any more. But they are missing the biggest piece, because they probably know how to build all those pieces, but don’t know how to create an overall marketing strategy.”
Putting The Pieces Together
She continued, “The nice part is that once you have the strategy, the pieces can be implemented one at a time, and over time. So instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars at one time, you can spend a few hundred dollars as you can budget it.
“These won’t be random pieces thrown together, but pieces designed as part of a larger picture.”
Brad’s look of astonishment showed that he understood what Marilyn was saying.
“It’s like building a house on a budget”, she continued. “First before doing anything else, you come up with the concept, the blueprints, and the site plan and permits. Then as time goes on, you build the foundation, then the walls and roof, then the interior.
“Each piece builds on the pieces before, but they are all part of a larger plan to build a beautiful functional home. You can build them as you can afford them. And the same goes for your marketing plan.”
“Wow Marilyn,” Brad sighed, “you make it sound so simple!”
“Yes, if we start with a plan, we can integrate these pieces into the plan and make your marketing fly for you!”
“Sounds like a plan!” Mike laughed, and Marilyn laughed too. “I don’t have much money left, but can we start somewhere?”
“You bet!” Marilyn said. “Let’s figure out the plan and see if we can get your website right. Then as you can afford it, we’ll fix up the pieces you need, remove the ones you don’t, and add the ones that you’re missing, to give you the biggest bang for your buck!”
Brad smiled, shook Marilyn’s hand, and said “You’ve got a deal!”.
“Let’s get together later this week and start figuring out your strategy,” Marilyn said. “Then we’ll go from there!”
Do You Need Help Too?
Does this sound like you? Has your digital footprint been put together in bits and pieces, with no overall plan? Farm and Pet Copywriter can help take a look at what you have, figure out what you really need, and show you how to implement it over time. Please use this handy contact form to get started!