MARKETING
Assured Posting is a marketing company. We focus on getting customers to know you exist. Customers cannot buy if they don’t know who you are, where you are located and what products/services you offer.
How long do you spend ‘thumbing’ through your feed? How many posts do you see? Do you remember a post you saw once after seeing another ten or twenty posts? If you see a post three or four times with same subject, then what do you remember about those posts? Do you remember posts whose subject you are interested in or is there something unique about posts that you will also note? As you thumb through your feed remember your customer also will thumb through their feed with a similar awareness.
What makes a person stop, read, remember and even send to self those interesting posts? Consistency. Consistency is not a new different post every day or every few days. Consistency is a brand, something unique. Brands that become recognizable are easily remembered. What is your brand? Is it a symbol or mark, your name, business name, descriptive name, your style or price point? Branding identifies you separate from other similar companies.
Even though there are thousands of products in the store, the brand Target is easily remembered. Can you picture the red bull’s eye? They started before social media and made themselves known through their brand. Another would be Thrive cosmetics. The product is shown relatively small within the whole post with the word Thrive and the color turquoise prominent and easy to remember.
Let's say you are a hair salon owner specializing in pixie hair cuts. What is the name of your salon -- personal, street or service? Is the name easy to pronounce and remember such as Pixie or is it difficult such as Morningwood Studemont Salon. Are you showing many different posts for hair cutting, hair coloring, nails, eyebrows and eyelashes all with different background colors and typeface? You are a full service salon and that is important. Consider adding a descriptive name such as Mode or Rage, one color background with five pictures of your speciality, five pixie hair cuts. Your other services are introduced as a line items on the post, at the salon and on your web site. They are sold as your customer sits in your chair getting a pixie haircut!
Another example would be an art gallery. You like and show abstract art but have decided to show all types of art hoping to attract all types of customers. Posts of acrylic abstract art are shown in January, metal sculptures in February and watercolor landscapes in March. Your gallery is not large enough or exhibitions planned where you carry and show all types of art. Your potential customer likes what they saw in January but does not like what they saw in February and March. In April they want to purchase abstract art but have forgotten about your gallery. Here inconsistency just lost a sale.
Marketing is making your customers remember you through branding, color and name. Target’s red bullseye means hundreds of personal and home products, Thrive is an unusual and active word and along with turquoise is memorable. Rage would be another unusual and active word describing hair salon services and with their speciality pixie haircuts pictures, both become memorable. Abstract defines both art and the customer who purchases it.
Use a phone and take pictures. Align the pictures together and chose five that are cohesive and define you. Remember potential customers are 'thumbing' through social media. In one span when they see your post three, four or five times something needs to connect the posts - something that is easily remembered. Second we will also ask for captions for each of the five pictures. The picture description should be simple and easy to read. Your demographics - name, address, phone, web and email will also be shown. Facebook and Instagram are 'picture' based, it is your pictures that show who you are and what you sell.
Selling
I would like to impart just a bit on selling. In the art gallery example above, potential customers see your posts and then when ready will go to the gallery to inquire. You have a piece they like. Now it is up to the sales person to sell and to turn a customer into a client.
The sales person needs to ask essential questions:
is this theme general to all of the art you have in your home/business
are the colors consistent for example blues or is there a span of colors for example blues, turquoises and lime greens
are the shapes always fluid or are they rigid and angular
are the art pieces large, small or a mix
are you looking for more pieces, replacing pieces or just buying what catches your eye
are there dollar amounts most appropriate or within your budget
Regardless of an immediate sale, this interaction shows customer service and interest. The answers give the salesperson needed information. It is vital to acquire email and physical address along with phone number(s) to send complimentary art piece information. Label columns in a spread sheet with dates, theme, materials, colors, size, price, etc. When a new piece comes in you now have a client list to sort for compatibility. Repeat customer interaction will produce repeat sales and is essential for success in today's market.