Did you ever hear about the New Jersey pediatric dentist who went viral when he started performing magic tricks for his young patients? Out of a simple desire to use one of his personal hobbies at work to make children a little less anxious during their dental visit, came an ingenious marketing move that differentiated him from any other dentist around.
That rabbit twirling dentist used what all business owners possess but almost none put to use. He put his personality into his business.
Back when I first started doing web design, what I was most concerned with when it came to marketing my business was what people wanted to hear and what I was “supposed” to be saying. Both of these were a complete mystery to me, and I often struggled with what to put out into the world on social media and everywhere else in the marketing realm. My overall message was muddled and confused because, well, I myself was muddled and confused!
Fast forward almost nine years, and I’ve learned that as strange as it sounds, what my potential customers want and have always wanted me to be – is myself. What I mean by that is, the businesses and brands people are most attracted to are the ones that have personality.
After all, if you got ten referrals for a dentist for your child, and you heard that one of them did spectacular magic tricks, which one would you choose?
No two people are the same of course, and the beauty of putting your personality into your business is that when you do, your business becomes unique from all others, just like you are.
I think you’ll find that if you give this a try, you’ll discover many refreshing and creative ways to market your business in a way that’s not only fun for you, but also that attracts more of the clients you love.
To get your brainstorming juices flowing, below are three ways I’ve tried to put my own personality into my business.
1) Featured Artists.
I’ve always been a very creative person and lover of the arts. In my weekly post called “Artist We Love,” I get to choose an artist from either my local community or from around the world and feature their works. It’s a win-win: I get to enjoy the process of browsing through various artists and choosing who I want to feature that week, and my audience gets to learn a little bit about something I’m passionate about, and hopefully get a little inspired themselves.
2) Creating a Workspace You Love.
This blog post I wrote earlier this year featured a bright photo of my home office, alongside tips for how to set up a workspace you’re crazy about. Within the article, I listed little touches that I added to my own office to make it “me.” My hope in this post was that my readers would learn something, and learn a little about Janelle the person at the same time.
3) All That Jazz.
As many people know, in addition to being a web designer I’m also a jazz musician. I incorporate jazz musicians or jazz music into my marketing every chance I get. How so? In my tutorial video that I give to clients showing them how to update their websites, a track from my album can be heard at the beginning and end of the video. Additionally, I sometimes make social media posts on famous jazz musicians’ birthdays and tell a small anecdote from their life in their honor. Who knows what I’ll think of next 🙂
But, you might be thinking, none of these things have to do with web design! That’s true. But what do magic tricks have to do with dentistry? Talk about what you do, of course talk about what you do – but also make room for showing people who you are, and what you love.
So, how will you put your personality into your business?
