By Sharí Alexander, Founder of Elevated í – Executive Communication Coach & Message Strategist
Today, branding and marketing are typically associated with the continuous cycle of content creation and engagement on social media. However, the terrain of branding extends far beyond the borders of your Instagram grid or LinkedIn feed. Relationship-driven business owners and executives are increasingly exploring alternative strategies, seeking ways to escape the unending demands of the social media treadmill.
As Artificial Intelligence continues to expedite the commoditization of content, the value and emphasis on personal and personalized interactions will skyrocket. Professionals who excel in relationship-based skills, such as public speaking, conversational engagement, and leadership, will witness a renaissance.
For relationship-oriented professionals who want to create message strategies that best suit their skills and the part of their work they actually enjoy, here a curated list of powerful strategies for build brand awareness and lasting connections that transcend merely posting on social media platforms.
QUICK NOTE:
There’s a common misperception that the time investment between consistent online content strategies are “quicker” than the relationship-focused strategies I outline in this article.
The truth is, they both take time. Period.
Assuming that you’re not outsourcing your entire content creation process and that you’re not following some copy/paste done-for-you templates, then creating content takes time. Most professionals are surprised at how much time it ends up taking. If you’re creating content that stems from your expertise and intellectual property, then, yeah, it’s going to take more time than the influencer who’s snapping shots of her dinner.
For example, my work timer just hit the 2-hour mark for the second draft of this article. And, yes, that’s with using AI to help brainstorm and clarify the concept of the article. But it’s my sparkly nail-polished fingers typing these words right now.
All of us can spot content that’s 100% AI-generated. Authentic, quality, and consistent content takes time. If your gifts are in connecting with people, then maybe more of your time is better spent doing that instead of striving to pushing out more content.
Here are 9 marketing strategy suggestions for relationship-driven professionals:
- why you should consider each
- types of people and brands that are best suited for the strategy
- estimated monthly time and monetary investment
- plus behind-the-scenes traps and tips associated with the strategy
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Attending Events and Leveraging Referral Marketing
- The Influence of Public Speaking
- Gaining Visibility through Event Sponsorships
- Offering Value through Workshops or Webinars
- Community Gatherings and/or Client Appreciation Events
- Strengthening Connections through Networking Calls (CRM)
- The Impact of Thoughtful Gifts
- Dominating the DMs
- Engaging with Lives & Open Office Hours
Attending Events & Referral Marketing
Why You Should Consider It:
Attending industry events and employing referral marketing are time-tested ways for creating meaningful connections and receiving referrals.
By being a part of industry events, you position yourself as a proactive player in your field, allowing you and your brand to earn credibility and trust. By being a skilled networker, you tap into the power of word-of-mouth promotion, which is often more impactful than direct advertising.
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Are keen on actively participating in industry activities,
- Have a knack for socializing and creating connections,
- Reside in or near a densely populated city, an industry-saturated town, or have the budget to travel
- Know how to leverage their Contact Relationship Management (CRM) tools
- Believe in the influence of strong peer recommendations.
Monthly Time Investment:
Medium to high. Yes, planning for and attending events does take time, but for those skilled in this area, the investment often yields significant returns.
Monetary Investment:
Medium to high. Attending events can incur ticket costs, travel, and accommodation expenses. However, don’t overlook the power of attending local industry events and association chapters. Registration fees often range vary from free to just $50.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
#1
Just like any form of marketing, targeting matters. Make sure you are strategic in choosing which ones to attend. Prioritize those with high relevance to your industry and clientele. Attend events of your peers and events where your clientele congregate.
#2
Offer value. Be patient.
Assuming you’re selling high-ticket, high-end services, your sales cycle is likely going to take longer than people who are selling a $97 product. It doesn’t matter if your building brand awareness online or in person, your clients need a little more time to learn about you, get to know you, and trust your expertise before they buy your services. So be careful of believing that online strategies are the hare and in person strategies are the tortoise. When it comes to B2B sales, I’d argue that skilled practitioners of interpersonal communication can still outpace the empty promises of many online strategies.
#3
Scaling anything requires delegation.
In my experience, most industry experts are familiar with ways they can delegate their online efforts. From buying templates, to hiring a V.A., to collaborating with a Message Strategy Consultant.
Woefully and also understandable, things get a mirky when it comes to delegating their rainmaking skills. While hiring and training a sales staff is certainly possible – and even necessary – for certain businesses, plenty of entrepreneurs and executives either don’t have the capacity to bring on sales associates or simply don’t want to because that’s the part of their work that they enjoy. In which case, the trick here is to learn how to hand over and/or automate certain steps in the sales process, without giving up the whole enchilada.
The Influence of Public Speaking
Why You Should Consider It:
I’m biased. Public speaking is how I kicked-off my 15+ year career in communication coaching and consulting. Public speaking is a skill that few people have and most people fear. AI is here to stay, but we are a long ways away from the bots being able to replicate the power and connection that comes from speaking in front of a roomful of fellow human beings. And few things catapult you as a valuable authority figure as quickly as standing on well-chosen stage.
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Have charisma (NOTE: charisma can look a lot of different ways. Leaning into your strengths and quirks is key.)
- Offer content that is actionable, valuable, and inspirational
- Know how to leverage the opportunity to attract ideal clients for follow-up conversations
- (Optional) Enjoy travel. For some, a lot of traveling isn’t necessary.
Monthly Time Investment:
Medium. Just like any worthwhile marketing strategy, there’s some “heavy lifting” on the front end in order to create replaceable processes and results. Speech strategies and preparations aren’t confined to your time on stage. Successful strategies integrate comprehensive pre-, during, and post- event processes.
Monetary Investment:
Low to Medium. While certainly can start speaking with practically no upfront cost, many professionals will invest in designers for their presentation decks, speech coaches to refine their skills, or printing costs for audience activities and leave-behind materials.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
#1
There are different approaches and strategies between building a paid professional speaking business and utilizing speeches as a sales branch to sell your services. You don’t have to become a “pro” to build your brand with speeches.
#2
Be careful to not over teach in your speech. I know it’s counter-intuitive, but overwhelming your audience with information leads to…well…overwhelm. And overwhelm leads to analysis paralisis, which means, they won’t put your content into action and get the wins you intend to speech to fasciliate. A lead generating speech needs to be inspirational, aspirational, and offer specific, actionable advice.
Gaining Visibility through Event Sponsorship
Why You Should Consider It:
Event sponsorships offer powerful channels for connecting with potential clients. Aligning your brand with the event’s theme or cause and can be a meaningful way to showcase your values and commitment to your industry or community.
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Have the resources to sponsor events
- Know how to leverage a multi-touch, multi-channel approach for connecting with audience members
- Aren’t afraid to catch audience members’ attention with novel approaches that are outside the box of industry standards
- Are willing to negotiate custom exposure opportunities with meeting planners
- Can leverage speeches included in their sponsorships
Monthly Time Investment:
Medium. If you decide to just cut a check and slap your logo on some materials, then the time investment is very low. But if you’re taking a more active approach with your sponsorship, then it’ll be a bit of a sprint once or a few times a year.
Monetary Investment:
Medium to High. While there are plenty of high-ticket sponsorships, many clients are surprised at the affordability of some sponsorship opportunities. And knowing how to negotiate a “right fit” sponsorship deal can lead to significant visibility with a relevant events to increase your ROI.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
#1
Choose your sponsorship opportunities wisely. Ensure the event aligns with your brand’s values, audience, and goals.
#2
Be active in your sponsorship. Logo exposure won’t do much. Remember, your sponsorship can offer you touch points with your audience before, during, and after the event.
#3
Be novel. Be playful. Events are an experience, even an escape, for your audiences. Offer something they’ll remember.
Offering Value through Workshops or Webinars
Why You Should Consider It:
In person and virtual workshops provide an immersive and interactive way to share your skills, showcase your brand’s capabilities, and directly connect with actively interested prospects. You can offer free or paid workshops, and you can also collaborate with sponsors for your workshops.
I know several consultants who have built multi-million dollar consulting practices who started out by consistently offering no-cost, in-person workshops with only 3-5 attendees in the beginning.
Two of my clients have had great success collaborating with local gyms and medi-spas by offering workshops to their members.
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Are educators at heart and passionate about their topic
- Enjoy facilitating interaction
- Can resolve specific challenges their target market faces in order to move them into the next stages of their decision making and buying process
- Know how to market their workshop to their current contacts, through collaborations, local media and sites, or, yes, online marketing (organic and/or paid)
Monthly Time Investment:
Medium to High. Organizing, promoting, and executing workshops can be quite time-consuming, but the reward lies in the direct engagement and relationship-building with your audience. Though, virtual workshops often require less heavy lifting.
Monetary Investment:
Low, Medium, and High. Virtual workshops cost practically nothing. Live workshops can be done on a dime all the way to baller status. Most people start out by testing the waters with minimal investment.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
#1
Workshops have a lot of moving pieces – from promotion to execution. Be prepared and plan ahead.
#2
In my experience, experts who are passionate about their topics do best with this strategy.
#3
Provide specific, tangible results. Don’t treat this like a multi-hour commercial for your services. That will backfire.
#4
As always, have a plan for the backend.
#5
For in person events, make sure you have a limited liability insurance package that covers your event.
Community Gatherings and/or Client Appreciation Events
Why You Should Consider It:
Workshops are designed with the intention to provide education. Community gatherings and client appreciation events are designed to provide experiences and connection. Community gathering can provide your target audience with a hands-on experience of your products or, if applicable, services. On the other hand, client appreciation events provide a valuable opportunity for your clients to grow their network and foster future opportunities
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Enjoy throwing parties and are a good host
- Can create meaningful and memorable experiences
- Are detail oriented
- Enjoy collaborating with vendors who compliment your products
- Are skilled a facilitating conversations and creating connections
Monthly Time Investment:
High. Planning, promoting, and hosting events require significant time commitments.
Monetary Investment:
Medium to High. Costs typically include venue hire, refreshments, promotional materials, and possibly travel and accommodation. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, collaborating with sponsors can offset some to all of your upfront costs.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
Most of the Traps and Tips mentioned for workshops also apply here. I would just add that a big part of your job for community gatherings is to facilitate networking and interactions among attendees. Don’t just say, “Now, network, everyone!” Offer creative structure and activities for your event. Ensure the event is truly about experience and appreciation, not pure self-promotion. Providing a genuine, enjoyable, and memorable experience should be the primary goal.
Strengthening Connections through Networking Calls (CRM)
Why You Should Consider It:
And oldie but a goodie, maintaining contact with your network holds immense potential for business-building. Support your efforts with a solid Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to help you maintain and deepen relationships. These personalized touchpoints can strengthen connections and plant seeds for strong referrals and exciting opportunities.
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Value personalized interaction
- Interested in others just as much as they are interesting
- Know when to offer value and go for the ask
- Can be authentic and share successes without being a douche about it
- Have a CRM and behind-the-scenes processes that fit their communication and work style
Monthly Time Investment:
Medium. Regular, meaningful networking calls require time, but a few conversations each week can sow seeds that lead to a wealth of opportunities.
Monetary Investment:
Low to Medium. While a good CRM system can involve some cost, the networking calls themselves require only your time.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
#1
Networking calls should be more about listening and less about selling.
#2
Use these calls to understand your contact’s needs, offer help where possible, and strengthen the relationship.
#3
While listening and connecting are critical in this process, you have to “talk yourself up” at some point. Make sure they also know what you’re up to, what you accomplish, and – when the time is right – how they might be able to help you.
#4
CRM. Seriously. Success to this strategy means that your network will grow. You can’t keep it all in your head. Let technology help you here.
#5
Outsource the steps you don’t need to be a part of, like scheduling your calls and handling your follow up emails.
The Impact of Thoughtful Gifts
Why You Should Consider It:
Thoughtful gifts can leave a lasting impression on your clients or partners. Check out books like Never Lose a Customer Again and Giftology for ways to be successful in this practice.
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Have gift giving as one of their “love languages”
- Know how to add a personal touch
- Can creatively connect certain products to their brand’s message
Monthly Time Investment:
Low to Medium. The time spent will depend on how personalized and unique you want the gifts to be.
Monetary Investment:
Medium. Gifts don’t have to break the bank in order to make an impact.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
#1
Maintain notes in you CRM with client interests and gift ideas
#2
Have a monthly or quarterly budget for client and/or promotional gifting
#3
Something with your logo on it (likely) doesn’t count as a gift. That’s marketing material. You can still give a gift and tie it to your brand without putting a logo on it and “making it about you.”
#4
Curate your list of favorite gift sites and vendors so that your executive assistant can gift on your behalf.
Dominating the DMs
Why You Should Consider It:
Direct messaging (DM) allows for personal, one-on-one communication just without the need to schedule formal calls or meetings.
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Value personalized communication
- Enjoy the on-the-go style of DMs
- Are committed to prompt replies
- Can turn a DM conversation into a sale or a sales call
Monthly Time Investment:
Low, Medium, or High. Depending on how much you lean into this method, regular, meaningful conversations through DMs can take time. Parts of it can be outsourced or handed off to an executive assistant. You can smoothly weave in a DM approach with your networking call approach.
Monetary Investment:
None to Low. Other than the time investment, DMs do not generally require any financial expenditure unless automated systems or personnel are put in place to manage them.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
#1
Some personalities do well with the whack-a-mole rhythms of DMs. For everyone else, I’d recommend having a set daily or weekly process for sparking and replying to DM conversations.
#2
Add DM contacts to your CRM.
#3
Pay attention to repeating patterns in your conversations. This will clue you into responses that you can template-tize and when you can loop in an executive assistant or sales associate.
#4
Authenticity matters. Even if you’re using templates, all good sales practices – like being interested and listening – still apply.
Engaging with Live Sessions & Virtual Open Office Hours
Why You Should Consider It:
Live sessions and virtual open office hours provide a unique platform for real-time engagement with your audience. This strategy allows you to answer questions, provide valuable insights, and engage in authentic conversations that enhance your brand’s credibility and approachability.
Best Suited for People & Brands That:
- Are comfortable with spontaneous Q&A
- Enjoy fascilitating and guiding conversation
- Have some tech savvy
- Listen to the challenges of attendees – and create solutions for them
- Enjoy building virtual communities
Monthly Time Investment:
Medium. Live sessions and open office hours can either require consistent time commitment or be one-off promotions. Beyond normal promotions, your preparation time is minimal due to the free-flowing format.
Monetary Investment:
None to Low. Costs are limited to reliable internet and a quality (or good-enough) camera and microphone.
Behind-the-Scenes Traps & Tips:
#1
This can be a great space for market research, sparking ideas for content or product enhancements.
#2
Because of it’s extemporaneous format, the bar isn’t set as high as other outlets – like prepared speeches. You can use these as a testing ground for newer material.
#3
Don’t over think it. Just dive. Because the format and technology are reletively new, you can create something unique to you, your skills, and your brand.
Conclusion
I want to emphasize this: the art of relationship-building isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. It’s about being authentic, genuine, and offering value where it’s most needed. This list of strategies is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a good starting point to help you navigate and prioritize your marketing efforts.
Remember, the magic really happens when you play to your strengths and adapt these strategies to your unique style and business goals. Maybe your brand thrives in event sponsorships or shines in the casual context of DM conversations. Or perhaps it’s workshops and client appreciation events that really resonate with your audience. Wherever your sweet spot lies, dive in, experiment, and continually refine your approach.
Building meaningful relationships takes time and consistency, but the rewards — a strong, vibrant network, increased visibility, and robust business growth — are well worth the investment.
To all the relationship-driven professionals out there, here’s to nurturing those connections and growing your brands in ways that feel good and bring real value to clients. Here’s to your success!
