You need people to know, like and trust you.
If you make that happen, your direct-response marketing campaigns will work much better.
Refresher: Direct-response marketing tells the viewer what to do when (now!), and brand marketing tells the viewer why they should do it.
In the previous post in this series, I explained how to score some quick daily wins with direct-response marketing: selling by chat on social media.
Here, I’ll give you a way to score quick wins to build your brand and amplify the effects of your other marketing efforts.
QuickCasting
The QuickCast is a short, direct shot of branding into the marketplace. It’s a retention tool that will affect current clients and an outreach tool that can build your audience.
In essence, it’s a very short podcast issued regularly to establish exactly what your business is and how it solves problems for people. It repeatedly explains who you are, what you do for whom, and why you do it.
If you want to see the technique used in the real world, check out the QuickCast I do for my gym: The Weekly Catalyst Show.
Read on for the basics!
Step 1
Open the voice recorder on your phone and pretend I’m interviewing you. You’re going to record your reply to this prompt: Tell me the story of your business in five minutes.
Bonus prompts for three more QuickCasts:
- Why did you start this business?
- How has your business changed since your first year?
- What is the mission of your business?
Step 2
Hit record.
Tell your story in five minutes.
End the recording.
Step 3
Save the file with this title:
“The Story of My Business.”
You’ll be thankful you did this after you start cranking out QuickCasts in volume.
Step 4
Send the recording to your laptop.
Step 5
Set up a distribution channel. I recommend Captivate.fm.
Here’s how to set up your account: How to Start a Podcast With Captivate.
You can use a different service if you prefer.
Step 6
Get your Captivate-hosted QuickCast listed on Spotify: Instructions.
Get your Captivate-hosted QuickCast listed on Apple Podcasts: Instructions.
Step 7
Distribute your QuickCast by copying the link from Captivate and posting to your social platforms.
Here’s what it looks like when I do it:
Branding for Client Retention and Acquisition
In 2024, you build your brand and sell by telling stories on all the platforms where clients and prospective clients can be found. To do that, you must produce media—words, pictures, audio, video.
The QuickCast is a high-speed, low-drag solution that allows you to create simple but effective content that connects with clients and prospective clients.
Never forget: Brand advertising is as much about retention as it as about acquisition, and you’ll win both games if you keep telling your story regularly.
And what happens if you stop telling your story? It’s all bad:
People don’t know who you are.
People don’t know what you do and why you do it.
People don’t know how you can help them.
People don’t respond as readily when you ask them to buy with direct-response campaigns.
People listen to stories from other companies, and some of the stories lead consumers astray.
People forget about you.
Branding is a never-ending story about a business. Combine that story with active, compelling direct-response marketing and you’ll create a strong business with great retention and a steady flow of high-quality leads.
