Estimated completion time: 2-3 hours
Section 3 is here! Is today a tea day or a blonde roast day? We're thinking something caffeinated…we're diving into your 140 characters!
Section 3: Develop your 140 character description(s).
It's time to fill out your profile descriptions on your different social media platforms and other online marketing websites. I recommend keeping it around 140 characters. Why? If you have to ramble on about what it is that you do…do you think you do too much and are overextending yourself? Or do you not have a clear picture of who you are or what your business is?
A strong description includes some of the same things your elevator pitch should have:
- Your goal(s)
- An analysis of your audience(s)
- Your value proposition
- Your CTA (Call-to-Action)
Now, download our 140 Character Development file! As you read each of the following sections, complete the corresponding section on the Development File before moving on to the next section.
1. Your goal
If you haven't already developed your elevator pitch (or you'd like to do a little tweaking), I recommend you start by listening to this podcast. (Side note: I started the idea of A Cup of Content with these podcasts over at our parent company Content a la mode.) Obviously, your 60-second pitch will be longer than 140 characters, but it's a GREAT starting point for writing your 140 character descriptions!
Back to it: your goal can't just be “to make money”. That's an outcome, not a goal. So ask yourself: what do you want to do for others? Do you want to be the first person people turn to for ingenious branding ideas? Do you want to be the bike store with the best customer service and repair department? Figure out what that goal is and write it down on our handy 140 Character Development file.
What if I have multiple goals?
That's ok! I made room for it on the 140 Character Development file because we're going to come back to that and use it later.
2. Your audience
The most important mistake that businesses make is that while they know who they are, they don't always know who their audience(s) is OR how their audience is searching for the products and services they offer.
Every business has 3 audiences: primary, secondary, and tertiary. (I'll be talking waaaay more in depth about audience in the subscription-based platform!)
- Your primary audience is often your largest audience and the ones most likely to buy from you or use your services. They are the easiest to attract, sometimes because they've bought from you before. You can also take risks with this audience. This is the friendly audience.
- Your secondary audience might be those who don't know about you yet but need your products or services. This audience needs encouragement and education about your business and its products or services.
- Your tertiary audience might be on the outskirts, the people who don't know they need you. Perhaps this is a B2B prospect.
The branding business might have the following audiences:
- Primary: businesses/entrepreneurs who are in the development stages and need a logo, style guide, etc.
- Secondary: businesses who already have a brand but are open to a redesign/new branding/modernizing.
- Tertiary: agencies who develop websites or implement social media for businesses who might have clients who need branding.
You're going to have to think outside the box…but you'll learn that your audiences each have different needs and, therefore, different requirements for how they're marketed to!
3. Your value proposition
What is it you do that your target audience would find valuable? For example, the branding company I mentioned earlier might offer graphic design in addition to their branding services. An essential oils business might offer recipes for mixing their products together for different purposes. Again, you will most likely have multiple value propositions…and that's ok. I'll revisit that at the end.
A quality value proposition should answer these things:
- What problem does my product/service solve?
- How am I unique from everyone else out there?
- What benefits can my customer expect from my product/service?
Of note: don't get too specific. The more specific you are, the more difficult it is to cover all of those audiences in 140 characters. But this will be fabulous research and consideration for more in-depth courses within our subscription platform where we get deeper into audience and value propositions!
4. CTA! (Call to action)
This is it! The last one!
A Call to Action is just that: calling people to take action. In our 140 character descriptions, that action is to follow you and then to become a long-term customer.
It's not just saying, “Shop now!” Direct sales isn't what works. Neither does using scare tactics. Consider the indirect pitch. “Contact us for more information” or “Learn how to be a better photographer here” People are far more interested in learning than buying.
So…how does that help me?
Well, you can't sell all the time. Think about the businesses you consistently follow or subscribe to. Are they constantly selling to you in every post? I could easily create a post that tells people to sign up for my subscription platform. But instead, I'm offering free eCourses that show people just one example of how they might learn from the subscription platform if they were to sign up. Which do you think I'll have a better chance with?
Your English teacher was right: show, don't tell. Education is the BEST form of selling.
140 characters
Don't be surprised if you end up with several drafts. As a matter of fact, you should have several examples. Don't you have several social media platforms with different audiences and expectations on each? So use different 140 character descriptions on each platform. Each will most likely have different keywords that your potential clients might use to search for you, so you're working your SEO, too!
Finish up your work on our 140 Character Development file. I've outlined a few starting points for your final 140 character description there!
Up next: Section 4.
Section 4 is all about your contact information. It won't take nearly as long as today–we promise!