Every business must find a way to stand out among the competition. Magnifying what makes them memorable is how they create a loyal following of clients and customers. It’s why I always tell my clients to “Let your freak flag fly!” because your best clients will love the weirdest things about you. They will love you for that and enjoy sharing your quirks.
For example, I have six kids and drive them around in a big white church van. I love a good conspiracy theory, and am a proud Catholic. People who relate to me stick around, and people who can’t stand these aspects of who I am or how I live my life, will leave (don’t let the door hit you on your way out!)
Bottom line, your freak flag is what turns followers into raving fans or cuts out haters. So if you have an obsession with pirates or pickles, let the world know.
As always, there’s a line that should not be crossed or a few areas of marketing where you should NOT rock the boat.
Your Website Navigation Menu
This should be clear, concise, and easy to navigate. Don’t use any cutesy terms here and send potential customers down a rabbit hole of trying to navigate your site. It can be fun to mix up the copy on your website, but here is not the place.
Twitter is an opinion platform, but it is also a great place to connect to people who are otherwise hard to reach. So if you use this platform professionally, I don’t recommend getting too wild on there unless you’re into fighting online with strangers and damaging your reputation.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
You might think you’re being witty when you title your blog post, but if the Google gods don’t understand your humor, no one else will ever see it. As smart as Google is, there’s no optimization for humor yet. In order to stay on track, use Yoast – a great website tool to keep your SEO in line.
How you Describe your Services
Be super clear on what you offer. Listing you’re a “magical sorcerer who can help females create divine abundance while sitting in her humble abode” is just a confusing way to say you help women make money from home. Instead, just say the obvious. Remember, if you confuse, you lose. The clearer you can be in your service description, the more likely your customers will be interested in what you’re selling.
OK – enough with all the boring rules. Here are some areas I encourage fun and a little sass:
Facebook & Instagram Stories
With all the scrolling, you need to catch some attention with something unique. So get creative here and remember, these disappear after 24 hours!
LinkedIn Messages
LinkedIn is the water bubbler of every corporate office. Stand out by adding humor to the typical boring, corporate sounding messages and having human conversations with strangers. I have met the coolest people in my inbox!
Your Blog
UM, you own this. Have as much fun as you want in the body of the blog, but not the title! Remember? Google is missing its funny bone.
Not only can you organize your Pinterest boards to your liking, but you can also create secret boards and pin things completely unrelated to work if you don’t want your followers to see you pinning your 1,000th cute puppy photo.
Reddit is a gift for anyone who loves conspiracy theories. It’s also a great place to connect with like-minded people! Just remember to represent your brand well if you’re not keeping it anonymous.
Your Sales Funnel
When you first get someone on your email list, get creative introducing yourself! Make their welcome message memorable and you’ll be more likely to develop a positive relationship with your brand new subscriber. That know, like, trust factor comes into play here, and your readers can tell what’s genuine when you share about your life.
Your ‘About Me’ Page
Repeat after me – your about page is not your digital resume. People typically don’t care about your degree. Instead, think of your about page as your elevator pitch. You need people to like you quickly and understand what you do – so diving deep about your internship at blah blah office isn’t going to make that happen (see what I mean?).
In a crowded marketplace, it’s more important than ever to be your unique self. But it’s also essential to know the time and place for personality vs. getting down to business. What changes can you make this week to your content strategy to put your best self forward?
Lisa
Lisa M Gale Digital Marketing helps service professional business owners improve their online presence and visibility to attract new clients. We develop systems and processes to improve digital marketing efforts and help entrepreneurs reach their business goals. Download your Digital Marketing Made Simple for free here >>
