When someone says ‘marketing’, what usually comes to mind is growing your profile amongst consumers.
But the divides of B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) are starting to fade away. Replacing this is an H2H (human to human) approach.
Building your brand doesn’t have to be limited by a certain audience. Recognising this allows you to take advantage of a host of zero-cost opportunities.
Free Brand Building
To build your brand for free, the most obvious place to start is social media - and your best bet is Twitter.
Many guides suggest tweeting your content out to potential clients, growing your consumer following. However, unless you are extremely well-skilled in the art of social media, consumers won’t engage with your profile.
You may personally follow advisers – but you’re in the industry. With your consumer hat on, you probably wouldn’t choose to follow professionals in the aeronautical industry.
Instead, engage with the people who will follow you: other advisers. This will grow your profile through a follower base that’s genuinely engaged in the topics you’ll be discussing.
Consumers will only check your twitter to see if you’re a ‘real person’. They’ll vet you through your social media, rather than engage with it. So show your personality by engaging with other professionals.
Next, look at the products you use. Whether it’s a cloud service or accounting software, there are a host of companies eager for testimonials.
If you can contact your favourite providers and offer a glowing review, this will result in your words, name, company, and face being seen by the thousands of professionals that visit their sites.
You can build on this approach by leveraging partnerships. Join partner or affiliate programmes for the apps and software you use. Now you’re boosting your brand through the recommendations you’d be giving people anyway, while being paid to do it.
Suddenly, having put marketing down as a cost, you’re actually making money from boosting your profile - all before a new client has stepped through your door.
Your Company’s DNA
This approach has the added bonus of making it easier to hire new staff.
If the DNA of your company is being pushed through Twitter, testimonials, and partnerships, new candidates will already be aware of what you and your company are about.
This increases the likelihood of applications from those who fit your company’s culture, while deterring candidates you wouldn’t want to hire anyway.
Now, without spending a penny, your brand has grown in the industry, and you’re attracting the right staff. Your Twitter will show clients that you’re a ‘real person’, and your industry profile will show them that you’re well respected.
So although it can be tempting to think in terms of B2B or B2C, realising that the two are inextricably linked allows you to efficiently, and effectively, boost your brand for free.
