About this episode.

Far too often we see people focusing on only one channel to grow their audience, usually their own social media pages. However there are SO many different tactics we can use to grow our audience beyond just posting to our own social media feed, and in today's episode that's what we're undercovering.

In this episode we're also going to discuss more on owned, earned and paid media channels and collaborations, and the important role they each play in marketing.

Keep in mind, this is not about doing more - this is about shifting your focus so you can make your marketing work harder for you and attract more of the right leads.

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Hello and welcome to the Business of Perfectionism, my name is Kristy and I am a Marketing and Mindset coach for creative entrepreneurs and consultants who are ready to market their business and create more income doing exactly what they love. 

Today I wanted to chat with you about how to reach more of the right people and grow your audience. 

This episode came to me because I am seeing so many business owners focus on the one channel, the one single form of media, and that is instagram.

Now, I have nothing against instagram, in fact I love instagram, however what I am finding is people are launching their businesses, they are starting an Instagram page and then that’s kind of it, they rely solely on that to bring in and nurture all of their potential clients. 

As a starting point this is great, Instagram is a marketing tool that is completely free to use (unless you’re paying for advertising of course) and it’s where a lot of your dream clients are hanging out, so you’d be crazy not to use it. 

The problem that I do see from here though, is that people begin to reply on this one channel, on this one medium to communicate with their ideal clients and to sell all of their offers, they pour their heart and soul into instagram, creating feed posts, stories, reels, going LIVE, creating carousels they are relying solely on themselves creating all of this content for this one platform. 

Now, there are different tactics you can try of course, we know that reels have the potential to reach a larger audience, however if you’re creating the incredible reels and managing to go viral, that doesn’t guarantee your reel is going to reach the right people, the people that are likely to pay for whatever it is you do.

I have heard a few of these stories, people gaining 100’s if not 1000’s of followers off the back of a reel however not receiving any sales, or new enquiries, their website traffic doesn't change.. People are there for the show and unless you’re a content creator and an influencer and you’ve actually got a product or service to sell, this tactic might not be helping you, and it might be taking up a lot of your time. 

Now am I saying don’t post reels? Not at all, I do believe Reels should be a part of your social media strategy…

However what I would like to open your eyes to is all the other incredible marketing opportunities that have the potential to be as lucrative, if not in some instance more lucrative that just focusing on your social media channels.

The first one that I want to discuss is what is called Owned Media. 

This is things like your social media channels, your website, your email list, groups or memberships you might be a part of, your Podcast a blog, your app - anything where you really remain in complete control of the narrative.

It’s obvious, you cannot run a business without some form of owned media. First and foremost like I said you control the narrative, the direction, the frequency - it is yours, it is a part of your brand and allows you to communicate with your audience. 

It is great for nurturing your audience, building trust, sharing your message, communicating with your audience and we always want to be bringing people back into our owned channels. 

Going back to what I was speaking about earlier, the problem is I see far too many people focusing solely on social media and forgetting about their other channels. 

For example, email. Email has the potential to produce one of the highest ROI’s in all marketing activity, yet so often it’s forgotten about in favour of the Instagram feed. 

I definitely feel like email marketing deserves more credit and than what it receives, so I am going to encourage you to start looking at your other owned channels like your email list, website and anything that you own and ask yourself how you can make these work better for you in your overall marketing strategy. 

This also goes if your business has a physical presence or a shop front, so if people are first likely to come across you because they walked passed your shop front however maybe they’ve come into the store and perhaps even purchased something, rather than just completely a cash transaction and letting them walk away, how can you get them to follow you on social media and join your email list. 

You want to create more opportunities to speak with these people rather than relying on them to walk past or thinking of you when they need something specific or if a special occasion like someones birthday is coming up - we want to be getting in touch with these people via email first and foremost and then seeing them on our socials as well so we can remain front of mind for when they need us and we have a way of clearly telling them when we have something they might be interested in. 

So owned channels are the first channels we will start with in business, they can be great for bringing people into our orbit (like social media for example), and great for nurturing leads and building that relationship also. 

The second thing I want to chat about is Earned Media and Collaborations.

Earned Media are things like unpaid mentions of you through another parties channel, it could be a piece of PR - maybe that you pitched to a publication, be it online or print, it could be a mention of you in a top 10 list for example, a shout out from another business or someone who has worked with you, a testimonial or review published for you, a guest blog opportunity or a Podcast interview on someone else’s show. 

There are plenty of things to love about earned media.

If someone asks you to be on their podcast as an expert in your particular area it helps to position you as an expert. It builds credibility and authority. It’s an opportunity to reach and speak directly to their audience which will no doubt in turn, also grow yours. 

Same if media agree they want to publish your article, or maybe they ask you to weigh in on a topic.

Maybe someone asks you to contribute to their blog, take over their Instagram page for a day, gives you a shout out for all of the incredible work you have done or write a really incredible review for you on Google. 

This all contributes to building your brand, bringing more people into awareness of your brand and building your reputation. 

There is obviously still some work required from you, however it’s not just you promoting you, you now have other people speaking about you, you’re reaching audiences beyond your own and positioning yourself in the market. 

I mentioned collaborations before also as it kind of falls under here but can be a little bit different, this is about you partnering with a like minded brand or brands and working together in a way that mutually benefits you both - you reach their audience and they reach yours, you might have teamed up for a creative project, to do a blog swap, a photoshoot, to create a product or a service.

There is so much value in Earned Media and I so often think this gets really overlooked also, people are nervous to pitch their ideas or ask people if they’d like to collaborate. 

One of the things I have loved the most about my business journey so far is the incredible people I have met along the way, the amazing business owners I have gotten to know and had the opportunity to work with. 

Number one, it’s just good for you. Having people who are going through or have been through what you’re going through.

There is so much fun to be had in partnering with other business owners, it doesn't need to be complicated and convoluted, just keep it simple and have some fun and create something you know both audiences will love. 

And lastly, I’m not really going to touch on this one too much today but it was paid media. 

So we’re taking Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Ad words, Sponsorships, Influencers - anything with money behind it.

Paid Media is great for building brand awareness and reaching a larger number of people in a small time, it can also be great if you are selling a product or offer and would like to make more people aware of it. 

A great marketing strategy should include both Owned and Eaned media first and foremost, and of course when the time is right and if budget permits paid media can also be great to incorporate, however it is good to remember that paid will not work on it’s own. 

If you’re paying for ads however you website really needs some work and isn’t converting sales, then ads aren’t likely to have the effect you want, you really need to nail these other strategies first, before you think about injecting paid media into the mix.

So, the point of this episode was really to chat to you about the types of ways in which you can reach more of the right people and grow your audience, and to really get you thinking about channels other than Instagram and I do hope this has done just that. 

And lastly before you go I wanted to take a quick moment to let you know about a new 1:1 program I am creating, this is specifically for small business owners who really want to dive deep into their marketing strategy and their mindset - you want to do more than just use instagram to market your business and you’re ready to do the work. 

My new program will be launching in early september and I am taking on a small group of incredible people in a beta round, this round will be at a heavily reduced investment and you will have 1:1 access to me for up to 6 weeks alongside having pre-recorded trainings and lessons on all things marketing and social media so you can grow your business.

If you would like more information on this please head to me website - link below and please get in touch with me, or please head on over to instagram and find me there - its kristy pask and DM me and I will be sure to let you know as soon as more information is available. 

If you have any questions about todays episode or would like to get in touch with me please use the links below in the show notes. 

Thank you again for joining me here today, I look forward to chatting with you again soon. 

Links and resources:

Learn more about my 12 week, 1:1 coaching program: The Holistic Marketing Method

Connect with me on Instagram: @kristypask

Book in a 1:1 single session with me here.