The Two Best Ways to Reach Your Clients (and How to Use Them Effectively)

You’ve likely heard it said that video is king when it comes to marketing your business.  Well, I’m here to tell you that is true, and beside every great king stands a great queen, in this case audio.  The only way to get new business is to connect with your prospects, and when your audience can see you and hear you, your message is much more likely to land with them in an authentic way.  With all of the technology at our fingertips, it can be tempting to forego actual conversation in favor of social media posts, texts, et cetera, but clear communication delivers emotion and emotion is what’s going to connect you and your clients. 

When you’re engaged and communicating with another person, they are able to see your face, read your expressions, understand the things that aren’t being said, as well as the things that are.  After all, it’s hard to ignore somebody’s face when they are staring right at you.  If access to your face isn’t available, the next best choice is always voice.  Voice is another foolproof way to convey emotion, to express what you’re really feeling and to avoid misunderstandings or miscommunications because the context is lacking tone.  After all, when somebody is reading what you’ve written, they are filtering that through their own lens.  If they’re having a rotten day and you’ve texted, “have a great day” to them, you’ve completely missed the mark and they are free to interpret that however they want to.  Being able to see and hear you removes a lot of that gray area so that your message always lands. 

As it pertains to your business, let’s look at some alternative ways to do what you’ve already been doing.

•  Text Messages: Rather than relying on flat words to drive your message home, try an app like Loom.  Loom allows you to record short videos or voice texts (five minutes or less) free of charge so that you can send a more personalized and relatable message. 
•  DM’s on Facebook or IG: Facebook has now made it possible to send video clips through DM’s and, although IG hasn’t quite graduated to that yet, you can still do audio clips.
•  Emails: Loom is also great for sending videos via email or even consider using an app like Vimeo which will embed the video code within the body of your email.  The Social Shop, a research group, proved that emails with video have open rates that are 2-300% higher than those that don’t!

In certain instances, there may not be an opportunity to use video or audio, so what do you do then?  Well, there are still some great ways to make sure that your message is being heard by your intended audience.  Emojis are a wonderful way to amp up some excitement around your content, as is punctuation, in general.  Are you excited about something?  Use exclamation points and smiley faces to drive that point home.  Try to write like you talk, as well.  The more conversational your tone in written correspondence, the easier it will be for your audience to relate to it.  So, now you know why video and audio are so imperative when it comes to direct marketing, but how does it translate over to indirect marketing?

How many of us break out in hives when we consider the idea of going live on social media?  Probably quite a few, but I assure you that using the live features on your social media platforms is another foolproof way to reach your target audience and build your brand.  The algorithm on social media is built to seek out live video, so your chances of getting seen grow exponentially when you embrace it.  If you really can’t get past your fear of going live, at the very least prerecord a video and post it, but you will absolutely see a difference if you can give it a shot!  Search engines, algorithms…humans in general…they all love video.  So much so that YouTube reports that over one billion hours of video are watched each day!  One billion hours!  That is certainly nothing to scoff at and, in a world where real-time connection has taken a back seat, it’s no wonder that so many people are turning to video.  Make sure that you’re keeping up with the times and allowing video to be a part of your business marketing plan, too!

Let’s recap quickly.  Video is king, audio is queen and together, they are going to be the catalysts to drive your business to the next level.  Why?  Because sales is about connection and connection is made through emotion.  Emotion is best conveyed through the way we communicate with our eyes, our facial expressions, our intonation, the choice of our words, our body language, et cetera.  Give your audience access to you and you give them the chance to connect in the most authentic way with you.  It’s that simple!

If you’re ready to hit those next-level goals this year, I’m ready to help you do it!  I’ve spent my career as a business and sales coach teaching others how to step into entrepreneurship with full confidence, helping them to define their goals and take the action steps to crush them one by one!  I’d love to help you build your own road map, so don’t hesitate to visit my website today to schedule a one-on-one call.  Looking for a community to help you grow?  We’ve got that, too.  Join our Facebook Group, “Be a Confident Entrepreneur, Gain Confidence and Grow Your Business” to tap into a whole group of people in the same boat as you, working together to build one another up and redefine success!

Check out the Referral Machine and learn free and low-cost ways to gain new clients with ease.

Transcript:

You have likely heard that video is king, but did you know that audio is queen? I'm going to tell you why these two tools are the best way to reach your clients and how to use them effectively to attract new ones. And if you're an introvert, stick with me……..Breathe, because I can help you get comfortable on video, I promise. My name is Tracy Beavers, and if you're new to my channel, I am so glad to see you here, my friend. As a business and sales coach, I help you grow your business and it doesn't matter if you're just starting out with an awesome idea and a dream or if you're an established business having great success. Whatever your need is. We work together to map out a clear action, a clear road map of action steps to get you from where you are right now to where you want to be, and we get there faster, because you have a road map that you can follow to keep you focused with clarity and ease. I have been in sales and marketing for over 15 years and have guided many businesses just like yours using my unique roadmap approach. If you're new here, be sure to smash that subscribe button, because I put out a brand-new training every week and I don't want you to miss it. And be sure to check the show notes below because I've got a lot of great free resources for you. You can check out my blog on my website. Lots of great content crafted just for you, the business owner. So let's get to the good stuff! We're talking about video today and its little sister audio, and why these two marketing tools are the best for you to use. I'm going to give you practical steps on how to use them. So and again, if you're an introvert and just by my saying the word video, you're starting to not breathe and you're getting some hives. It's okay, stick with me, don't delete me. Hang in there. You will end up thanking me. Believe it or not, there was a time that I was not super confident on video. I am proof that if you just jump in and do it, you will find your groove. You guys have heard me say this before in past trainings, success in sales is based on connecting with your prospects. That's at its core. Connection is based on emotion. The communication is what delivers that emotion. I'm going to say that again, success in sales is based on connecting, Connection right. The connection is made through emotion. The communication that you used to talk to your clients is what delivers that emotion. So it's the emotion that's going to make the connection that's going to make the sale. So here's where things have gotten tricky. We now have so many ways to communicate and so many of us are relying on the super easy ways: text, email, direct message. We've gotten away from having actual conversations using our voices. The very best way to communicate anything to another living creature is with your voice and with your face. The second best way is just with your voice by itself. Now, why is this? It is scientifically proven that a face with eyes is difficult to ignore, I mean think about that for a second. Just in terms of something as basic as business cards, as an example. So I've got one business card that has nothing but the name and contact information on it, just a plain business card and the logo. I’ve got another business card that has all that information, plus the photo of the person that's on the card. Which one are you going to be drawn to first? I'm going to be drawn to the one with the photo. And then, when you get home after the networking event, which one is going to be harder to toss in the trash? The one with the photo, right?

Video is king for communication because I can see your face, I can hear your voice. And right now you can hear all of the emotion in my voice. And you can completely understand what I'm saying and what I mean by what I'm saying, right? Flat words on a page do not deliver the same amount of emotion. And using only words, we run the risk of not conveying the right message at all. Think about how many miscommunications there are, because we can't see your face, hear your voice and know the intent and the emotion of your message. It's almost like the things that you're not saying, right? It's the things you can feel. Words on a page are read in the mood of the recipient, remember that. The words on a page are read in the mood of the recipient. If you send a text message or a DM, and the person you're sending it to is in a foul mood, they're reading your words in that mood. They may completely misunderstand what you're saying. So here's an example: you send a text, email, DM,  to someone and it says “have a nice day.” That person has had a bad day. They've gotten in a fight with somebody, they're in a super foul mood and they read it. Well, have a nice day! What does that even mean? Completely missed the mark on what you meant, right? Or, here's another example: you opened an email from me that says I would love to tell you about the group coaching programme I have coming up. Who knows how you're feeling when you open that and read it. But if you opened an email from me that had a video, or I sent you a video by text or by DM, and I said, I would love to tell you about the group coaching programme I have coming up. Which one of those conveys my emotion and excitement? Which one feels better to you to receive? Which one draws you in and makes you think? Yeah, I'd like to hear about her group coaching program. Doesn't it feel better to hear the voice, see the facial expressions, the body language and feel and know what I'm saying rather than reading flat words on a page? So ask yourself which one is more likely to make a connection with my prospect and my existing clients. You want your clients and your prospects to hear your voice, see your face, feel the warmth and know how genuine you are, and they can tell that you care and that you're not just trying to sell them something. They can feel it with the, with the voice that you use. So, a video communication is best. The second best is audio, where they can at least hear your voice, they can hear the inflection and they can hear the emotion. Human beings want connection, they want to be seen, heard and validated. And the best way to do this is through video or audio if that's all you have.

So, talking about sales again, reaching out to your clients and prospects, when you are going to connect with someone, stop and think, Is there a way I could do this with a video? If you can't use a video, then ask yourself: is there a way that I can send an audio? Here’s some examples:

•  Text message: instead of using just flat words, try an app like Loom, L-O-O-M. Super easy. You can record a less than five-minute video for free and text it to your person, or at least use the audio-text feature where you can record your voice or you could text them and say: hey, I'm sending you an audio and then send them the audio.
•  DMs on Facebook or Instagram: let's talk about that for a second. Use a video and if you can't do that, then at least send an audio. You can do a video in the DMs on Facebook now. Instagram at the time of this recording, doesn't have the video feature in the DMs, but you can send an audio where they can hear your voice.
•  Now email:  Let's talk about that. Again, you can use that Loom app to put the video in the email. You can record a video on something like,on your MacBook, on your laptop, and then you can save it in something like Vimeo, where it will actually embed the code in your email. Check out Service Providers like Bombom, Warm Welcome or Liondesk.

There was research done by the group, the Social Shop, and it says that emails that contain video have open rates of 200 to 300% more than ones that don't have a video. You want your clients to open your emails, right? And if video and audio are not an option, and you have to text or email and just use words, then please, throw in some emojis right? Write like you talk, do your very best to allow your words, your punctuation, your emojis, to convey some emotion so that there's some level of depth to it and your client doesn't misunderstand what you're trying to say. We've covered what video and audio are best for direct communication with our prospects and clients, but now I want to talk about that indirect communication, specifically social media, and using these for marketing your business. You're going to really see why video is truly king. You're going to gain way more visibility for your business using video. It is best to go live. Hey introverts, don't pass out. Stick with me! The algorithm loves that! And you will get more reach going live. One girl I was talking to a few weeks ago, true introvert. She said: Lives, give me hives. If that's you. And Lives give you hives, then the next best thing is to record your video and post it. You're going to get more engagement if you do it live, but at least pre record the video, if you can't go live. I can show you a very easy way to practice going live on Facebook where no one else will ever see it, and you can fine tune your skills. It's a little trick I learned when I was wanting to practice my Lives back when I wasn't so sure of myself on video either.

So think about it. The world is all video right now. Tiktok, Youtube, IG reels. The algorithms love video. Search engines love video. Humans love video. Why? It is really easy to consume. Video is so easy to consume. And remember that psychologically proven theory that faces with eyes are tough to ignore. It's hard to ignore a video, even if it's a video of a goldfish. Did you know that over one billion hours of video are watched daily on Youtube? Oh my gosh, that blows my mind! So you guys, video is king. Audio is queen when it comes to marketing your business and driving up those sales conversions. And remember, sales is all about that connection. That connection is best made through emotion, and emotion is best conveyed through communicating with our voices and our faces. So it's time for me to highlight one of my awesome coaching clients. I absolutely love making a difference for you and I love it even more when you reach out to me and tell me the difference that I've made for you, what you've learned from these trainings or our time together when I'm coaching you. You can be featured too. Just let me know in the comments. Connect with me through my website. Let me know how these trainings have helped you so I can feature you and your business.

The highlight of the week goes out to my friend Lacy. She told me that her company is now saving $2400 a year because of one small adjustment. She found that, I found that she needed to make in her expenses. I love serving you guys and helping you smash those revenue goals and build that business that you love! If you know anyone else that would benefit from these trainings, please hit that share button. Give it a thumbs up, give it like and send it to them. And before you go, here is what I want you to do now. I want you to go to tracybeavers.com/referralmachine and grab your free guide to gaining new clients with ease every day. I have free and low cost ways you can do this today, starting in your business. Until next time, I am here for you and I am cheering you on, my friend.