Small Business Marketing with Impact

This post is an excerpt from our free 30 Days 30 Ways Online Marketing program.

Smart small business marketing involves creating impact.  IMPACT is the art of building a tribe, a loyal community that is not longer just following you but raving about you, your business, your products/services and what you stand for. It’s about going far beyond interacting and forming relationships, to embracing your IMPACT factor — that unique thing that makes your business stand out from the rest. Whether it’s your people, your promise, the delivery of your service, or the experience you provide — every human, every business, every product has an IMPACT factor.

IMPACT = Experience + Educate + Entertain + Empower

IMPACT can be the determining factor between mediocre success and exceptional success. It is the factor that builds momentum in everything you do online. It’s what makes you and your content “sharable.” It goes far beyond simply having “personality” or going “viral.” It’s hard to describe and there is no system for determining your IMPACT factor. It is best illustrated by “showing” you with examples you may be familiar with…

Gary Vaynerchuk used his IMPACT factor to not only catapult his family business into tremendous success (www.WineLibrary.tv), but also become a household name and best-selling author (Crush It).

Dove used their knowledge of their market’s (Dove’s Real Beauty Community) IMPACT factor to create an entire revolution around the real definition of beauty (Dove’s Facebook Campaign), translating into unbelievable success for a women’s beauty line.

David Meerman Scott has an entire book, World Wide Rave, focused on examples where IMPACT factors kicked in to create monumental success by going against conventional marketing wisdom.

Zappos! Shoes realized their IMPACT factor and embraced it by making it an entire company culture and direction for how they did business with their customers. They then used Social Media like Twitter to spread the word, turning the company into a multi-million dollar deal when it sold.

Barack Obama created an IMPACT factor by understanding his “market” and leveraging the power of social media to whip the political good ole’ boy network, becoming what many have dubbed the first “social media President.” (My political views aside, he ran an exceptional social media campaign driven by IMPACT)

And it’s not just the big guys learning how to leverage their IMPACT Factor:

Over half of the top Facebook Pages (by number of fans) are not from big brands or celebrities, they are from ordinary people building community around similar interests, simple statements, and other less complicated IMPACT factors.

Take a look at the Susan Boyle story, a Scottish woman from nowhere, who came out to inspire an entire world. Yes, she had talent, but even more so she had an IMPACT factor that catapulted her into the hearts of her fans.

The point here is, you may not be a Barack Obama or Susan Boyle, but you and your business have something — a story, an experience, a solution… something that is your IMPACT. It may be your story of success. It may be how you deliver an exceptional customer experience. It may be the uniqueness of your solution. Whatever it is, connect that with your audience, you’ll have IMPACT which builds momentum in your marketing efforts and loyal, raving fans.

Why IMPACT is Important

Without IMPACT, you will always operate in “cast the fishnet” mode. You’ll always fight your competition for a small percentage of a crowded market. You’ll never be able to differentiate yourself beyond price, features, and other basic premises. You’ll always have followers, subscribers, and traffic who’ve found you but never be able to keep their attention and turn them into loyal readers, fan, and purchasers.

Without the IMPACT you will waste time, money, and a host of other resources. Consistent, purposeful Engagement that includes IMPACT will help you build the kind of relationships that catapult the results you receive from online marketing with an unbelievable momentum. You’ll not only connect with your audience and collect leads, you’ll turn those leads into believers and ultimately, buyers.

IMPACT will help you have a voice and a unique presence in the marketplace that goes far beyond a brand or made-up persona. It helps you connect with your ideal audience beyond the visual, to connecting with them on the emotional. It is the glue that helps you build a bond with your audience — whereby they recognize you and your business as being a true, valuable member of their community.

Pssst… tomorrow we’ll take a look at what IMPACT looks like and the 4 components of successfully creating IMPACT in your online marketing. 

About the Author...

Maria Reyes-McDavis is a colossal geek brainiac, certified genius IQ with university degrees in Finance, Economics, Business Management and an MBA. Maria has served over 300 pro-level, digital marketing clients as founder of online marketing firm Digital Peas & Carrots. Maria is Founder and Editor of Hyphenated Americans, a conservative politics blog and Proverbs 31 Project an online women's ministry. Most importantly, Maria is a wife to her king, mother of 3, lover of basketball (Go Lakers & Clippers!), classic cars and is currently training for professional women's roller derby!

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Tagged as: Online Marketing, Small Business