Breaking through the noise online – marketing mindset

I’ve been talking a lot about marketing mindset recently, it’s even the theme of the first module in our online marketing training course. When I discuss this, it isn’t just about the mindset of the audience we’re trying to reach but also about ensuring we have the right mindset that sets us up for success in everything we do when marketing our businesses.

Let’s focus in this article, however, on the mindset of the audience you’re trying to curate – how do you ensure your message lands with them? That when they see your posts on their various social media feeds that they actually take a moment to engage?

Delete, Distort, Generalise

As human beings, our brains are processing a crazy amount of information at any one time, and much of that is being done subconsciously. So how do we decide what to pay attention to? Essentially, we are immediately deleting, distorting or generalising what we see, feel and hear at all times. To bring it back to a social media example, imagine you’re scrolling through Instagram or Facebook. All these posts whizzing by, some you don’t notice, some stand out to you, and as you pause on them, within milliseconds you think, “They’re ALWAYS complaining about something.” or “EVERYONE on Facebook is just…”. Those are generalisations we’re making. Sometimes we’ll see those same posts and make assumptions, essentially distorting what we’re seeing by looking at the message being delivered via our own individual view of the world.

Interestingly, there are some things we’re instantly deleting too. For example, it’s possible that before you started reading this blog you scrolled up and down to see how long the article was and what the subheadings were so you could decide if it was going to be worth your time. But perhaps you deleted the banner advert halfway through – you just didn’t see it. But, now that I’m talking about it, it’s now front and centre in your mind!

Breaking through the noise online

I have written previously about what it takes to stand out online and how to get seen. I’ve also talked and written at length about how to identify your ideal client. So in this article, I’m going to give you some very specific tips on how to position your message and your content. I’m going to keep these tips simple, and then if you want to, invite you to reach out so we can have a more detailed conversation about how this applies to you and your business!

Values

Understand the values that are most important to your prospects and build these into your content. Make sure it’s apparent at first glance. We’re drawn to anything that is in alignment with our personal values and repelled by the things that reflect values we find abhorrent. Use this to attract the right people into your audience and through your marketing funnel.

Beliefs

The people that are not using your product or service and should be, what do they believe to be true? It’s your job to either evidence that you are working in a way that reflects their positive beliefs, or challenges the negative beliefs they have that are potentially based on previous bad experiences or assumptions.

Imagery

Your prospects may have an idea of what it looks like to work with you; the way they see that can be imagined, so show them the reality! Using your social media channels to do this is an obvious move, whether it’s through photos or video.

Language

Linguistics is an interesting topic when it comes to marketing! I would encourage you to really think about the language you use. Firstly, make sure you’re speaking their language – not yours. You’re knowledgeable and passionate about your subject, and so will talk about your area of expertise at a level that likely needs simplifying for someone for whom this isn’t a passion. Secondly, remember, we all have different ways of communicating. Some of us are more visual, some more auditory, and others more kinesthetic. Even in your written language, think about the words you use that create communications that sit under these three categories. (There’s actually more than just these three… again, tell me if you want to know more!)

It’s not just about their mindset – it’s about yours too

I said I was going to focus on mindset from the perspective of the audience you’re trying to reach, but I can’t not say at least one little thing here! In order to make the changes that allow you to break through the filters I’ve mentioned above, you might need to step up more so than you have been doing. For some, it’s just about prioritising and scheduling time. For others, the idea of recording that video fills them with dread. They’ll write that LinkedIn post and look at it for five minutes before hitting delete instead of post. If that sounds like you or if you see yourself stopping you from doing what you need to, if you feel that this is where you’ll need the most support… I want to help you.

If you want to find out more about mindset and to find out Christina’s big news, check out this episode of live lunch!