Fish Your Niche. How to land the right clients in a sea of competition.
One of my favorite hobbies I love to do is Fly Fishing. And the first time I went flyfishing was about 20 years ago. After I moved to Spokane in 2020 I hadn’t really picked up a fly rod since probably 2004. You can think of digital marketing on social media like flyfishing. And regular fishing (with a rod, reel & worm), like traditional marketing (radio, TV, print).
In Fly Fishing, you have to be super intentional about what fly to use, in order to catch a specific fish within a certain waterway or river. Fly fishing is very specific to the fish you want to catch. Marketing on social media or any digital marketing for that matter… it is imperative you are attracting your ideal customers by establishing a clear understanding of what your niche is biting on, where they hang out, and most importantly knowing their pain points/challenges.
Your intentional use of your point of view & perspective is like picking out the perfect fly, for the perfect fish in your desired waterway. Posting to be seen, no longer works. Keeping with the fly-fishing analogy, it would be like showing up to a river with your fly-rod and throwing hot dogs in the water, hoping you’ll land a trout. Intentions are good, but kind of pointless.
If you’ve been in business for 6 days or 6 years, and if you are not a 25-year-old influencer on social media, it is easy to get lost in what to post, how to post, and decide the frequency of posts. Not to mention which platform you are going to choose to be your primary outlet. Finally, know that the effort & energy you put into all these posts are landing with the clients you know you can serve.
How do you women entrepreneurs stand out from the crowd & catch that fish/niche?
1.Only speak to your Niche (fish)
2.Decide the ‘right’ platform to spend time on (body of water)
3.Develop & commit to an authentic voice that differentiates (the fly you use)
4.Disrupt & deliver value through an independent POV that aligns with your audience
In fly fishing, I don’t take it personally when fish don’t bite. It means I’m usually not using the proper fly in the proper river trying to catch a type of fish. Sure there is a lot of waiting and frustration but I can’t blame the fish for my lack of understanding of what they are attracted to. It takes practice, trial & error. Social media marketing is similar. Everything takes practice. The more you practice, the more you learn and the less time you make the success or failure of social media personally or as a gauge of your effectiveness.
Even with flyfishing, there is a style, tone, and POV of each individual. What works for someone, may not work necessarily for you. Usually, we are just trying to copy another person’s way without developing our own style along the way. When I practice enough I am able to innovate more. Putting my own spin on what the fish are biting on ‘this time’. Developing my own system and practices yields better results because I know more today than I did yesterday. But I can’t think my way into the right action, I have to act my way into the right thinking (innovation).
ANALOGY OF FLY FISHING TO SOCIAL MEDIA & DIGITAL MARKETING
There are a lot of parallels between flyfishing & social media strategies – so let me use Fly Fishing as a distinguished analogy when it comes to connecting to your niche (your fish) on social media (where your fish hang out). Fly fishing is so particular you have to know what the river is doing, and what the fish are biting on specific to the TYPE of fish you’re trying to land (rainbow trout, brown, steelhead, etc.)
Fish where YOUR fish are.
a. Fish for Your NICHE: Find the exact client problem. Know their challenges and pain points. What are the Demographics of clients with this problem? Who and where are they?
Example:
[who] Women…
[what do they want?] clarity, understanding, more money, more time etc. [qualifier] age, demographic, socio-demographic
[problem] not knowing how to start a business
[solution] POV, idea, program, approach…
b. TheBodyofWaterYou’llfishi.ethe ‘right’ platform: Where does your audience (fish) hang out? What are their preferred platforms? Is it Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Newsletters, Emails, or Youtube… Where does this person spend their time, and what do they find value in?
c. The right Fly: What compels them to bite? (catch their attention and develop an authentic voice): i.e, what’s your Tone? Is it humour, savvy, analytical, personal, etc?
POV: land your audience by using your OWN insights, personality, and viewpoint on your industry or world, then deliver value through an independent POV
**Your opinion & perspective are critical here. If you have an idea that is different from the rest of the herd, develop this. Do not shy away from a divergent perspective. It may just be the one that lands you the ‘big one’.
3 CRITICAL COMPONENTS FOR A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY ALIGNED WITH YOUR PURPOSE.
i) Niche Clarity (your fish) Who you are talking to?
What problem/challenge/struggle are you helping them solve? Where do they hang out primarily (FB, Linkedin, IG, etc.)
ii) Intention Clarity (what fly to use)
What do you want to achieve?
Decide how you will show up: NAME IT (example: humor, honesty, analytical, dry…etc.)
iii) Action Clarity (planning) H.O.W. ? (make an intentional plan)
Honor your commitment to yourself
Keep an Open mind on the outcome, and response. Don’t think you know what’s going to work before you even try. Willingness to learn, and accept feedback from the audience & data.
As a female founder, entrepreneur, or creative, it takes time to cultivate your POV or attitude. The longer you wait in fear of failure and duplicate other company styles, models, or points of view – the longer it will take you to innovate and create your own P.O.V. At the end of the day, your audience wants to know YOU, Your opinions, and Your perspective on their problem. Permit yourself to discern whom you want in your audience in the first place. If you try to serve EVERYONE, you end up serving NO ONE.
Go DEEP, Never Wide. [GDNW] Practice takes patience. Patience is a practice
Follow through with DCMMA: Decide on the platform.
Commit to the number of posts,
and take Messy, Massive, Action: Ask for the sale: Include a Call To Action, inform, and disclose pieces of your program
CONCLUSION
Spending hours on social media isn’t the same as having a strategy to…
Increasing your audience
Developing a voice, and point of view Gaining critical feedback from the market Creating raving fans
Instead, Power in clarity & intention matters. It’s important to establish who we DON’T want in our sphere of influence, so don’t feel shy of Intentionally bouncing clients as a way to empower yourself. This ensures you AVOID working with people who are not worthy of your A-game.
Dream Bigger Digital has target programs for female founders at 2 critical stages of growth & beginnings within your business journey – starting, positioning & scaling.
The Stoked Approach Give us 12 weeks and we’ll help you make the leap from overwhelmed impostor into confident CEO / Thought Leader. Grow your leads, sales & impact with a clear M.A.P. (mission, autonomy & purpose) for building an aligned business strategy. Click to apply Here.
AMPLIFY Start creating powerful growth strategies that you’re wildly worthy of in a 6- month with a 1:1 private business mentorship program focusing on processes & systems to scale your business past 6 figures per year. Schedule a Strategic Advisory Call
Learn more online at: www.dreambiggerdigital.com/getstoked
Want the Free ebook? Click here to download.
0 Comments