Key #1: The Singer - Learning Series: 5 Keys to Digital Marketing That ROCK!
Understanding the difference between the singer and the microphone is your key to mastering the first principle of digital marketing success.
About this learning series
5 Keys to Digital Marketing That ROCK! will give you a strong introduction to each of the 5 essential keys to building a lasting business that consistently generates profitable growth through digital marketing.
You Are Here -> Key 1 - The Singer: Develop Your Brand Voice
Key 2 - The Microphone: Leverage Technology to Amplify Your Brand Voice
Key 3 - The Stage: Reach Bigger Audiences & Get Discovered
Key 4 - The Fan Club: Convert Visitors into Customers & Repeat Buyers
Key 5 - The Game Plan: Build Your Team, Systems & Strategy for Success
From here, I will help you cultivate a sustainable digital marketing practice. Like any foundation, it must be maintained. I hope you’ll subscribe and follow this series. I’m confident you’ll learn something new about digital marketing.
Onto Key #1…
Businesses often overlook the power of branding, perhaps because big iconic brands like Nike, McDonald’s, and Apple make it look so effortless. To the casual observer, Nike is just a swoosh, McDonald’s is a letter M—the golden arches—and Apple is simply an apple with a bite taken out. But behind each symbol is a carefully crafted strategy that transformed them into iconic household brands recognized worldwide.
Branding is Key #1 for a reason: it lays the foundation for all your marketing efforts. Investing time, energy, and resources into building a strong brand from the start is crucial. It’s equally important to make a habit of re-evaluating your branding annually to ensure it evolves alongside your business growth.
Instead of focusing on branding, I’ve found that businesses want to dive head first into the latest tools that promise to generate leads, convert customers, and make millions. While it’s true that these tools can amplify your message like a microphone amplifies a singer’s voice, it’s not the microphone that creates those raving fans. It’s the singer’s voice, personality, and charisma.
In the book Key Person of Influence, author Daniel Priestly says the Internet is the new microphone for businesses but warns:
I couldn’t have said it better. The big takeaway here is that you need to focus on creating a powerful brand message and get good at pitching it before investing time, energy, and resources into marketing that’s not going to get the results you want.
How do you know if your brand message is holding your business back from growth?
If your business is stuck and not getting the results you want despite all of your marketing efforts, then you might have a weak brand message.
Let me return to our musical metaphor. Aspiring singers who aren’t getting the results they want would hire a voice coach to provide a professional assessment, identify blindspots, and create a practice plan for developing a stronger voice. Even the best singers in the world have voice coaches.
If your business isn’t getting the results you want or if you want to level up, we have two recommendations that are easy to implement. Those of you who take action on these “homework” assignments will start seeing results right away.
First, buy this book Building A Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller and implement its framework on your own or with the help of a Brand Strategist. It is an absolute must-read for any business of any size at any stage. Even Nike has worked with Donald Miller’s Storybrand to refine its messaging! This is one of those books that’s always on my desk.
Second, hire a Brand Strategist who fits your vibe and budget. It’s really challenging to develop a brand message all by yourself. It will be well worth the investment to get the help you need to create a strong brand message, craft a brand content strategy, and develop an effective implementation plan. If you wanted to be a world-renowned singer, you would definitely get the help of a professional voice coach, so why wouldn’t you want the same help to take your business to the next level?
In my Overview of 5 Keys, I mentioned that most businesses only invest 9% of revenue on average into marketing. This is the absolute minimum needed to move the needle on business growth. If you’re wondering how much it will cost for a Brand Strategist, it varies wildly from entry-level ($25/hr) to elite-level ($1,000/hr) and every price point in between. What’s important is finding someone who fits your vibe and budget.
My agency offers complimentary branding consultations. If you’re curious about the process and have questions, book your call with Sam, our Brand and Content Strategist.
Take This With You
Developing a strong and unique brand voice is Key #1 to building a lasting brand and effectively using digital marketing to grow your business.
Let’s Support Each Other
One of the most important things I’ve learned over the years is that relationships are EVERYTHING! Let’s start building our relationship, so we can support each other.
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With gratitude,
Whit Whitley