No, really – I’m fine…
My chameleon has more social media clout than I do, and honestly, I’m not even mad about it.
“Find Pascal Fridays” were always some of my best posts (he’s now really got too big for them to be a challenge anymore!). Pascal-voice posts (singing or speaking) are always well received. And videos of him climbing my face/glasses and then falling off? Priceless.
I’m sure you’ll be stunned and amazed to learn that my best-performing content pretty much always involves Pascal, and usually has very little to do with the actual running of my business.
So why do I keep posting about my reptilian overlord on my business profiles? There’s a method to that madness (and I promise it’s not just for likes)…
Let’s start at the very beginning
Whoever I talk to about social media, be it clients, trainees or podcast hosts, I always start in the same place: when it comes to social media, the clue is in the name. It’s social media – it’s not a sales platform. Sure, you may make sales off the back of a social media post, but that should be a happy side effect, not the goal.
I know, that sounds counterintuitive for business profiles, but bear with me.
Let’s take things into the real world for a moment. Picture the scene: you’re walking down the high street (what’s left of them), and someone catches your eye. They smile at you. What’s the first thing you’re going to do?
Is it:
A) Smile back and say hello
B) Frown in fury and turn your back on them
C) Corner them, tell them all about your business, then chase them down the street crying “Why won’t you buy from meeeeee?!” as they run away in terror
I really, really hope you went for option A…
There isn’t really a silver bullet for social media marketing, but the closest thing I can give you is this: people loved to be marketed to, but they hate to be sold at.
People love to be marketed to, but they hate to be sold at
Marketing to your target audience looks like this:
- Creating and sharing content that they’ll find useful
- Something that you think will make them smile
- Sharing a helpful industry insight
- Making recommendations
Selling at your target audience looks like:
- Ending every single post with a demand for attention
- BUY. MY. PRODUCT
- You NEED to spend your hard-earned money with me
Marketing to your target audience involves crafting and distributing content that resonates with their needs and interests. It means providing value through useful information, sharing insights that might brighten their day, or offering recommendations that genuinely benefit them. This approach is about building a relationship and understanding their preferences.
In contrast, selling at your target audience is more aggressive and focused solely on pushing your product. It often involves bombarding them with commands to buy and creating pressure to spend their money without consideration of their actual needs or desires. This tactic can feel impersonal and overwhelming, potentially alienating the very people you wish to engage.
So, what does this have to do with Pascal?
Other than the fact that Pascal is now synonymous with my brand, I know that seeing him makes people smile. If I don’t post about him for a few days, or if he’s not around online networking with me, people will genuinely message me to ask if he’s okay. So that’s point one.
Point two – Pascal makes me stand out from the crowd. Social media management and training is a crowded market; there’s hundreds of social media peeps out there who can help businesses that need/want to outsource this vital area of marketing. My reptilian overlord gives me a good foot in the door for people’s attention. I genuinley don’t know any other social media marketers who regularly show up at networking events with a chameleon on their head. Of course, Pascal isn’t actually going to manage someone’s socials for them, but he gets you to talk to the person who will (yes, that’s that me, espresso).
I know that my followers and connections enjoy content that features Pascal’s secondary career as a fascinator. I know that among the silliness, I can sneak in a couple of helpful tips that people can apply to their social media marketing. And I know that they’re more likely to remember my content because it made them smile.
Now, that’s not to say that everyone needs to rush out immediately and invest in a chamma chamma of their very own for gimmicky shenanigans (if nothing else, dude – that’s my thing!). But I do recommend that you have a think about what would delight your followers enough to get them to slow their scroll and absorb what you have to say.
There’s so much noise on social media, and it can be a real job to cut through. But knowing what your followers like to see, and then giving that to them? That’s your silver bullet.
