This past week I sat in on an entrepreneur's Round Table. These roundtables, a Tahoe Prosperity Center Initiative, have become a must-attend event for me. I have to shout out to The Lift Truckee for hosting Tahoe Inc.’s March - Entrepreneurial Roundtable. I’ve made some great connections with other entrepreneurs like myself. We sit around and problem-solve for each and every business bringing our own professional knowledge and expertise to add to the mix. Being a Solopreneur it’s easy to miss the mark with a singular perspective.
This last week two businesses had the same problem to solve.
I jumped in with my mantra “ What do you need to say and who do you say it to?” Both had the first part, WHAT, but the focus needed was on the second, WHO. My first suggestion was to use Ai to build your perfect personas. It was met with mixed emotions from all around the table. As a social media marketer, it is refreshing to have AI take the top spot in the resistance and digital dread category from the usual suspects of Google and Meta pulling the technophobia fire alarm for a change.
So let’s set some guidelines to ease some of the angst and alarm bells.
I usually ask Ai to put the first four prompts in a table form. From there I’ll pick the top three and expand. Remember this is Ai, not a human, and it’s your responsibility to check the work. Once you have a viable persona it is time to develop the language and messaging you need to reach that ideal customer. From this point, your campaign can take shape and direction. We as humans need direction and a path to follow. Just standing on the edge of a great open expanse will trigger our primal instincts of fight or flight. If you as the owner feel angst here imagine what your potential client must feel.
Ultimately, the key to effective marketing is decisive action: However painful, as the business owner you must make a choice and commit to the best possible persona. Even in our small roundtable, the expanse of a persona choice was daunting. For example, I picked a persona and began to expand it. This had an interesting effect on the group. We got into a discussion of several possible persona scenarios. I had hit the Butwhata Bouthis nerve. “But what about this potential customer, and this, and this…” I am not saying my example was the best. Actually the points brought up about my choice were valid and made clear that my example was not the best choice for a full marketing campaign. But, no matter, the point being is that a choice needs to be made, to include every possible persona leads to confusion that leaves your people on the edge of a primal plain that is just too scary to cross. You need to lead your people to an easy safe path to your door, free from lions and tigers. The beauty of digital marketing is that if your path hits a snag you can easily pivot to a new path. Once you find a path that works it’s time to expand the trail and refine the journey.
If there is a topic you’d like to hear more about by all means comment below or direct message and I’ll do my best.
Nothing better than a good question to jump into.
Reach out for a talk over coffee or a hike I give information freely. I only ask to be paid when I do the work. tgold@bigwaterci.com
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Trina Gold
Master Creator
