All business owners right now are facing issues that we have never had to deal with and face in our lifetimes. We’ve had Covid-19, some states having to wear masks, live through different stages of lockdowns. The common thing that almost every Australian is feeling, however, is a distinct lack of connection with people.
The silver lining of Covid is that it’s given rise to new side hustles, new businesses starting up and some businesses making decisions that have often been put off for a long time. Within this silver lining is the ability for you – and anyone – to really stand out in the crowd online.
Tony Robbins teaches that there are six human core needs – one being connection. People want and need to feel connected to other humans. As a business owner who is about to step up their online visibility efforts (aren’t you!?), you can be the person or the business who provides this sense of connection to your audience.
Connection is felt when someone feels like they’re understood, like they belong and like they are being heard. If you can crack that code for your audience, then you’ll develop an amazing online community of people who love you, who love what you do and who will further connect with others in your community. This builds and creates loyalty and that is something these days that is so hard to come by.
Here’s how to do it.
Be you
Like building a friendship with a group of new people, it’s easy to slip into being someone who you think you ‘should’ be. It’s normal to wear a mask or ‘put on your armour’ so to speak, but it’s not sustainable if you want deep, long term relationships. It’s the same online. The only way to show up online is to be yourself. Decide on the easiest medium for you to do this and then do it. It could be using video’s, or if that’s not as easy for you, then you can use blogs, writing and photos.
People will resonate faster with you and will thus connect with you faster, when you’re being yourself.
Know your audience
This is paramount. You’ve decided you’re going to initiate step 1 and be yourself. Then, it’s time for you to start talking with the audience whom you want to work with – and who you want to buy from you.
When you know their problems, the challenges and what they’re currently working through you can offer hints, tips and advice to help them through social media. When you know what their goals, dreams and desires are you can put content up to help them with that.
If you don’t know exactly who your audience is, then you can end up missing the opportunity to connect.
Know – Like – Trust
There’s an age-old marketing term know as the “know you, like you, trust you” timeline. This is one of the simplest ways to describe what happens when people start connecting with you more. When you follow steps 1 and 2, the result is an audience filled with people who are at varying points in the ‘know – like – trust’ journey.
When someone is getting to know you, they’ll listen to you (or read and watch you), but they’re not really connected yet. It’s a bit like meeting someone in a bar. You can get to know them, but you may not know that you like them yet. The more you get to know them – really know them – the more you start to like them. The same things happen with your audience online. This is when the connection is starting to pay off.
When your audience trust you, they are connected with you. This will then see them feeling like they are part of your community and the tribe you’re building.
These are the people who end up being repeat buyers of your services and or products. These are people who will advocate for you to other people and share you with their circles of people. This is when the power of word of mouth kicks in – both offline and online.
Everyone wants to feel like they belong somewhere. Use social media to do that for your audience and it will pay off for years to come.
Nicola Moras is an online visibility expert, author of Into The Spotlight, a guide to help you step up your online visibility, become a rock star in your industry and make your business thrive. Find out more at www.nicolamoras.com.au