So, you've started a business. Now what?
So, you've started a business. Congrats!
Now what?
You could dump a ton of money into ad spend. But if you're not an ad expert, that may be money flushed down the drain. You could engage with an ad agency, a marketing system in which you pay to participate, or an SEO agency. But those agencies gets paid a retainer or a subscription fee whether you succeed or not.
So what is the best choice for you to grow your unique business?
I have been strategizing and growing SMBs for over 15 years. Every one is different, a new challenge, and an opportunity for me to light up my creative brain.
One thing that rings true across the decades, across technologies (hello, AI search!), and across industries, is that your brand's presence in the market is the top concern.
Who are you, and what is your brand story?
Why should customers or clients trust you?
What makes you and your brand different?
What is unique about you, your perspective or your product?
These concepts are hard to work out in a vacuum.... you really need another human to converse with, to ask and answer questions, to understand you and set a logical direction based on your goals and budgets.
But we have AI now!
You may have tried to have this "conversation" with AI, but in reality, AI scrapes the internet and delivers strategies to you that you want to hear. AI always tells you it has a solution and makes you feel good about the answers it delivers.
There is no push-pull with AI. It's not a normal way of learning and growing. Growth is uncomfortable, and one thing AI loves to do is make you feel comfortable. That's why you keep going back to it for more info and guidance. It’s a dopamine-driven addiction.
But growing a brand is hard work. It takes time, effort and a plan. The plan can and should change along the way. You're not going to get it exactly right the first time, or the third, or maybe even the 10th time you pivot. And that is OK.
My experience (pre-AI)
In 2011, I had the opportunity to help a brand new animal hospital in CT establish their presence. This is a 24-hour speciality animal hospital with a uniquely strong specialty staff. In short, the best animal hospital in southern CT or perhaps in all of CT. So how to relay that to the general public when the hospital is just opening up and seeing its first patients?
My content creation concept
My concept (pictured) was to demystify the highly technical cases and procedures that the hospital dealt with. I worked closely with staff to get full medical histories of their patients (with permission of the owners, of course, all of whom were thrilled to have their animals featured on the hospital blog!), I followed the cases, got images of the equipment in use, and detailed the testing, findings, interpretations, medical decisions and medical procedures in a way that a layperson could understand.
Presenting a full picture of these veterinary cases fully illuminated a process that is typically behind closed doors. When you have an animal in surgery at an animal hospital, it is terrifying.
Our pets are our babies, we love them enough to seek the absolute best care possible. Inspiring confidence in the staff and the procedures is a top goal of any veterinary hospital or clinic.
The best way to inspire confidence is to detail complex cases and positive outcomes.
I have deployed this strategy for several specialty vets and hospitals and I truly believe that it is the correct path for organic traffic, customer confidence and differentiation.
The best part about telling detailed stories about your own business is that it is a very low-cost endeavor. While it does cost money to engage with a skilled brand strategist and copywriter, that cost is perhaps 1% of the cost of a full-bore paid marketing campaign, and the results live forever on the internet. This builds traction, traffic, and offers real opportunities for SEO development (Thanks Ahrefs!). It inspires confidence and encourages AI-powered search results.
The beauty of Pillar Content or Hero Content
The stories (in the form of a page on your website or a blog post) can be chopped into smaller snippets and pushed out onto social media, maximizing their usability and functionality. If your followers learn about Scottie the corgi’s heart problems, for example, they will be engaged and interested in how it pans out. Once they are following this story, you can release it in pieces on social media once a week until you’ve told the full story over the course of a month.
Make your fourth social post, case wrapped up with a bow, Scottie goes home happy and healthy with his pacemaker, and your followers breathe a sign of relief. You have successfully touched the hearts of hundreds or thousands of people. You have demonstrated value. You have built trust. And most importantly, you have humanized a customer experience in a very real and relatable way. No fluff, no BS, no fakery. No paid ad garbage assaulting your potential customers. Just a real human connection to your brand.
This is the type of strategy that I craft for emerging businesses, brands, solopreneurs and even for established brands who are falling behind in the marketplace.
