Boost Your Brand with Behind the Scene Content
So you are providing high quality products or services. Awesome, well done you! But have you considered that what makes them truly special is you, your colleagues and your business? The people and processes behind your brand are valuable assets that many business owners are not using to their advantage - after all, you are your USP (*unique selling point), so why not leverage it?
You are already aware that people do business with people, but you have still been reluctant in lifting the curtain and show your clients and customers that you’re more than just the products or services you are offering. In recent years, predominantly due to the growth of social media, businesses have become a lot more transparent with their audiences. Providing high quality services or products isn’t an easy task, and it shouldn’t be. If it was, everyone would be doing it! But if it’s worth doing, there’s surely more to the story than the end result? Documenting the behind the scenes to both existing and potential customers shows that your business is not static, and you’re inviting them to not only join you in your business’ journey, but allowing them to feel included.
“If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.”
— Zig Ziglar
BUILD TRUST & JUSTIFY COSTS
There are several reasons why you should share behind the scenes content on your social media profiles, and building trust is one of them. We live in a world of misinformation, so trust isn't something easily granted businesses, which is why transparency and honest communication with your audience is a good place to start.
If, like us, you're a service based company, you are selling your processes. Produce content that showcase how you will take your clients on a journey, and how this journey will help achieve their goals. By sharing all of the fundamental parts of your business you can justify your costs in a way that is relatable to your audience.When clients ask "how does it work?", confidently share the answer with your audience as there is bound to be others wanting to ask the same question. By showcasing what makes you different and openly sharing answers to questions asked, you will build trust as your potential client gains a deeper understanding of what they’re purchasing.
For businesses selling a product, you will be competing on quality and price. There's not a whole lot that can be said about the latter in relation to the process you use, however if you are competing on quality or focus on sustainability your process is an important part of your brand. By showing the process behind a product that perhaps would look and feel much like your competitors, you are highlighting why the customer should buy from you. Perhaps the leather you use is sourced humanly, that the craftsmen who created the product are local and therefore provide jobs in the local community, you tell them why certain features have been included instead of others - the list is endless, but it all comes down to this: You who them that they can trust you.
The customers that appreciate the values of your processes and what these yield are the clients and customers you want for your business. They are they individuals that will come back time and time again, and who will tell their friends and share their own experience on their own social media.
EXCLUSIVITY & FORGIVENESS
Allowing your audience opportunities to understand your passion and unique approach adds an extra element to the services or products you are providing. Getting to know ‘unknown’ facts or company updates will allow your audience to feel an extra sense of inclusion. In marketing, this is know as exclusivity, and it goes back to building trust. Making your audience feel like they belong is a sure way of building relationships and return customers.
As you are showcasing the who’s and what’s of your business, you are making sure you won’t be seen as a ‘faceless company’. We're living in a world of next day deliveries and cashless payments setting customer expectations high, meaning you can quickly run in to frustrated buyers when the occasional tech glitch or human error occurs. Communicating openly with your audience will allow you to achieve a level of understanding, where they will be acceptant and even forgiving if something don't work. Admitting to your audience that you too are human (surprise!) and that you go above and beyond to prevent disappointment will help intercept things such as brash testimonials written in anger.
HOW TO SHARE BEHIND THE SCENES CONTENT
Don’t fake it: This may seem obvious, but there are a lot of businesses out there that talk about their culture, their process, their team and their products in a way that will lure customers into trusting them only to have their trust broken further down the line. If you have problems within your organisations, get these resolved before you open up to your audience. Your journey to solve any issues will make a great story to tell!
Highlight the people behind the brand:
As we mentioned earlier, people buy from people. If there are people within your business who will happily be in photos, create videos, write blogs, and so on, make the most of it! They are what will make your business a brand, be proud of them.
Focus on your USP - What makes your process different:
Showcasing the processes of your business and who's behind the brand will increase trust but not necessarily set you apart from your competitors of they do the same. Communicate what is totally unique about the things you do and how you do them.Answer your audience must burning questions:
What does your audience care about the most? Revisit your buyer persona and leverage how your product or services will help meet their needs. Do they want to save time and/or money, buy products that will last, or wear boots that won't need wearing in? Tell them how you're going to help.
WHAT TO SHARE
Video:
If you make something unique, make a video about WHAT makes it unique and WHY this will benefit your customers. Not only informative, but Videos get 1,200% more shares than text and images combined. Your brain can also process visuals much quicker than it can text. About 90% of the total information transmitted to your brain is visual. On top of that, your brain can process these visuals 60,000 times faster than text. It is also worth consider presenting services or products in Instagram’s reel functionality, as these types of posts has a much longer lifespan that standard posts.Candid photography:
Don’t like selfies? Neither do we! Or at least not for our business. Hire a photographer to capture you and your team going about your day to day work. This is realistic and a professional will produce high-quality content you can put to use on socials, in adverts and on your website. Interested in a brand shoot for your equestrian business? Contact us here. If you’re just starting up or working on a tight budget, ask a friend or family member to take some photos to get you started. Some content is better than none!Employee and ambassador programs:
If you have a great culture in place that rewards your loyal employees and customers, talk about it! Valuing your customers like you value your employees says a lot about your attitude towards your fellow equestrians.
Testimonials:
Did you know that potential customers are more likely to invest following recommendation from others? Testimonials to help establish credibility and work well as they come across in an unbiased voice and establish trust rather than being a strong sales pitch. To save time you should also build workflows within your customer journey that will request testimonials and feedback.
Sneak peaks:If you have a new product or service launching soon, talk about how you’ve been working on an exciting project by sharing a preview with your audience. This is also a great opportunity to build your subscribers list! Social media is great, but the one thing you should focus on is building a list of email subscribers. Book a free strategy call here to learn more about how this can benefit your business!
Our of office:Do you and your team take part in activities outside the office, such as fundraisers and events? If you’re an instructor, a photographer or an event manager, let your audience in on what happens on the days you work out of the office!
Would you like to get to know us and our team bette?
You can read about us here, or follow us on social media for all our latest updates and behind the scenes!
