A triangle of power to create marketing momentum for your site care business

Recently, Mark Schaefer wrote an article asking if the AI industry has a marketing problem. I feel I could ask the same question about the WordPress industry.

After all, there are various issues in the current environment of digital marketing, which is how WordPress agencies operate. The product itself, WordPress, seems unsure what it wants to do. That’s a discussion for another time.

“We are entering a time where consumers have had almost 20 years to get wise to all inbound and online marketing methods. The once fertile use of social media has declined due to tweaking of the algorithms. There is also eroding trust with social media platforms.” Source: MainWP 

But, as we have discussed before, there are some basics that we can hang our hat on as a site care consultant. And today, we are going to talk about a triangle of power you can use to create marketing momentum.

Storytelling is powerful for persuasion.

The power of storytelling is lost on many people. Storytelling, however, can be very effective and persuasive when encouraging change.

Three areas to focus on include your Process Story, your bio, and analogies you can use to help customers understand better.

Storytelling has the power to change hearts and minds. It is a pivotal skill in business. 

I like to use storytelling as examples in articles. Stories and analogies help bridge the gap between the abstract side of the brain and the practical side. 

In other words, if you have a concept that is hard for your listener to comprehend, use a story or an analogy. 

There are two areas storytelling may be considered in your business. The first is helping you decipher your purpose with an origin story. Origin stories help businesses line up their objectives with their purpose.

Previously, I talked about three types of origin stories: WordPress Origin Stories, Your MainWP Origin Stories, and Business Origin Stories.

The second area storytellers can help businesses is using a Process Story.

A process story has the unique ability to explain your process while also increasing your value. In a previous article, I used the example of telling how to make a pour-over cup of coffee. But, I gave some tips for creating a Process Story for Site Care Consultants in this article on the MainWP Blog.

A core marketing messaging gives your content a foundation.

An area that often gets overlooked when planning marketing is the basic, core messaging of a business.

This area of your marketing forms your compass, your North Star. It helps you keep in line the important elements of your message. 

What is your business or marketing message? I created a simple definition from the Wynter B2B Messaging course that says: “the communication you use to make and maintain a customer.”

See more here: https://mainwp.com/business-in-2024-changing-landscape/

That’s it. 

In the course, Peep Laja says, “The purpose of a business is to make a customer, and you do that through communication.”

Your messaging, your communication, is absolutely crucial to the health of your business. And clearly laying out what your message is, is essential.

Often, we are far too general in our message. Specificity is important for connecting with our target audience.

Marketers will call it Brand Messaging. There are a plethora of articles online to help you create a more clear, cohesive message.

Over the years, I have bored down the most basic tenets to 4 questions: 

• Who are you?
• Who do you help?
• How do you help them? 
• How do you do it differently?

These questions are a great guide to get you started thinking about your message.

The power of social proof

Site care consultants can tap into the powerful use of social proof to help create momentum and build trust. Here we talk about use of social proof from testimonials, public relations and featured pages. 

Testimonials

Testimonials are one of the most powerful features of social proof. However, there is an art to creating testimonials that provide a punch without using the superlatives.

Three tips for creating a better testimonial include: Outline your story (what is the before, during and after?), share the outcome you gained, and add some proof to your proof.

Read The Art of Testimonial Writing.

Public Relations

Public Relations is something that often gets overlooked by Site Care Consultants, but it can pay big dividends. Creating connections with reporters, creating memorable case studies, and a digital press kit can help you make public relations more efficient. 

Read How to use the power of public relations for your business, 3 tips.

Be careful not to confuse marketing with public relations, although they are both there to serve each other. Site Care Consultants can utilize podcasts to help with public relations and then add them to their featured pages.

Read Q&A with PR expert Michelle Garrett for information.

Feature Page

An underrated part of social proof for a business is including a featured page on your website. A featured page is a page on your website that showcases where you have been featured in publications and on podcasts. 

Read Your Feature Page: Lighting the Fuse on Powerful Social Proof.

Wrapping it up

These areas, Storytelling, Social Proof and a Core Marketing Message are vital for helping site care consultants position themselves for success. Together, they form a triangle of power you can use to build momentum for your business.