Serving Your Audience: What No One Talks About

0:0010 years ago, I made the decision to build my personal brand that was elevated, yet approachable, and reflected who I was, not just what I did. I created my website with ShowIt because it's true drag and drop freedom so you can easily build and update your site. Plus, their real human support team, game changer. Want to try it for yourself? Head to jasminestar.com forward slash show it for a 14-day free trial and first month free when you subscribe.

0:38When I was 14 years old, I was looking for ways to make money. And so I did what any like early teenager did. I carefully put together a case about why I should start a babysitting business. Okay. Maybe not every teenager did that when they were 14, but I was already making cases and putting together presentations to convince people of things. So I explained to my parents all the reasons why my parents should tell their friends to hire me. And even said that I plan to save money for new school clothes. That's what I wanted to do. The worst part of this story is that my plan backfired. My parents agreed that I was, in fact, a great babysitter.

1:19So they handed over my siblings to me for weekend babysitting and no pay. Okay. But backfiring plans, they just don't happen in our personal lives. They happen in our business too. Now, a lot of times when marketing our businesses, we hear a lot of buzzwords, things like serve, serve, serve, give value, serve before you sell. I've been saying this a lot of times, plenty of times. We hear it so often that sometimes we forget we hear it, but nobody really talks about what it means really or how to do it beyond just posting educational content, which, hey, posting educational content is fine. It's great.

1:57I talk about it, but there is so much more to serving than just teaching and sharing information. This actually reminds me of a recent study I read called The Backfire Effect. I'm going to link it in the show notes, but the overall idea is that it suggests, number one, facts don't always have the same impact the way that they once did. And two, when facts are used to contradict someone, that person will double down on their pre-existing belief, resisting the new information. So basically, people are just bombarded with so much information right now, and it's important to explore other ways to add value and serve when it comes to marketing our business.

2:36So let's start with the how, but there's something I want you to remember before we dive into it. And it's this, in order to serve your audience effectively, you must truly understand them. Okay. So how do you do this? Start by taking the time to research how, where, and when they consume content. I personally do this by using engagement tools on social media, and I love to learn their preferences. I just did this on one of my stories when deciding what to name one of our upcoming masterclasses. And it was so beneficial. So I simply just asked the audience to vote on different titles. And I was using a poll feature for them to let me know which they wanted.

3:17Now I know which class title my audience would be more likely to register. And hey, that's great because then I could serve them there at a higher level based on what it is they want to know. Information like this will help you tailor your content and your offers to meet your followers where they're at, and it will also help increase your conversions. Now, you could do this by, number one, just observing where and when and what they're responding to the most. I notice that most of my followers engage in the morning or past 7.30 p.m. I notice that if I post something in the middle of the day, it just kind of flounders.

3:50That's not when my audience is online, but your audience could be different. Watch and see where you're getting the most engagement. Or you can ask questions like I did. Would you rather read a blog or watch a YouTube video? If you notice that more people would prefer to read a blog, well then focus on long form written content instead of making YouTube video. Or ask a question, do you prefer real tutorials or live video? When do you usually catch up on podcasts? Lunch breaks, commutes, evenings? Okay, so let's break this down with an example. A makeup artist, let's call her Kate, she realizes that she can best serve her audience on Instagram Live.

4:29She realized this by experimenting with different forms of content and eventually seeing that her audience like being there for the whole picture, not just before and after. You know, on Reels or like on static images, you would have like the before and after and people always wondering the middle part. Well, for Kate, people really valued the middle part. So when she was asking one of her viewers why she preferred live video, Kate found out that her audience liked it when she messed up on her makeup. So they could see how she fixed it, like turning smudged eyeliner into a smoky eye. Huh, all these tiny things.

5:02So finding this out didn't only solidify Kate's decision to prioritize Instagram Live. She's like, I'm gonna be doing live. I'm gonna be doing this with real time, unedited. But it also taught her how she could best serve her audience. Her audience loves the messy middle, not just the perfected before and after. Now, as a side note, if I was Kate, I would be taking that long form Instagram live video and I would turn it into a real. Okay. Right? Like you could still do the before and after the real, but if people wanted to see the messy middle, they can go back and watch the whole video. Hey, you're getting multiple pieces of content.

5:38Okay. So now that we've covered getting to know your audience, let's go over four ways you can serve them well, other than just educational content, which I'm going to say it again. It is still important. Educational content is so important, but let's throw in like a little bit of sazon, you know, savor. I want to talk about how we can serve differently in different ways for our marketing to grow our business. Now, before we dive into the strategies and examples, I'm going to give you a high level view and then we're going to break them down one by one. Number one, facilitating mindset shifts.

6:10Number two, creating community. Number three, creating personalized or custom-free resources. And number four, getting to know your audience members and showing them love and support. Yeah, different ways. And you're hearing this and you're like, that sounds a little basic. Well, call me a basic girl, but let me tell you, this basic adds complexity and conversions in all of the best ways and it allows you to stick out. Okay. So starting with the first way that you could serve people well, other than education, and that is to facilitate mindset shifts. And this could be through sharing your stories and experiences and giving actual steps that help them make changes in their thought patterns, their beliefs, their perspectives.

6:53This sometimes means that you're going to get personal. And I know that's hard to do, but when you open up, you have the ability to help your ideal client move a step forward. And maybe just maybe take that step with you. When you feel that you're surrounded by somebody who supports you and you are the person who supported that other person, man, it makes a difference. I'll be the first to admit that it is not easy to talk about the relationship I had with money and the work I did to change it. It wasn't easy to talk about our adoption journey. It wasn't easy to talk about downsizing the team.

7:26It wasn't easy talking about reassessing timelines when we couldn't produce what we needed in a timeframe. But I have shared this. I've shared a lot. I've shared even more here on this podcast because it allows us to connect in deep and true ways. I want to openly share the journey so you're empowered to share your journey too. So if you are ready and you want to try, hey, why not try, right? Why not just say, I'm going to dip my toes in this bond. Here are a few prompts that you can use to share your stories and experiences. And I'm telling you, just try it and see how people respond. So here are three prompts.

8:01Number one, what was a time when you faced a challenge that could have held you back? How did you overcome it? What'd you learn from that experience? That right there, friends? That is a way to prompt a mindset shift. Number two, think about a time when you stepped outside of your comfort zone. What did you learn about yourself and your capabilities from that experience? Oh, well, when people are watching you do that and get into your mind and the lessons you learned, huh? Mindset shift. And number three, what's a personal mantra or affirmation that resonates with you? How does repeating this mantra impact your mindset and your outlook?

8:38Oh, giving people a front row seat to how you're thinking about things. Okay. So here's an example. Let's go back to Kate, the makeup artist, right? Kate could facilitate mindset shifts for her audience by sharing her struggle with feeling self-conscious about her skin. So, okay, let's say Kate had acne and it felt like it was the first thing that people noticed about her. And it made her hesitant to show her face without makeup, especially on camera. But over time, she learned that makeup wasn't just about hiding imperfections, but embracing who she is and boosting her confidence. Now Kate shares her story to inspire other women with acne, her ideal clients, facing similar challenges with their own skin and not using makeup to hide, but using makeup to show who they are inside out.

9:26Okay. The second way you can serve your audience well is by creating community. Building community for people who are struggling with the same things, or maybe they have the same desires. I'm telling you, it is such an underrated way that you could serve your audience simply by connecting a group of people. You don't have to do anything but be the main connector. I'm telling you, when you connect, It allows you to create people and environments and relationships that just wouldn't exist if you just didn't take a little bit of time to create that space. Now, this could be a Facebook group, a forum on an app.

10:01It could be a dedicated space on your website. Anything that allows your audience to connect, share experiences, and learn from each other. As a facilitator, you're providing a platform for growth, and then you're gaining their trust and loyalty, and you're bringing along like this sense of belonging. Okay. So if you're like, I want to do all that, where do I start? Perfect. I'm so glad you asked. Okay. So here are a few examples. A fitness instructor could create community by offering a space where her ideal clients could connect and participate in group challenges like a, like 10 ,000 steps a day or drinking a gallon of water.

10:33Now this will help them get results before they spend a dime with her. Community before investment builds trust. A different example, a small coffee shop owner could create a space where they share recipes with the coffee beans they sell in-house, and they can even host contests where community members come up with their own recipes, and this would build community awareness and loyalty for the coffee shop. Now, another example would be a postpartum therapist. They could do this by offering a free mental health support group for community of postpartum moms and mutual support and advice. Do you see how in all of these situations, all this facilitator was doing was creating the space?

11:14Now let's go back. We're going to go back and revisit Kate. Kate, the makeup artist. She might build a community to serve her audience, and she could do this by creating a private Facebook group exclusively for women with acne. Ah, this is an industry with a very specific focus and a niche. In this space, her members could discuss their experiences, share their own skincare journeys, offer support to one another by creating this community, Kate, she's just not providing the platform for her ideal clients, you know, to connect and learn from each other. She's cultivating a sense of trust and loyalty amongst her audience.

11:47And then she's also positioning herself as a trusted resource and someone who can help them make the transformation they've been looking for. It's like, wow, Kate created this community where we're all connecting. We appreciate Kate. We trust Kate. Exactly. Okay. The third way to serve your audience well is by creating personalized or custom resources. Now, you might have a freebie to build your email list, which is most likely, you know, it's going to serve a broader audience. But what I'm going to talk about right now is something that's a little bit more niche and more problem specific so that you can use it as a tool in conversations.

12:22Okay. Now, there is a difference of having a freebie like the top 10 tips on Instagram, right? That's great. That's a freebie. That generalizes a lot of people. But if you were to create something that is a little bit more niche and problem specific, you're going to get a different level of conversations. Perhaps the top 10 tips for introverted entrepreneurs in real estate. It is very specific to a person, a problem, and a niche. Now, these resources not only demonstrate your expertise, but they're going to give your audience a taste of the value you provide. This lets them know that you care about them and solving their problems.

13:05Here's some ways that other industries could incorporate this for their ideal clients. A financial advisor might offer customized templates to help millennials with lower credit buy their first home in the next 12 months. Hmm, okay. An interior designer could offer a guide for entrepreneurial moms who both work and live in their space and struggle to find a work-life balance and separation. Okay. A social media manager could provide a 30-day content calendar with posting ideas specifically for healthcare professionals who are trying to build a brand and break into the online space. Okay. Let's go back to Kate.

13:38Kate, the makeup artist. Okay. She could do this by creating a free mini course that caters specifically to women struggling with acne. These resources could show how to prevent scarring and skin damage or even diets that can help promote skin regeneration. Now, when Kate is offering these free videos, she's not only demonstrating her expertise, but her commitment to helping these women. And when she does this, it provides practical, actionable steps that gets them to implement it on their own. Okay, so why would Kate ever go and create these free videos? Well, this solution-specific resource establishes trust and it positions Kate as the go-to resource for acne advice.

14:17And now people are trusting her with their makeup and their product needs. Like this is amazing because trust in and of itself is the currency on the worldwide web. But then Kate can even include affiliate links to the products that she's using and she can make it as part of her revenue stream in her business as well. What are we doing here? We're not just creating educational content. we're adding different layers to serve people well. Now, the fourth way is by getting to know them and simply showing them love. Okay, I know it's super cheesy. And I know the audience who listens, there's like a small percentage of men who listen.

14:58Listen, if you're a guy and you're listening to this podcast right now, can you do me a favor and send me a DM for no other reason than to know that we do have a male contingency? Oftentimes you guys, okay, this is a side note. I've said on the podcast before, but I know guys listen, but they're like super low key about it. Like if I go to a speaking event and I wait or to hang out with people after maybe to like say hello, take a picture or something like that. Anytime there's a guy in line, it starts always. I am telling you it is a hundred percent of the time a guy will come up to me and immediately say, Oh, my girlfriend loves what you do.

15:30My wife, my business partner, she's amazing. And she loves it. A guy can never stand in line and be like, Hey, I really like what you talk about. I don't know what it is. I think it's about me? I tell JD all the time. I'm like, is it about me? Like, do I have like such like feminine energy that guys are like embarrassed to be like, yeah, I dig your stuff. Listen, gentlemen, listen, listen, I have said it before and I will say it again. A man who knows how to celebrate another woman and respect her on an intellectual level, you become a heck of a lot more attractive to other women. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, it is just, it is like a low key under the radar, a man who celebrates and respects another woman and can sit and learn and talk and dialogue with another woman and has so much confidence that he's okay in his own skin to learn and be under the tutelage of a woman.

16:19It's so attractive. Gentlemen, wave, wave your flag. Like we want to see you. Okay. Anyway, here I am talking about love and I know that we talk about business and it gets like all warm and fuzzy. I get it, but I am telling you a little drop of love goes such a long way. And we don't often mix love and business. I get it, but it's really basic. And when I say love, I am not like literally send like, you know, like little kiss emojis. It's just getting to know your audience. This is very close to like building a community, but it's so underrated where you just remember people taking a little bit of time to remember people go such a long way.

17:00I recorded a podcast episode about this called how to create more meaningful relationships in business. I'm going to link it in the show notes so you can go and dig in if this is at all appealing to you. But I'm telling you, meaningful relationships make a big difference. If you can make members of your audience feel significant and valued, you're winning. Why? A lot of people don't get this from their friends and their family, and you can be the only person who is making them feel this way, which is something they will never forget. Oftentimes as business owners, we really run in very small circles.

17:36And if we're business owners and we happen to live in a small town or in a small state, or if we don't happen to live in a metropolitan area with a lot of entrepreneurs, it feels so isolating. So if you have the capacity in any way online to make them feel seen and make them feel really understood and significant and valued, like their allegiance, their support, their investment goes such a long way. In September, I spoke at an entrepreneur's marketing conference in England. And then we had this open Q &A at the end of my presentation. A woman in the back of this really large conference center, she spoke into the mic and she had explained that she was a part of social curator for over five years.

18:17And she was at that event to hear me speak in person. But here's the best part. Alicia waited in line after my presentation to explain that she worked as an EA for four years while also working on building her business. Okay. Last year, she took the leap to go full-time and her business, which helps train and educate EAs, it's been thriving. So hang on a second. I want to make sure we don't miss a key point in her story. She worked two jobs for four years, facing many frustrations and setbacks before she was able to work on her own. Alicia said that even though she got very little traction on social media, she stayed dedicated to slowly building out her channels.

19:02And now she has a Facebook group with over 10 ,000 EAs in it. How? She saw people. She made them feel understood and significant. She spread a little bit of love on the inside of a community and she built trust. So how do you do this? Like, how do you show love? And I feel even a little awkward just saying it like I I'm sharing love. How do you make somebody feel important or seen or valued? Engaging and connecting. Engaging happens in the comment section. It could be replying to the comments that they leave or commenting and engaging on their posts. Connection, it usually happens in direct messages where it's private and you can go a little bit deeper.

19:42And on another note, I will say that people are usually making buying decisions in direct messages, not so much in the comments, but engagement leads to connection. I have noticed that I am more likely to get a direct message after I have commented on somebody's comment on one of my posts, or if I go to their account. So in order for them to get into my DMs for the conversion, I should be engaging outside of that. So how do you do this? How can you make somebody feel seen, known, valued, a part of a community significant? You can remember their name. That's just like a good place to start. Maybe you can remember small details, like if they have a kid or a pet.

20:27And just in case you forget, you can always click on over their account before you decide to respond to one of their direct messages. Or you can message them about their recent life events. Like if you see on social or you happen to read in a comment on the inside of your community that their kid graduated or maybe their niece is getting married or maybe they're starting a new job. If you could just take 30 seconds to say congrats on the new job I'm rooting for you. That goes so far. Or maybe you've chatted with this person in the past. you can check in on them and see how things have been since the last conversation.

21:03For example, Kate, you know our makeup artist, Kate? She can say, hey, Kelly, I just wanted to see how you're doing. And if making the switch to only exfoliating once a week has been helping with the irritation. Oh, she isn't pushing a product or a service. She's showing love. And far before somebody will click on an affiliate link, buy what it is you're selling, endorse your community, they have to know that you're going to show up for them as much as you are showing up for yourself. Does it feel like an inordinate burden to carry as a business owner? I suppose it depends on your perspective.

21:33I believe that any time that I have spent time building community, staying connected, responding to people, making them feel valued or significant, it has been worth its weight in gold. Okay, so I know we covered a lot about serving your audience well. So what I want to do is just review. We talked about needing to truly understand your audience and know them well. This means knowing where they hang out, what type of content they consume, and then making it for them and posting it for them when they're most likely to be online. And lastly, we discussed ways that you could serve your audience beyond just educational content.

22:12And they were, number one, facilitating mindset shifts through sharing experiences, stories, and techniques that have helped you in the past. Number two, creating community for people dealing with similar problems or seeking similar solutions. Number three, offering personalized or custom-free resources that are solution-specific and feel tailor-made for your ideal client. Number four, getting to know your audience members and showing them love and support through engaging and connecting. I hope you enjoy this episode. And if you would be so kind to leave a review or tag me in your stories at Jasmine Star, I would love to see what you're doing.

22:52I'd love to stay connected. And more than anything, I like to personally say thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing. I believe together we can make differences in the business community and encourage more people to pursue their business and build a life they love. I hope you have a great day.