How is your business going? Have enough customers and leads?
Most people in business, especially in business for themselves, could always use more. Paid advertising, outsourced advertising, organic outreach – so many opinions on what to do out there these days.
Organic outreach is something that you can do for yourself, for free, and – I think – should be done whatever else you are doing. It helps ‘grease the wheels’ and amplify everything else you are doing, including any paid ads.
Organic outreach is all about becoming a thought leader in your niche. Find relevant groups. Post value into those groups, interact with people in those groups. Try to become a contributor rather than just a consumer of social media. Aim to add value. Avoid posting anything that is just “buy from me, but from me, but from me”. Nobody likes that.
You never want to stop this.
Your marketing becomes a ‘self-supporting eco-system’. You comment in groups, people see it. They may check you out. Your Facebook profile should reflect what you do, and reflect competence, as with your posts. Let people see you as a real and competent person. If the last thing you posted was a beach photo six months ago – you are not likely to be taken seriously as a thought leader in your field.
Ideally tie this in with your website, and the navigation through your website. Ideally tie this all in with your blogs. When a prospective customer checks you out, there is evidence or ‘track record’ of being active and competent.
Organic outreach is a validation tool. You put stuff out and get feedback. You start to get a feel of what works, and what does not. What people respond to, and what they don’t. It enable you to test and practice words that work, and hone those that don’t. Quite likely, if you’re skipping organic and going straight to paid ads – it is unlikely to work.
A big, big key to this is CONSISTENCY. Very like going to the gym – go once and expect to be fit and strong simply doesn’t work. Too much exercise doesn’t lead to good results – rather pain and damage. Too little exercise doesn’t lead to good results either. The right amount, of the right kind, regularly, consistently applied with patience … there lies good progress. A truism of pretty much all of life.
Even when you are successful with paid advertising, you CANNOT stop organic. It is its own eco-system. People see your post, they see your ad, they see your comment – every touchpoint builds on previous touchpoints. Organic outreach tends to be an ‘amplification’ process – improving everything you are doing.
Another effect of organic outreach, where you are contributing to and interacting with a wide range of people and platforms, the loss of one particular platform won’t floor you. For people relying on Facebook ads, having your account or page shut down (as happens all too commonly) is bad news.
I think, if you are struggling to get customers – look to your organic outreach. If you haven’t really started it yet – make a start. Just start. At first it is hard, and you output stuff to no effect. But keep going. Keep looking for, finding and interacting with relevant groups.Remember the key principle of CONSISTENCY. You will get better, as with any skill you practice with commitment and consistency. You will learn, results will come. When it is time for paid ads, they will be that much more effective. Make that start. Whatever you do will resonate with some and won’t resonate with others. Those for whom your message did not resonate are simply not of your tribe – don’t be held back by that. Move forward on your journey regardless. Express your own authenticity and results will follow.
Nurture your organic outreach – nurture your business growth.
Things not as successful as you would like? Truthfully, is your organic outreach up to scratch?