Why its important not to build your brand on rented land
After the whirlwind of recent social media platform announcements in the last 7 days I’ve seen a LOT of nervous posts by other business owners and marketers about how vulnerable they are in relying on these platforms to market their business…
If your social channels are your only link to communicating with your customers…. that’s not a great place to be!
Because the stark reality is, that you don’t really OWN your social media (or in fact many of your digital) channels.
It could be all gone tomorrow.
In other words, you may be building your brand and your business all on rented land.
Rented land in a digital sense means using free platforms (i.e. Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Pinterest/TikTok/Linkedin) which you don’t own or have control of to build your audiences presence with your business. If these are the only channels you are using to connect with your audience and nurture them through to sales, you are playing a dangerous game over the long term.
Don’t get me wrong, these large social channels are a great connect with your audience, build relationships, and promote your products or services, but relying solely on social media to build your brand is RISKY.
These social media channels are like a landlord. THEY control the algorithms, the rules of engagement and even access to your own audience. It’s also a cluttered environment. Everyone’s vying for attention on social media. Organic reach is dwindling, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the noise. You’re also constantly competing with other businesses, influencers, and even your audience’s friends and family for their limited attention.
The algorithms are FICKLE and constantly changing which makes it hard to predict what content will be seen by your audience. What works today, may not tomorrow.
So, what can you do? Diversify!
- Build Your Email List: This is your direct line to your audience. You own the list, and you control the message.
- Invest in Your Website: Your website is your online home base. Make sure it’s well-designed, user-friendly, and reflects your brand identity.
- Create Valuable Content: Blog posts, articles, ebooks, webinars – provide valuable content that attracts and engages your target audience.
- Focus on SEO: Optimise your website and content for search engines to attract organic traffic.
- Engage in Community Building: Create a forum, online group, or other space where your audience can connect and interact.
PS. Don’t Forget Your Offline presence! PR, Networking events, workshops, and partnerships can be invaluable for building your brand in the real world. And if your budget allows, business cards, signwriting your vehicle and even branded pens/merchandise can help keep brand recognition going.
Ultimately, you want to ensure that you are continuously working to bring your audience back to channels that you have a little more control over – in particular, your website, memberships, email and phone lists.
So, in short, if you don’t have a website, CRM, email or phone list, NOW is the time to start!
As part of the pathway to growing a strong relationship with your customers if you think about your social channels as though you are meeting someone new on the street, your website and email list should be treating them like they are being invited into your home (that you own).
Social media is a fantastic way to get discovered and build know, like and trust with your customers. But remember use it as ONE of the marketing tools available in your kit – not the SOLE tool. Developing enough trust with your audience to provide you their email address or phone number will in turn enable you build your brand without an over reliance on social media platforms and paid advertising.
If you need help with determining which media touchpoints are right for your business, get in touch., We’d love to help!
