#263: 4 Reasons Why Your Brand Is Not Engaging with Ashley Alderson, Founder of The Boutique Hub

It's episode number 263, and you've got me this week, but I'm going to tell you all about a new strategy that I like to call Vava Voom. When it comes to building engaging branding and content, you got to hear what the Vava stands for in Vavavoom. Kind of like 80s hairspray, Vava Voom. But this time, it's about your business. Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what actually work, from mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street and the entire ecosystem behind it. How do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek? Let's hear from those insiders, experts, and strategists that actually make it happen. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub, and I can't wait to chat. Hey, guys. Welcome to this week's episode. And it's just me. Just you and me hanging out. Because this week I really wanted to come and just pour some ideas into your business. I wanted to give you some things that I've been working on, some things that I've been watching and noticing happening in our boutique world, and maybe answer a couple of your questions around why your brand may or may not be growing organically. You know, the world has certainly changed in the last year, and we've seen businesses completely thrive in the environment that we're in, and we've seen businesses struggle with the environment that we're in. And so one thing I think that is definitely going to come out of everything that has happened in 2020 is the world around us is going to realize I want more flexibility. I want to be able to work from home. I want to do things that I love more than anything. And I think what that's going to lead to is more and more people looking for opportunities to own their own business and maybe even start a boutique. So I expect our boutique industry to continue to grow, grow because of what happened in 2020. Now, that said, there's going to be a lot of players in the market, and I don't want that to intimidate you or frustrate you, but I want it to excite you because of a couple things. I think that shopping small is going to be such a way of life. I think our world is going to understand the value of doing business with small business. But more than that, people want to do business with people, right? People want to feel heard and understood and connected, and they want to do business with a brand that they feel like truly aligns with who they. So this is your opportunity. With so many players in the market, the more that you're able to really hone in on what your brand is all about, the more your brand is going to continue to grow and flourish organically. So today I want to deep dive into that. I want to explore with you today four reasons why your brand and your content is not engaging and growing organically. Because now is your time to really double down and really look into your brand, what you're sharing on social media, who you are, what you believe, who you're customer is. Because this is going to be your time to shine and stand out in a somewhat crowded market. This is your opportunity. All right, let's jump right into the content. If you have a notebook, take some notes, and I do have a free download for you this week that I think is really, really good. So make sure you check out the show notes, grab that free download because it goes along with everything we're going to be talking about today. So four reasons why your brand and content are not engaging right now and number one, your content is not share worthy. Right? So if we think about it, a lot of times when we're sharing content, we're thinking about, okay, I'm selling my products that are for sale, or I'm talking about a promotion that I'm running or what my hours are. You know, just some basic business posts, right? But so often we don't take a step back and think about, you know, if my posts are going to start to get more eyeballs. They have to have the ability to be shared, right? There has to be other people that buy into what I'm saying. Growth comes not from people liking our content, but from people seeing themselves enough in our content to share it with others. And that's the way the algorithm works as well. So money follows eyeballs. You've probably heard me say this a number of times, but the more engagement we can get in the algorithm, the more likes, the more comments, the more engagement, the more people see our posts. And as that engagement freight train starts to roll, then when we start to share sales content or make an offer or promotion, whatever, ask people to buy, then more people are going to see it because they're naturally and organically engaging with our content. So what's that actually mean? I want to give you an example. I have looked and looked, you guys, and I cannot remember the name of this page. I came across it about two years ago. It was a page something like Biker Mama or something to do with women who ride motorcycles. I've got to find this page. And as I came across it, what I noticed was they were sharing quotes and memes and images that were just going crazy viral around women who ride motorcycles. And as I looked at it, I was like, gosh, this is so strange. How are these people making money? How are these quote and meme pages monetizing their page? Well, as I started to dig deeper and I went to their website and I engaged with their content, then their strategy unfolded before my eyes. And all of a sudden I noticed that they have a highly targeted website geared toward motorcycle mamas that's selling the Miss Me jeans and the black studded out shirts and the do rags and the leather and all the things that are again, highly targeted to women who ride motorcycles. And as I noticed more now, I was starting to get their ads, I was starting to be retargeted, I was being served opt ins for their email list. So as I look at this strategy and as it plays into your business, I think about what is the viral content that your ideal customer sees herself in and wants to engage with enough to share it with her friends. Right? Because the more eyeballs we get, not just clicks, but eyeballs that we get now, we are building ourselves a huge pool of an engaged audience that we can come back and retarget later. Or with our next couple of posts that we make offers to, they're going to start to see that because we've got thousands and thousands of engaged people seeing each and every post. Does that make sense? You know the other example I want to show you, and this may not be your world, if I come from the rodeo world, right? So this is my world, Western culture and agriculture. I came across a friend of mine owns a page called roping.com and the first time I came across roping.com honestly was because someone had shared a meme that I thought was hilarious if you were into western fashion. And it was like a picture, like a meme from Derek from Zoolander and was talking about women, how they dress up to go to the nfr. And that's totally me and several of my friends as well. So I go to this page and I'm like, what in the world? Like, this page is sharing all kinds of quotes and memes. Well, as I understand it, because I got to know the mastermind behind the site of roping.com, a gentleman in Australia that I've become friends with. That's really the strategy. It's to use quotes and memes to really round up who are my people, where's my organic audience? And the more I round those people up by sharing these viral quotes and memes, now they come in and they start to serve more targeted content to those people, they start to run retargeting ads, they run opt ins to get people onto their list and they start to sell to them that way. But you guys let the viral content do the front end work for you. So you might feel like, oh, quotes and memes, they just mess up my page, they mess up my feed, whatever it is. I want you to go and look at your page and then look at pages of businesses that are really similar to you, your main competitors that are in your market, right? And I want you to look and see what is getting the most engagement. And I think that's going to help you really understand where should I put a little more emphasis in the viral category? And again, not everything we post is going to be the viral content. We have to have a good product mix of the ideal boutique content recipe. If you've heard me talk about that strategy before. But one of the pieces of the pie is viral content. So if you're on Instagram, go to Post Insights and you'll see with every post that you've made how many people shared that post to the story, to a story and how many people saved that post. So again, it's right below every photo that you post on Instagram, you're going to see that little tool and you're going to be able to lean in to what your customers are engaging with and share more content in that category because you're building a custom audience of highly engaged people the way you can do it on Facebook. Same thing. Go to your post Insights and you're going to see what is getting the most engagement, what's getting the most reach and lean into those types of content so you can build that organic audience and then follow it up by asking for the sale next. All right, tip number two is your content isn't relatable. And this goes back to who's your customer, right? Who's your customer and how much are you really speaking to that ideal customer? I think the one thing that we've all learned, learned the most from 2020 is that people, again, just want to do business with people and they want to be able to see themselves in your shoes. They want to feel heard and understood. They want to know that your brand truly aligns with them. So by you showing up in the most authentic version of yourself, right, you being the spirit leader of your brand. You going face to camera. Your models going face to camera. You guys showing up with a cooking show or a workout show or all these crazy things again, that came from the pandemic. You showing daily life behind the scenes in your business, Packaging orders, receiving new boxes, sharing milestones and things that are happening in your business, celebrating those pieces. You are showing up authentically for your audience. And then second to that, the backup strategy to showing up authentically is to ask more questions and give your customers a voice inside of your brand. You know, the brain reacts to every question with an answer, whether they type it out on the keyboard or not. So I always use this example. But what's. What is it on the Devil Wears Prada? Cerulean. Okay, let's say you post the sweater, right? And you're like, oh, isn't this a beautiful cerulean sweater? Yeah. Yes, it is. Whatever. Scroll on by. But what if I asked the question, this is a cerulean sweater. Name that movie. What did it come from? And by the way, you can grab it on my website here. Everyone is going to answer in the comments. The Devil Wears Prada, right? Because they can't help it. Their brain is trained to answer the question. So share the relatable content. Show up authentically as the spirit leader of your brand. Take a stance, have a voice, Be a voice, not an echo, right? Create your brand that is going to stand out from everyone else and then ask questions. So your customers are building the brand alongside you. They're in it with you, and they feel like they are one with the brand that you're creating. And you guys have probably heard me say this a lot too, because I feel so strongly about it. But when you market to everyone, you reach no one. So I know we've been taught so many times, like, oh, don't take a stand on things. Or you know, just like, be very, very neut neutral. I think the time for neutrality is over to a certain extent. Like, there's still like, religion and politics. Like, if you want to go down that road, be my guest. But maybe that's not for you, and that's okay. But it's okay to take a stand on other things. Maybe it's agriculture, maybe it's healthy living, maybe it's body confidence. Whatever it is, take a stand on something that you truly believe in and have a voice, because it's called building a magnetic brand. Either you're going to attract your ideal customer or you're going to repel those who aren't and a certain element of repelling people from your brand is okay, because 80% of your revenue often comes from 20% of your list. So the more you can build that thousand true fans or 100 true fans and really hone into who your ideal customers are, the more they're going to buy from you and the more they are going to attract like minded people who are your people into your brand. All right, tip number three. The third reason why your brand is not engaging is we're not offering enough value. We're not offering enough value. And when I talk about value, I don't mean your prices aren't cheap enough or your prices are too expensive. Because I mean, seriously, you are not Walmart. You're not, you're not ever going to be Walmart, right? You're a boutique. You offer a specialty product, a unique curation of goods and services. You're special. And you have to show up like you're special with your pricing, with your products and how you serve your customers. The reason people come to you in your store, your small business, is because you can educate them and offer them solid service and advice that they just can't find anywhere else. You know, when they go to the mall, they're just left to go look around the store and grab something off of a rack. But when they come to your store, you can help them understand fit and trend and creating a capsule wardrobe and creating collections and how to layer pieces and how to fit your body. And you're also, I know you guys hear me. Those of you that are brick and mortars, you're also like a camp counselor in a way, right? Your customers come in and they just need someone to talk to. They just need an ear. They just need you to show up and serve them and love on them and make them feel beautiful and heard and understood and happy, Right? There's so many things that you can do that other people can't do, and that's a part of the value that you offer. So by being and adding value, this is both your spoken and unspoken promise of what others get when they shop with you, right? So it could be how you show up and educate people on how to wear different pieces, how to dress your body type, how to dress these certain trends. It's also how you inspire other people. You're offering value because you're inspiring them to live a certain way, to think a certain way, to work a certain way. You're a business owner and you, you know, you may go follow Rachel Hollis, you may go follow Jenna Kutcher, you may follow Brendon Burchard like you've got these great mentors that you follow, but in so many cases, your customer, their greatest inspiration is you. You're a local leader, you are the inspiration. They may not have access to those other people. So the way you show up to inspire others matters and it offers value to your customers. Another way you offer value is through your policies. Right? Again, let's go back to the definition of value. It's your spoken or unspoken promise of what you get when you shop with me. So in my policies, it may be my shipping policy, it may be offering a really open and lenient return policy. Because studies show the more lenient your return policy, the more returns actually diminish, the more they go down. Because you're increasing a level of trust, you're increasing a level of value, right? So policies definitely play into that. Another thing that plays into offering value is your why, your why, you know, now is the time again, I think our world has really opened their eyes to why am I here, what do I want out of life and what do I believe in and what do I stand for? And I'm not in business just to sell widgets and make money. Like, how boring is that? Like, oh, it's money in the bank, but what am I going to do with it, right? And maybe some of you are like, I just want the money in a bank. Just give me the money in the bank and I get it, right? I 100% get it there. When we first started this business, man, I, I told Beth, do not cash your check this week because it's probably going to bounce. I mean, I would have done anything to get another hundred dollars in the bank. So we all have to cross that bridge. But as you do, the more fulfillment you find isn't going to come from the money, but it's going to come from the purpose and the way that you're showing up and adding value in your customers lives every day. Or the more you're able to stand for a certain charity or a cause. You know, we've had so many boutique owners in the Hub who I'm so inspired by that have started their own foundations or they speak out like mental health is something they really speak on or body image or you name it, it could be anything. But they're motivated not just by the business, but by the business also as a platform to serve a greater purpose in the world around them. So your why it really matters. And again, it goes back to building the value of shopping. With you versus shopping with someone else. And today, man, the more made in America or ethically, ethically sourced or, you know, you name it, handmade, those things are becoming more and more important today. Another way that you're adding value is by brand prestige, right? And so this is the relationship between price, pain and, and pleasure. The three big P's. When we're, when we're making a decision to buy something, your brand prestige, think about it like this. If, and this is going to play into number four. So I'm going to roll into this is if I shop at Nordstrom, I'm probably not also an avid Walmart apparel shopper, right? If I think of my style at a certain level, I'm going to seek out stores at that same or above. Like it's, it's aspirational, right? So brand prestige promises a certain level of value. You're promised something when you shop at Nordstrom. You're promised something different when you shop at Walmart. Walmart is promising you price match. Nordstrom is promising you an image. So what is your brand prestige? Because that plays into the value that you're offering. Value is not price. Value is all the things that we just mentioned. So, so in your content, how are you showing up to demonstrate value on a daily basis? It's, again, it's not the price, but it's demonstrating through all these other things which I want to talk about next. And that is number four. The fourth reason why your brand is not engaging is you're not inspiring people to uplevel their style. You're not inspiring them to uplevel their style. So our goal, right, you have an affinity with fashion that other people may not have. You have the ability to put outfits together and to talk to people and to do all these things that your customers are like, gosh, I wish I knew how to put outfits together. I wish I knew what jeans and shoes to wear. I wish I knew if I could mix black and brown or red and pink or wear white after Labor Day. Like, these things are a mystery to so many people. But you have those answers, right? You have the opportunity to build a comfort level with each individual sense of style. That is your gift. So like I was mentioning a minute ago, when you are up leveling someone's style and you're increasing the comfort level, where are your customers now? Let's start there. Like, what is their comfort level right now? Are you, are they, are they also shopping? Like, say, I don't mean to bash Walmart, but are they just shopping at The Walmart apparel section? Or are they like Nordstrom shoppers? Are they shopping on Vichy in terms of boutique land? Like where else are your customers shopping right now so you can get a feel for what their sense of style is? And then how does not just my products but my overall brand really speak to that customer? This comes down to your product. Photography is absolutely number one. Your website, your policies, the promises, the value that you're offering, it all comes back to that. So if I think about sharing my product photography, are my pieces really styled the right way? Is the lighting great? Like are my photographs my photos, are they promising that my brand is a certain prestige? Let's say, do my customers feel like they're heard and we're up leveling their style? Or maybe is it too much? You know, if I have a really fancy photographer, but now I'm finding that oh man, mirror selfies are really crushing it for me, then maybe it's time to adjust that a little bit. Or maybe I'm just doing some really basic flat lays, but I'm finding that when I put clothes on a human being and models of all sizes now my clothes are starting to crush it. So go through and look at in your photography what is turning. Because I guarantee you, things aren't selling just because of the product, but they're selling because of the way you present the product and the promises that you're making with that product. So dig into your data, dig into your sales numbers and understand why are things selling the way that they're selling? And then how can you adjust your brand image and your brand prestige to really fit where your customers are today and to help them take the next step to up level their style, even just a little bit more. Your branding, your photography, your website, your emails, your videos, your try on sessions, the way you accessorize, that is all your brand prestige. So again, four reasons why your brand is not engaging why your content and your brand are not engaging your customers. Number one, it's not shareworthy, Money follows eyeballs. Number two, it's not relatable, right? People want authenticity. They want to see you show up authentically as you with your voice. Number three, you're not offering value. So value isn't price, but value is the promise of what people get spoken or unspoken when they shop with you. And number four, you're not inspiring them to up level their style. So build that brand aspiration, right? Building an aspirational brand. So as I was thinking about these four pieces, you know I'm big on like systems and processes. And I was thinking, like, what is something that everyone can put in their head and remember as they're thinking about building their brand? And really it's V A V a Vava va va voom. Right? So viral, authentic value and aspirational. Va va viral authentic value, aspirational. Write it on your vision board, write it in your day planner. But think about that as you're planning out your content each and every week. Is my content following falling into one of these four categories? And based on my sales data and what is working for me right now, how are the pieces that are actually selling and working falling into one of these four categories? So within this, you know, it kind of all ties back to our boutique content recipe, where everything that we share is either engaging content, branded content, or sales content. But drilling down in that content recipe, really it's the vava content. It's the nitty gritty of how each of these pieces of content make someone feel when they receive them. So hopefully, you guys, this vava content helps up level the engagement and the traffic and the conversions that you're getting inside of your business today. And I wanted to take that a next level further. So I created a free download for you guys today. It's 20 ways to drive more traffic in your business in 2020. And you can catch that in the show notes. It's a simple link. Drop your email address and I will email it right to you. But it goes into even more detail in terms of video and using TikTok and the things that are working for boutiques and right now. So check out that free download and then I want to offer you this if you are ready to have a set done for you, plan every week of what's the content that I create. But then more so how do I maximize that content? Because I don't know about you guys, but I really got lost in the trap of always creating something new. Like our whole team did. New blog posts, new photos, new videos, new, new, new, new, new. And I think about as Instagram posts. Like, how much time do you spend getting a great photo for Instagram and then writing the caption and then scheduling it out and paying the photographer and the models and your personal time styling the photo shoots, like for one Instagram photo and maybe if you're lucky, you share it on Facebook too. And maybe that photo is on your website as well. But are we really maximizing all the content that we're creating? So I asked myself this question and I went in with the boutiques that I'VE worked with and looked at. Okay, what are we sharing every single week on YouTube, on Facebook, on Pinterest, on Instagram, in our email marketing, in our text messages, in our live videos, and posting to our website? What is the content that I need to create each and every week? Because it's a lot. It's a lot. And so much so that people are like, oh, I don't have time for Pinterest, or I don't have time. TikTok's new. I don't have time to learn it because I'm so busy doing all these other things. So I asked myself, okay, how can we create this content and then cross market it and share it on all these different platforms? So that's where the idea of Content Sanity came from. And the Content Sanity Method, which is taking six essential pieces of content that are laced with this vava idea and we can batch create them and cross market them on all these different platforms throughout the entire week to save you time so that the rest of the week you can spend your time actually engaging with your customers and not just planning what you're going to post next. So that is called the Content Sanity Method and it's inside of the Content Sanity Masterclass, which I've also linked up in this episode for you. If it's something that interests you. If not, grab the free download, get all the tips and tools you can in the free download, and go from there. Either way, you guys, my goal every single week here on this podcast, by interviewing other people or just by showing up you and me like we're doing today, as well as my goal in the Boutique Hub is to get you access to every, every tool that might help you in your business and also expose you to new ideas and new trends that are changing in our industry today. So if this episode today was helpful to you, please shoot me a message on Instagram. You guys, I love hearing from you. I appreciate it so much. And as many of you know, I love to video chat, so I often will video chat your message back. So hit me up. It's AJ Alderson on the Gram or Boutique Hub business, and I would love to catch up with you anytime. So let me know if this episode was helpful. I will be back next week as always with an another interview of some awesome leaders inside of our boutique industry. But you guys, I'm here, I'm rooting for you, I'm cheering for you, and I can't wait to see you soon at our Virtual Retail Summit. And also each and every day inside of the Boutique Hub for all of our members. All right. Hey guys, thank you so much for listening to this episode. We hope that you loved it. Don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating and review down below for a chance to be one of our featured listeners each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and how to access complete show notes and bonus downloads from our guests, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week. Sam.