How to Market Yourself in a Way That Feels Authentic
Denise Marcia showed up as her authenticate self wearing her favorite, fun blouse!
As a business person, you have to rely on some level of marketing in order to be successful. Marketing feeds new clients and customers into your business. It keeps you visible, which positively impacts your reputation.
And for most of us, it totally stresses you out.
That’s often because you’ve been told (and probably believe) that there’s a certain “right” way to market yourself online. Online gurus invest a lot of money in marketing they target you with, and most of it is designed to make you feel inadequate and totally lost. That’s how they sell you their programs, many of which teach techniques that might work for some people but won’t work for everyone.
So How Do You Market Yourself the Authentic Way?
The key is to figure out what feels good to you and channel that into your marketing. When you do that, you’ll show up more authentically, which is key to building a relationship with your audience. Doing things that don’t feel right for you tends to make you come across as spammy or pushy (the very things you don’t want to be).
I’m a big believer in figuring out what works for you and doing that instead of stressing yourself out to build multiple lead magnets or pull your hair out trying to figure out how to create Reels that convert. It’s a much better idea (and a lot more fun) to figure out your marketing goals and develop techniques that jive with them.
Using your genuine expression really engage with your audience.
Here are some tips for figuring out how a marketing strategy that feels right for you:
Get clear on your 5 Ws
I’m sure you’ve used the “Who, what, where, when, and how” concept for other things. It’s where you should start as you’re creating a marketing plan for yourself, too.
Here’s how it breaks down:
Who are you marketing to? Who is your ideal client, what are their biggest pain points, and how can you solve them? With any marketing you do, the most important question you can ask is, “What’s in it for them?”
What are you marketing? This can change depending on your focus. It may be general brand awareness this week, the launch of a new product or program next week, and an affiliate product the following week, or you may market the same services (like I do with my branded photography services) all the time.
Where are you marketing? Are most of your audience on certain social media platforms? Do they prefer to hear from you via email? This question is more about where your target market is than where you’d prefer to be, so be sure you’re looking at it from that perspective.
When are you marketing? Again, this depends on what you’re selling. I tend to more heavily market if I have an event coming up (like one of my famous Headshot Parties) than times when I’m just building my audience and focusing on connection.
Why are you marketing? Are you trying to grow your business from a sales standpoint? Are you looking for more leads? Do you simply want to increase awareness? It’s imperative that you’re clear about why you’re showing up before you show up or you’re wasting your time, energy, and money.
How Do You Show Up Authentically?
This is where I come in! First and foremost, since all online marketing is visual, you need to make sure you have branded photos that are not only good but make you feel great about yourself when you share them. Being more confident definitely impacts your business in a positive way, and I know having a great photo of yourself to share as your profile picture and in your marketing can boost your confidence significantly.
Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously or Buy Into FOMO
Even though you might feel like keeping up with the latest marketing trend on Instagram or figuring out how to gain 10,000 followers on TikTok will make or break your business, it won’t. In fact, if you allow those things to stress you out, it can have a negative impact on your business because it stresses you out and makes you feel frantic.
Marketing your business is not life and death. Is it something you have to do? Yes. But you get to decide how, when, and where you do it, and you can change your mind and your strategy anytime you want to.
That latest trend may be just that…a trend that won’t last and may not be effective long (or even short) term.
Using expressions that your clients use can help them understand that you get it and are here to help!
Bottom line…
You can start marketing your business in ways that feel good and right to you. If you don’t have current personal branding photos that make you feel fabulous, we should talk (because that’s where all good marketing starts).
Book a free 15-minute consult today, and let’s talk about which branded photos you need to make your marketing authentic and effective.