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If you're a small business owner, you already know...it ain't easy. Sure, there are lots of scary aspects to running your own business. At the end of the day, all of the decisions and responsibilities fall on your plate, and it's ultimately up to you and you alone to decide how you want to drive your business forward. But what about marketing your small business? How are you translating your products and services to ensure your target audiences know you exist, believe in what you're selling, and trust that you're the best person for the job? I am about to share the two words that can help take your small business from zero to one hundred. Brace yourself, though, because these two words will probably have you shaking in your boots. 🙀👢 Word number one: Authenticity Google defines authentic as having an undisputed origin, genuine. Authenticity is the quality of being authentic. So, what is this telling us about our small business marketing strategy? It's simple: If we're not being real and genuine with our audience, why should we expect them to believe in us and whatever we're trying to sell them? Again, it sounds simple on paper, but to actually put this word into action...yikes. So, how can you show up as authentic when marketing your business? Here are two tips: Let your audience know that you recognize and relate to their struggles. There's a good chance your product or service is solving a problem. If it's not, let's have a conversation. By acknowledging the issues that your target customers face, you're showing up on their level. AKA, you're letting them know you feel their pain and want to help them do something about it. Show off your personality. Are you funny? Are you kind and soft-spoken? Is it easy for you to command the attention of a room? Do you give off vibes that are loving and compassionate? Showcase these traits in your marketing through the words you write in your social media captions, the images you select for your website, the music you use to pair with your IG Reels, the jokes you crack in your YouTube videos, and the witty subject lines you pair with your monthly email newsletter. You get the point. Let others see the real you. Don't hide behind the old idea that "business is all seriousness, and there's no room for fun." Word number two: Vulnerability Okay, I admit, this one makes me sweat. 🥵 Google defines vulnerability as the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked 😕 or harmed, either physically or emotionally. I mean, get us the heck out of here, am I right? Okay, take a breath, calm your nerves. It's not as bad as it sounds. Being vulnerable when marketing your small business is one of the most effective ways to connect with your target audience and convince them that you are the best person or that your products are the best for the job. How do you go about doing that? Here are two tips: Take them behind the scenes. Show them the real you. Give them a glimpse behind the curtain. If you're human, which I assume you are, your business has more depth than your brand colors, the price of your products and services, and the flashy "About Me" page on your website. Filming a Reel for Instagram? Show off your face and let them hear your voice. Updating your opening hours on your Facebook status? Tell them the real reason why you're running late. Like, your kid got sick in the carpool line, and you had to wait for Grandma to come over for backup sick kid patrol. Writing a blog post about your latest tips and tricks? Throw in a line admitting that the tips and tricks you give out aren't always easy to implement yourself (cough cough 🙋🏻‍♀️). Admit it when you make a mistake. Yeah, I said it. Here's the deal: No one is perfect, even a small business owner whose goal is to appear to have perfected the art of their niche market. Part of being vulnerable and reminding your customers that you're just like them is clearing the air when something goes wrong. Did you fail to ship your products on time? Send an email apologizing for the inconvenience and offering a discount code for the next order. Not sure how to navigate a new software that has your entire industry buzzing? Post a video explaining that while you might not have all the answers right now, you're doing all you can to educate yourself going forward. You get the point. Yeah, it sucks to admit you're wrong, but it also positions you as someone who is not afraid to make mistakes and commits to offering your customers the very best experience that you know they deserve. From words to action Still here? I didn't scare you away? That's good. Now that I've given you my secret tools for connecting with your audience on a personal level, it's up to you to put these words into action. Apply authenticity and vulnerability to your marketing plan, and I promise you'll see results. If you don't, you can call me out on it, and I'll apologize. We'll work together to make it right. Now, get out there and be the most authentic and vulnerable version of yourself! 💃🏻

Figuring out how to advertise your small business is no easy task. There are SO many options out there. How do you know where to start between Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter 🪦💀), TikTok, Snap, LinkedIn, and so many others? Glad you asked. Keep reading. First, you should determine what kind of Small Biz Owner you are. Need help with that? Read this post. Once you know what category you fall into as a small business owner, you can assess your current social media strategy —or lack thereof—and develop a plan for effectively reaching your target audience on social media. This segues nicely to our next step: Defining your target audience. Knowing your customers is critical to determining which social media platforms you should use. If you advertise your business on TikTok but most of your customers are on Facebook, you're kind of missing the boat, wouldn't you say? So, how do you know where your customers are? Answer: research . Yes, I know. It's no one's favorite part of the job, but it is necessary. Identifying your customer's key demographics, including age, location, gender, interests, income, and spending habits, sets the stage for where these folks might hang out online. You can use tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights to determine these demographics. Or, you can call me, and I'll do it for you. 😉 Nice plug, right? So now that you know what your customers look like, you can determine which social media channels they scroll their lives away on . I know it sounds morbid, but it's almost 2025. This is the world we live in. 🤷🏻‍♀️ To get you started, here are some quick stats about some popular social media channels: Facebook: Number of monthly active users: 3.065 billion Largest age group: 25-34 (29.9%) Gender distribution: 43.7% female, 56.3% male (no data on other genders) Time spent per day: 30.9 minutes Instagram: Number of monthly active users: 2 billion Largest age group: 18-24 (30.8%) Gender distribution: 48.2% female, 51.8% male (no data on other genders) Time spent per day: 33.1 minutes TikTok: Number of monthly active users: 1.7 billion Largest age group: 18-24 (36.2%) Gender distribution: 49.2% female, 50.8% male (no data on other genders) Time spent per day: 53.8 minutes X (formerly Twitter): Number of monthly active users: 368 million Largest age group: 25-34 (38.5%) Gender distribution: 37% female, 63% male (no data on other genders) Time spent per day: 34.1 minutes YouTube: Number of monthly active users: 2.491 billion Largest age group: 25-34 (21.2%) Gender distribution: 45.6% female, 54.4% male (no data on other genders) Time spent per day: 48.7 minutes Do you have an idea of where and how to get started? That's great. I'm so glad I could help. Selecting the appropriate social media channels to market and advertise your business is a critical first step in digital advertising. The channels you choose will act as a launch pad for messaging and branding your products and services and set the stage for selling. So, now that you've got the channels down, what comes next? Ah...content creation. 😱 We'll save that one for another day. Do you need help researching your target audience to determine which social media channels you should use to market your small business?

I recently sat down with Joshua Ingram, a real estate agent with The Dream Builders and Page Properties Team, to chat about marketing, community, and small business success!

To answer the question: maybe, probably, depends. Disclaimer: This question does not apply to whatever you've got going on in your personal life. There's a chance a content plan could help ease your woes, but whatever happens outside of your 9-5, that's for you and your BFF to hash out over a bottle of Pinot. Trust me, I wish a simple spreadsheet could solve all of my probs, too... Content planning is all the rage. If you search "digital marketing tips" on Instagram, you're guaranteed to see thousands of posts and "pros" spilling their secrets on How to plan a month's worth of content in just 15 minutes! Look... if it were that easy, they wouldn't be wasting time and money promoting their "top secret strategy" on Instagram. The truth is that creating content is challenging and time-consuming. Good content creation requires much more than slapping some ideas into Chat GPT and duplicating those ideas across various posts, platforms, and mediums. The good news is that there are some steps you can take to ease the pain. The other good news is that I will tell you what those steps are without requiring you to comment "WORKSHOP" and download my PDF. 💅🏻 Step One: Brainstorm some ideas. Yes, it's that easy. Grab a notebook, open a Word doc., create a new sheet in your notes app—wherever you go to "jot things down," this is your starting place. First, think about your business. What do you do? What do you sell? Who are your customers? What do your customers like about you? What do your customers like about what you do and sell? Second, think about what makes you special. How are you different from your competitors? What do you do that makes you stand out? What is one thing you can offer your customers that your competition can't? Third, write down a few of YOUR favorite things. Do you have kids and love hanging out with them? Do you love to travel, read, cook, play tennis, or lay on your couch binging Gilmore Girls? Once you feel like you've made some good headway on your three lists, step away. Take a breather. Go for a run (if you're into that kind of thing). Grab a cocktail with some friends. LET THE LIST SIT. 💆🏻‍♀️ Step Two: Build your content themes. Pro Tip: Content themes are similar to content pillars. If you hire me to build your brand toolkit, I'll develop your themes/pillars for you. Less work for you and more business for me. It's a win-win, am I right? 💁🏻‍♀️ Start with your first list. What types of content do you want to create that are focused on your business? Is your product or service exclusive? Is your offering top-quality? Do you provide the highest-level customer support? Example: If your business is a local bookstore, your first theme might be: In-store inventory of over 5,000 books. Do the same thing with your second and third and list. Following our bookstore example, our second theme might be:  A   selection of rare first-edition classics . To tie in your family's involvement in the business, the third theme could be:  What are my kids reading? Three: Now that you have your themes, it's time to create sub-buckets under each. Here's how: In-store inventor of over 5,000 books: Special Section of Local Authors Travel Guides to All Seven Continents NYT Best Seller's Early Arrivals A selection of rare first-edition classics: Classic American Authors Female Protagonists Books That Shaped Modern Politics What are my kids reading? Kids Read For Free Event Nostalgic Baby Books What's Trending With YA Four: Start developing your content. Using your themes and sub-buckets, you now have an outline for at least 12 pieces of content. I advise creating the content that will take you the longest to complete first. That might be a YouTube video, email, podcast, blog post, etc. Once your long-form content is completed, break it down into smaller chunks for platforms like social media and Google ads. BAM. You're done. You 've planned and created your content. Now, all that's left to do is schedule, post, and watch it perform. 💃🏻 As I said at the beginning of this blog post, content planning is not easy. However, there are simple steps and a few tricks that you can implement to make it not so hard. So, will a content plan solve all of your problems? No. But it will save you time, money, and most likely your sanity, and if you're asking me, those are three problems that I'd accept help solving any day. 🙋🏻‍♀️ Happy planning.

There is a cost to letting your emotions show, especially in business. Don't get too excited, keep your cool, and never let them see you cry. Opinion alert: I think that this is a BS way of thinking. There's nothing wrong with showing emotion, especially when marketing your business. When you market emotions over facts, you'll find that you can connect with your audiences more deeply. Here are three reasons your marketing strategy should lead with emotions followed by facts. 1. Emotional Connections Build Trust Attaching an emotional element to our brand marketing allows consumers to connect with products and services on a personal level. Humanizing products and services can shift your brand positioning from a simple transaction to an emotional investment. When we give our customers a reason to believe in what we're selling, we open the door to a relationship of trust and reliability. By showing that our offerings can fulfill their tactical and emotional needs, we're acknowledging that we view our customers as the complex individuals they are. So, how do you create emotional marketing that builds trust? Nike is a great example. In 2019, Nike released a campaign called Dream Crazier . Narrated by tennis legend Serena Williams, the 90-second spot showcases how women in sports are breaking barriers. The commercial elicits strong emotions of empowerment, inspiration, pride, and courage. By acknowledging the disparities seen in women's sports compared to men's, Nike is positioning itself as a brand that supports and celebrates women athletes. When your marketing tactics and outputs deliver emotional appeals around a challenge or frustration that members of your target audience may face, your customers can trust that your brand represents their motivations and mission. 2. Emotions Drive Decision-Making It's not uncommon for us humans to allow our emotions to overrule our logical decision-making abilities. When we market our brand as a solution to an emotional appeal, we're showcasing the problems our offering can solve and the positive attributes that can be gained from using our products and services. Ninety percent  of human decisions are made based on emotions. Humans use logic to justify their actions to themselves and others. Apple is a brand that strategically integrates this psychological finding into its marketing strategy. Instead of highlighting the iPod's features like the number of GBs, LED backlight, and battery life, Apple focused on the number of songs that someone would be able to listen to while "on the go" and how this emotional benefit could positively impact their lifestyle. 3. Emotional Appeals Make Your Brand Memorable Authentic storytelling is a proven way to develop a loyal customer base. When audiences associate a brand with a human experience, the brand becomes more than a product or service. Integrating emotion into authentic storytelling is one tactic for creating a memorable brand. In Coca-Cola's 2023 holiday spot, Kindness was the main theme. While the Coca-Cola product was featured in the ad, it was not the main focus. By creating a story about sharing kindness during the holiday season, Coca-Cola developed a memorable ad that connected its product to a warm emotion often felt and desired during the holidays. Brands that allow emotions to lead their marketing messaging are strategically aligning emotional feelings and desires with their products and services. If Coca-Cola equals kindness, which people want to feel and receive, Coca-Cola is remembered as a brand that represents something good. While the examples above are product-based brands, service-based companies can integrate emotion into their marketing strategies in the same way. Understanding your customer's challenges and how your product or service can solve their problem is the first step in uncovering the emotions you can use to attract them to your brand. When you consider the power of emotions in marketing, how they drive decision-making, and how they can create memorable brands, your marketing strategy will be set up to connect with your audience on a human and emotional level. Are you ready to integrate the power of emotions into your marketing strategy?

One time, someone told me that email was dead. "No one reads emails anymore," they said. I laughed. I laughed because, given the context, it was funny, but also because it was not true. Email 👏🏼 is 👏🏼 not 👏🏼 dead. Email marketing is highly effective . So effective that it is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter. Siri - Say the word "effective" one more time. But really, now that we can all agree that it works, here are three reasons why small business owners should implement it as part of their marketing strategy. Reason #1 - Email is one of the few marketing channels that is yours and yours alone. I hate to burst your bubble, but you cannot fully control your Facebook marketing strategy. Facebook fully controls your Facebook marketing strategy. Bummer, I know. Email, on the other hand, is a marketing platform that is yours and yours alone. Email is a direct line of communication with your customers. It is a marketing tool that allows you to communicate directly with an engaged and qualified audience. Unlike social media platforms, you know exactly who you're speaking to when you send out an email. Your subscribers have expressed interest in your product or service and are opting in to learn more about your offer. Email's direct access allows business owners to build and nurture lasting relationships with their customers. Algorithms, trending audio, and low-quality leads are not concerns when developing an email marketing strategy. Reason #2 - Email gives your marketing outreach a personal touch. Everyone wants to feel special, be called by name, and believe they are your most important customer. Email does all three of these things. Email marketing allows business owners to send personalized content directly to their customers. Email is a way to engage with them no matter where your customer falls in your funnel. Segmenting your audience and sending personalized content makes your brand feel more approachable and intimate and leads to higher engagement rates. When a customer or potential customer receives a personalized message specific to their needs or interests, they are 50% more likely to open and engage with the email. Still not sold? How is this? 80% of customers will likely purchase from a brand that provides personalized experiences. Reason #3 - Email marketing has a high return on investment. On average, a small business owner can expect to receive $36 for every $1 they spend on email marketing. Cha-Ching. 💰 The high ROI is due to two things: Compared to other marketing platforms (like running a paid social media campaign), costs associated with email marketing are relatively low. Email is not a cold outreach platform. By signing up to your list, your subscribed audience has already expressed interest in your product or service. Have I convinced you that email is not dead? There are thousands of tactics you can use to market your business. Email is just another tactic—a  really great tactic that you should definitely be using. Marketing, on the other hand, isn't about which tactic you use. Marketing is about people. When you approach email marketing with people (your customers) in mind, you will be successful. With one of the highest ROIs among marketing platforms, email is the only one that you can fully control and personalize to your customers and their needs. Marketing doesn't get much more people-focused than that. Are you ready to build an email marketing strategy for your small business?

Who is your target audience, and how are you marketing to them? Also, why does it matter? Here's why it matters: 86% of consumers say personalization plays a role in their purchasing decisions. In marketing speak: Understanding your target audience's interests, how they behave online, and where they spend their time is critical to developing an effective marketing strategy. An effective marketing strategy that actually reaches the people who are interested in your products and services is critical to the success of your business. In regular person speak: If you don't understand your target audience, you won't be able to reach them online, and your business will likely fail. Let's break it down. Here are three ways you can effectively target your ideal customers. Think of it as online dating for your business (but without the creepy DMs). #1: The importance of targeting the right audience. Believe it or not, there was a time when business owners could get away with surface-level relationships. Unfortunately, those days have come and gone. Knowing your ideal customer's basic demographics, such as age, gender, location, and income level, is still important, but it's not enough. People want you to know them as more than just a statistic on a spreadsheet. They want you to get to know the real them. They want you to understand their hobbies, favorite colors, what they like to do on the weekends, and how they unwind after a long work day. Here's an example: If you're selling grape soda and the person you are marketing to HATES grapes (as noted in their Instagram bio 🍇🙅🏻‍♀️), they probably don't want to see your ads. They definitely don't want to follow you for updates like "Here's why grapes are the ultimate fruit.". Simply put, if you're selling grape soda, you should probably make sure that the people you're targeting actually like the flavor of grapes. The Takeaway: Understand and target people interested in what you have to sell. #2: The importance of targeting your audience on the platforms they're active on. Here's another example: If you research and find that over 50% of grape-loving soda drinkers in the United States are on Facebook, you should probably be marketing your grape soda on Facebook. 🤯 FYI - I made that stat about soda drinkers up. However, according to this article , a lot of soda lovers spend time on Facebook. Who knew? Dividing your target audience into demographic segments is an easy way to determine which channels to market your product or service on. Here is a breakdown of the most popular social media channels by generation: Baby Boomers - Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp Generation X - Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram Millennials - YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram Generation Z - YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook (followed closely by Snapchat) Starting at the demographic level gives you a baseline for which channels you should research further. Adding sub-demographics, like "flavored soda lovers," will help you narrow your channel identification strategy. The Takeaway: Research where your audience is spending time online and how they're using the platforms. #3:  The importance of creating content your audience is interested in. After you understand who your audience is and where they're at, you can begin to develop content that they will engage and interact with. Here's your final example: If you find that soda lovers are typically busy people who don't enjoy reading long-form content, you probably shouldn't use Pinterest to sell them an ebook about why your grape soda is the best grape soda on the market. Here are some quick tips outlining what types of content perform best on each social media channel . The types of content are ranked in order of best performance. LinkedIn - Video, Images, PDFs, Text Only, Links Facebook - Video, Images, Text Only, Links Instagram - Reels, Carousels, Single Images Twitter/X - Video, Text, Retweet, Link, Images If your primary audience is Millennials, who enjoy watching short-form video content, Instagram would be a great platform to post about your products and services. If your primary audience is professional members of the Gen X generation who frequently download white papers about topics related to their business, LinkedIn would be a great way to target these individuals. You get the point. The Takeaway: Create content based on the channel you're posting on and the type of person you're trying to attract. Understanding your audience on a personal level is key to developing a marketing strategy that ensures that you're talking to the right people in the right places and in the right ways. Research plays a key role in determining how to develop your target audience strategy. Are you ready to uncover who your ideal customers are and the best way to reach them?

Do you see the title of this blog post? My mom has muttered this phrase to me for my entire life. Why? Because patience does not come naturally to me. I am an Aries. I am impulsive. I like instant gratification. Over the last few months, I've had to learn—or remind myself—that not everything happens at the snap of a finger. Sometimes—most of the time—hasty decisions do not yield the best results. Playing the role of Young Grasshopper has not been my jam. But it has paid off. Thanks, Mom. 🙄 Drum roll, please. Today, is the official launch of Jordan Mascé Marketing. Reminder: It's pronounced Ma-Shay, like Paper Mache. You might be thinking, "Okay, that's cool. But what the heck is she actually doing? Lead Gen? Social Media? Email Marketing? Does she build websites? Can she help with my SEO? Can she tell me how to be number one on Google? Etc." Here's what I'm doing: I help small businesses turn their target audiences (the people they want as customers) into paying customers. Here's how I do that: Research . I will use my expert tools, industry resources, and good old-fashioned Google search to uncover everything there is to know about your products and services, industry, competitors, and audience. I will identify your business's strengths and weaknesses, point out threats and opportunities, and tell you how to use those findings to your advantage. I'll do the same thing with your competitors. I'll uncover what types of marketing they're investing in and how it affects you and your business. I'll define how to position yourself within your industry to stand out and not blend in. I'll identify your target audience, how they behave on and offline, and how you should market your products and services to them. I'll take the research, analyze it, and package it up as the framework for your go-to-market strategy. Define. Referencing the research, I'll define your brand story. Every successful brand has a story. Nike's story is about serving people and moving the world forward through sports. Google's story is about organizing the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful. Coca-Cola's story is about refreshing the world and making a difference. You get the point. To be a successful company, you need a purpose, a mission, and a vision. You need a clearly defined story that connects and resonates with your target audience. Along with your brand story, I'll also give you a full-on brand toolkit. Using your story as the guiding statement, I'll develop your purpose, ambitions, key benefits, brand pillars, brand voice, and brand tone. I'll also define and develop your audience personas. Personas help us visualize our audiences as actual human beings. When we market to our target audience as people instead of objects, our messaging and content come across as helpful and empathetic instead of dry and transactional. Lastly, I'll identify which marketing channels and tactics you should invest in. I'll tell you the purpose of these channels, who you're targeting on them, and how often you should post, send, or run a campaign. I'll give meaning and structure to your marketing efforts. Think of your brand story and toolkit as your keys, phone, and wallet. You never leave the house without them, and if you do, you won't get far. Implement. Cool, so you gave me a bunch of data and turned it into a story. Now what? Now is the part where you sit back, relax, and watch the story come to life on the big screen. The best part of developing content is watching it perform. I'll write, manage, report, and optimize your digital marketing content. I'll develop monthly content calendars for the marketing channels we identify as relevant places for you to advertise your products and services. Together, we'll create content for those channels. Then, at the end of the month, I'll analyze the content's performance and provide a report that includes recommendations on optimizing for better results. I'll ensure we hit those KPIs (Key Performance Metrics) and track towards a positive ROI (Return on Investment). I'll keep up with the trends, watch the algorithms, and ensure links aren't broken. In other words, I'll be there for you. You're probably visualizing a couch, a fountain, and six attractive people. You're welcome. That's what Jordan Mascé Marketing will do and how I'll do it. Building this company has been one of those experiences where patience paid off. It's a good thing I listened to my mom, but don't tell her I said that... As I wrap this bad boy up, another classic Mr. Miyagi quote comes to mind. It's okay to lose to opponent, must not lose to fear. After a lot of patience, fearlessness, and hard work, I'm excited to launch Jordan Mascé Marketing. I can't wait to help small businesses define their story and use that story to turn their target audiences into paying customers. Follow along, spread the word, subscribe to my email list, and go watch The Karate Kid .

Did you read the title of this blog post to the tone of Capital One's famous brand slogan: What's in your wallet? Because that's how I wrote it. It's a simple question. It could be shortened to: What's in your toolkit? , but for the sake of the Google Gods, I included a branded keyword so this blog post doesn't have to compete against the Home Depots and DIY bloggers of the world. Before answering the question, let's discuss what a Brand Toolkit is. What is a Brand Toolkit? In marketing speak, a Brand Toolkit establishes who you are, what you do, and how you should market your offerings to current and prospective customers. In normal person speak, it's a digital collection of abstract tools that help you be a better marketer and, in turn, business owner. Everything in your toolkit serves a purpose and plays a specific role. You wouldn't use a flathead screwdriver to drive a nail into a piece of wood. Well, maybe you could, but it wouldn't be as easy as using the tool that was created to hammer nails into wood. 🔨 You get the point. The tools in your Brand Toolkit are designed to help you build your marketing strategy. When used correctly, your tools will guide you to develop a solid foundation for marketing your products and services to your customers. Let's discuss the three main tools in your toolkit and how you can use them in your marketing strategy. Three Marketing Tools In Your Toolkit: Tool #1 - Brand Story Your Brand Story is your Phillips Head Screwdriver. It is the ruler of your toolkit and your marketing strategy. You can't go anywhere without it. Your Brand Story tells others why they should believe in you. We all have a story, and if we're Small Business Owners, we all have a business story. There's a good chance you know your business story. You know what you believe in, what you stand for, why you created your company, what types of people and customers you want to attract, and what you want your business to look like in five, ten, or twenty years. But how are you telling that story to others? Your Brand Story clearly defines who you are, what you stand for, what you believe in, and why others should believe in you. It is the basis for all of your marketing efforts. Tool #2 - Brand Message Identity Your Brand Message Identity is exactly what it sounds like. It gives your words, images, and marketing an identity. It is rooted in your motives and aspirations for your business. There are three parts to your Brand Message Identity. Brand Purpose - A Brand Purpose statement is a company's reason for being. It guides your company's actions and decisions. Think of your Brand Purpose as your "why" to your customers. Why do your products or services matter to your customers? How does the way that you run your business impact and affect your customers? Why does what you're selling matter to the people buying it? Brand Ambition—A Brand Ambition statement is a vision of the company's future. It reminds the company of its long-term goals and future direction. Your Brand Ambition helps motivate you to keep moving forward. You don't want your audience to get bored or complacent with your marketing and business offerings. Your ambitions remind you of what's next and the steps you must take to get there. Key Benefit - A Key Benefit statement describes the primary benefit of a brand's product or service. Here are a few examples of Key Benefit statements from brands you've heard of. Gatorade: Fuels athletes. Patagonia: In the business of saving our home planet. Ikea: Offer a wide range of well-designed home furnishing products at low prices so as many people as possible can afford them. Tool #3 - Brand Voice and Tone Your Brand Voice and Tone help define how to express yourself when speaking to your customers. How you speak to your customers can impact how your brand is perceived. Your Brand Voice helps define your business' image as a unique and individual product or service. Your voice stays constant and doesn't change. Your Brand Tone changes depending on the situation or audience, much like a person's tone of voice changes based on their mood. The voice and tone you use to communicate your Brand Story, Purpose, Ambitions, and Key Message are just as important as the tools themselves. People are attracted to brands they can connect with personally, and using a clear voice and intentional tone helps your brand feel human and unique. Your Brand Story, Message Identity, and Voice and Tone are three tools required for a strong marketing toolkit. Without these tools, your marketing lacks structure. Identifying these three areas of your business is the first step toward building a solid marketing strategy to attract, convert, and retain your customers. Ready to start laying the foundation of your brand strategy?

Can we ditch the corporate jargon already? Or should we circle back to this conversation at a later date ? You know, put a pin in it. Corporate jargon includes phrases like: Circle back Bandwidth Deep Dive Low Hanging Fruit Blue Sky Thinking Touch Base You get it. These words make absolutely zero sense to anyone who doesn't spend eight hours a day in an 8x8 cubicle. And I must come clean. I am a corporate jargon offender.😱 I know. It's embarrassing, and I'm working on it. But ten years buttering up to the boardroom will do that to you. So why are we talking about this? I left the corporate Mad Men world behind, right? If you haven't watched Mad Men on AMC and you're looking for a good summer binge, I'm talking seven juicy seasons, go watch it right now. I promise you'll thank me later. We're talking about corporate jargon because I would go out on a limb and say that most small business owners would probably consider the term "Brand Story" corporate lingo. Am I right? I thought so. Let's break it down into "real person that doesn't consider their Outlook inbox a second home" speak. According to Hubspot : A Brand Story recounts the series of events that sparked your company's inception and expresses how that narrative still drives your mission today. I'm sorry, what? 🙎🏻‍♀️ Let's try this instead: A Brand Story is a story about your brand. It's a few sentences that outline what your company does, why you do it, and the benefits that your company brings to your customers. Your Brand Story tells others why they should believe in you. Is that better? Okay great. Now that we've got our ducks in a row and clearly understand what a Brand Story is, let's flesh out why you need one. As a Small Business Owner, investing in a Brand Story might not be top of funnel . I get it. Here's my argument: Without a Brand Story, your marketing will suck. How's that for corporate jargon? But for real, a Brand Story gives your marketing strategy a starting place. It also keeps it on track. Without a Brand Story, you have no guide to tell you how to message your products and services to your customers and prospective customers. You'll follow every social media trend in hopes of being noticed, regardless of whether it aligns with your brand. You'll waste your time creating content that doesn't resonate with your audience and is inconsistent and unclear about what your company offers. Last but certainly not least, without a Brand Story, you'll look exactly like your competitors. You won't stand out; you'll blend in. In a world of fierce online competition, especially for small businesses, standing out on the internet is not an option; it's a necessity. 💥 Did we move the needle in convincing you why you need to invest in developing a Brand Story? I sure hope so because all of this corporate speak has me exhausted. 😮‍💨 If you're ready to create a Brand Story that will turn your target audience into paying customers, let's continue this conversation offline.

If you're a small business owner, you know there's nothing small about it—except maybe the size of your team, hence the title "Small Business." Anyway, you get the point. Despite being small, you've got big responsibilities. You've got a never-ending list of administrative tasks that must get done. You've got billings and finances to oversee. You've got taxes and invoices to manage. You've got a sales pipeline that won't close itself. You've got the actual work that your customers pay you for. You've also got to market your services to people you think might buy them. Phew. You may be small, but you are mighty. And you've got a mighty big list of sh*t to get done. The good news is that I can help you cross one thing off your list. But first, let's decide which small business you are. Number 1 - The Wannabe You know you need digital marketing but are unsure where to start. Digital marketing is overwhelming. There are so many options and potential outcomes, and it's not cheap. However, the competition these days is FIERCE. You will be left behind if you're not marketing your products and services online. And you get that, but you're not quite sure what to do about it. You've also got a lot of other things on your plate that are frankly more important than posting on Instagram. Let me help you. I'll take you from a wannabe social media star to a thoughtfully and strategically positioned brand. I'll manage your content calendar, engagement rate, posting cadence, word count, keyword rating, and all of those other pesky marketing terms so that you can focus on what you're best at—running your business. Number 2 - The Know It All I'll hold my sales pitch. You believe in digital marketing—so much so that you've decided to promote your business on every single channel imaginable. That's a lot of channels and involves a lot of time spent posting, creating content, and engaging with your audiences. My question to you is: Is it working? My guess is that your answer is somewhere in between. You think it's working. You're seeing good results on some channels. But TBH, you're exhausted. Who has time to manage 25 digital marketing channels AND run a small business? Allow me to research your target audience, determine the top three to four channels your prospective customers are most active on, and manage your brand on those channels. We're talking about quality over quantity, time well spent over time wasted, and a research-based plan that makes you money. Number 3 - The Old Timer Digital marketing is not for you. You don't need help from the internet, and you definitely don't need social media. Maybe you've been running a successful small business for a while and have a solid base of customers. Why waste your precious time marketing to people you've never even met? I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that the internet isn't going anywhere. I'm also pretty sure that, like it or not, social media is here to stay. Consider this: According to   LinkedIn , here's how consumers are finding the perfect product: 49% through a targeted ad online 40% see a product in an organic post from the brand 34% research a product on social media 34% see a product via a friend's post 22% hear about a product directly via tags and direct messages on social media Still don't believe me? What happens when the majority of your consumers are millennials? Did you know   50% of millennials  say that their purchase decisions are influenced by social media? Simply put, you will be left behind if you don't embrace digital marketing. I can keep you ahead of the game, and the best part is I'll do it all for you. Buckle up because there's a fourth type of small business. Number 4 - The Money Maker It has a nice ring to it, right? The money-making small business owner has bought into asking for help. They've admitted that they're stretched thin. They've accepted that marketing is complex but critical to their business's success. They've released the reigns and allowed an experienced, digitally savvy marketer (me 🙋🏻‍♀️) to help manage their online marketing strategy and tactics. They feel relieved and refreshed and have more time than ever to devote themselves to the other one billion demands of running their small business. Oh yeah. They're also seeing results. AKA: a return on their investment. Wherever you land on the "What type of small business are you?" gameboard, remember that you have a resource right here, on your computer screen, ready to help you find success in the big scary world of digital marketing.