Outreach marketing is all about building campaigns that put your brand in front of the right people (be it possible customers or business partners and collaborators). Such campaigns work wonders for brand awareness and may even lead to increased sales if done right.
However, it’s exactly the “done right” part that many business owners (and sometimes marketers) can’t pin down.
So if you’re interested in untangling the ropes of outreach marketing, check out the steps described below – these are the very first (and basic) moves any business should make before diving deep into outreach.
1. Prospect the Right Contacts
The very success of your outreach strategy starts with the people you want to do the outreach to. Even if you spend time and effort crafting a clever message, it can easily get lost in the background noise if it doesn’t reach the people who need to hear it.
That’s why the very first step you need to take is finding the people who have an interest in hearing what you have to say. You can do this by gathering data and information from various online and offline channels, and identifying the companies, influencers, collaborators, and target audiences that fit your line of work and may be interested in your products/services.
Nowadays, you have online tools that use automation to find and collect contact information and more based on predefined profiles.
2. Keep it Personal
If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to design a personalised message that makes the receiver feel a connection with your brand and proposal. Luckily, automation is also of great help and cuts down the time spent segmenting email lists, introducing personalization in the message, and following through.
A tool with built-in automation features can help you build an extremely successful outreach strategy on LinkedIn based on a few initial specifications such as target audience and the discussion flow. You just have to design the general template and the tool will follow the course you set and keep you up to date with the progress.
However, automation can’t do everything. There will come a point where you need to take over the discussion and continue with the same (or higher) level of personalization. So make sure to check the reports and the data collected by the tool before going into a meeting.
3. Show Your Value
Why would anyone want to connect with your brand?
What do you bring to the table if a possible business partner is interested in a collaboration?
What’s in it for an influencer who may agree to promote your brand to their hard-earned audience?
If personalization is the hook, the value you can provide for those who bite is the final ingredient. Your Value Proposition must be enticing enough to make prospects feel intrigued by your offer.
That’s why it’s important to do the research on each possible new partner, collaborator, or target audience. After all, you can’t convince anyone of your value if you don’t have an idea of what they’re expecting from your side.
Quick tip: Most businesses work with a CRM system to store and process contact information and valuable data (such as personal data, negotiation progress, possible points of attack, and so on). Overall, the right CRM solution will make the life of the average business owner or manager easier.
4. Use a Combination of Techniques
Due to a multitude of channels and platforms, businesses can now use a mixture of techniques to get people’s attention. Here are a few examples that tend to work really well:
Email marketing – when you want to reach out in a professional and direct manner.
Social mentions – if an influencer is already familiar with your brand and mentions it on their channel, you’re already on the right path to a collaboration.
Guest blogging – by creating content for a different audience, you expand the limits of your outreach strategies and try new niches.
Visual content – graphs, charts, infographics, case studies, and other visual tools that can be easily shared are great outreach tools.
Wrap Up
In short, as long as you do the work (especially with prospecting and personalisation) and find creative ways to show your value, any outreach strategy should have a positive impact.
Also, keep in mind that we’re living in a data-driven market so businesses must learn how to practice growth marketing. You can’t base your strategies on gut feeling anymore!
