Tooting your own horn just isn’t an effective marketing strategy. Allow us to do it for you.
Marketing data shows that people are deeply disinterested in your self-promotional talk. Yes, they may be interested in you as a person. But, they don’t want to hear you spout off about the greatness of what you sell.
We have consistently seen that social posts written in the third person (“look at her great new project photos”) get 3x more clicks than posts that are first person (“look at my great new project photos”).
When you are paying for your social reach, this translates to each third-person advertising dollar being at least 3x more effective. It becomes “buy one view, get two views free.” The impact of each view is much higher.
Traditionally, the way to access the credibility of a third-person endorsement was through PR. You’d hire a PR agent or publicist, pay them a monthly fee, and then would hope that they were good enough at pitching to the media that some publication would cover your story and publish your photos.
When done extremely well, which requires the right combination of great images/story and a savvy/connected publicist, the pitch gets knocked out of the ballpark and your photos end up on the cover of Arch Digest or Veranda.
When not successful, you get nothing but the bill.
Between the hero and zero results, between the home run and the strike out, are a continuum of small hits with the local media that may or may not have an impact on your business.
Digital PR is a method for business owners that want guarantees.
It is more like playing t-ball than the major leagues. Every time you go up to bat, you get a hit.
Digital PR entails both pitching and batting- creating the angle, writing the story, and getting it published. As they say, “freedom of the press belongs to he who owns the press,” and by utilizing digital media we ensure that we own the right to having you heard.
Here at Client Expander we have developed a Digital PR process around the unique needs of interior designers and other home pros. Read about it here: The Design Marketing Network.
The Digital PR process entails:
When done regularly, it sends the message to your target audience that you are a recognized professional that is a safe choice to trust with their home project.
Read the next article in this series about social media marketing.