We believe marketing can and should be done in an authentic, ethical and meaningful way. In this blog we put together 3 simple steps that you can take at home to feel more confident about showing up in online spaces for your business or project.
Making marketing online meaningful within a saturated industry of gimmicks, commodification and rapidly evolving algorithms is an art. We believe in using online spaces to build genuine connections, work towards social & environmental justice and stay resourced to take care of our own well-being along the way.
In our Meaningful Marketing for Change Makers and Freelancers online course, we’ve collaborated with a good friend Bishop Reid, who we worked with on self-empowerment retreats in Brazil back in 2018.
We’d love to introduce ourselves and say a bit more about our 3 top tips for Meaningful Marketing and showing up in online spaces!
Be WHO Centred
Hi! I’m Bishop, a marketing consultant & mindfulness facilitator and coach.
The BIGGEST mistake I see my clients make when marketing and selling their services is that they try to be for everyone.
By trying to attract everyone to your product and services you end up attracting NO ONE.
When you don’t niche down enough, your ideal customers have a lack of clarity that you are the one who will help solve their specific problem.
A previous client of mine was a holistic health coach who initially was marketing to women. After we went through a niche training, we found who really responded to her service offering were women with anxiety struggling to get pregnant. Her sales tripled because her audience was CLEAR that she was solving a very specific problem with a specific expertise.
I have worked for several influencers, small businesses, and coach professionals and have learned a lot about what works and doesn’t work.
To feel confident in what you are doing versus feeling like you’re playing a guessing game, you need to know exactly WHO you are talking to and what you can help them with. The best way to do this is to speak to your people!
What do they struggle with? Where do they go to find helpful tools and resources? What’s their biggest aspiration? Don’t assume you already know the answers to these questions, conduct market research by simply asking them.
Get Clear on your Visual Brand Identity
Olivia here, Ardea’s co-founder and designer. Our main intention through Ardea is to support small businesses & freelancers who are working to create change in the world, so communicating their values and message with the world through design choices is key.
Visual design plays an important role when it comes to building your online presence.
Your main goal is to communicate what you do, clearly and consistently to the people who want and need your services. Having clear and consistent visuals simply helps your audience understand what you’re saying.
People instantly pick up on the mood or feeling of an image so the images you share related to your business / brand need to be intentionally selected!
Be clear: Use images which are relevant to your content, to your message, product service. They need to be clearly coming from you and aligned with your values / how you want your brand to be perceived. E.g. a size inclusive sportswear brand would use models of all sizes in photos shared.
Be consistent: Use visuals which confirm your identity, which remind your audience of the quality of your service and evoke a feeling that you’d like your client to feel after using your services. E.g. If you’re a meditation teacher, the images will most likely evoke a feeling of calm.
This might seem really obvious but you’d be surprised how many people forget the importance of choosing the right images to share / keeping them consistent!
Making a moodboard to collect visuals that inspire you can be a great place to start getting an idea for your own tastes and what you feel fits with your project / brand. In fact, it is how we start every bespoke design project that we do.
Remember: Progress over Perfection!
Jasmine here, ARDEA’s content / copywriter.
For us, marketing is essentially storytelling. It’s connecting with people, sharing our ideas, mission and values with the world. It’s not just about selling, as sometimes it may seem on the surface.
We work in marketing but we believe it goes far beyond making sales. Our approach is based in genuine organic growth that promotes ethical entrepreneurship and sustainable living.
What matters to us is progress over perfection which means leading from the heart and showing up even on the messy days. It really can be as simple as knowing what it is that you do best and focusing on that. This is how you hone in on making an impact.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to have all the high tech gadgets and gizmos or perfect your offering before launching. Just get out there, show up imperfectly and have fun in the process!
Many of us can be really resistant to being online. It can be hard to shake off feelings of self-consciousness, awkwardness or general fear of technology. But honestly, you just need to trust the work you do.
When you believe in the service you are offering, the other stuff like worrying about being in front of a camera will naturally start to melt away, especially as you get more practice in. It’s an exciting process of learning and growth, with all the peaks and dips that come alongside running your own business in uncertain times.
To demonstrate my point about having fun and showing up on the messy days, check out some footage from recording our first ever webinar, where technology tested all of our patience!
Learn more about our online self-directed study course: Meaningful Marketing for Freelancers & Changemakers where you will:
- Know how to design and implement your own marketing strategy to connect to your ideal clients.
- Create your own brand identity to communicate your values clearly and consistently.
- Nail your written message to set you up for success.
- Feel excited about marketing and know how to do it in a meaningful way that challenges the status quo!
- Unite well-being with work and be as strategic with your downtime as you are with your To-Do-Lists!
