Serve First, Sell Later Marketing

#68 Two Brands. One Strategy. Wildly Different Results. Here’s Why.

• Sylvia Garibaldi • Season 1 • Episode 68

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In this episode, Sylvia Garibaldi, Founder and CEO discusses why marketing strategies that work for some professionals might fail for others. She introduces the concept of 'strategy influencers,' detailing eight key factors that influence the success of any marketing plan. By understanding these influencers, professionals can align their strategies to fit their unique brands and needs, resulting in more effective and sustainable marketing efforts.  Don’t miss this episode!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • 01:52 Why Marketing Strategies Fail
  • 03:42 The Eight Hidden Factors of Marketing Success
  • 06:33 Diving into the Eight Influencers
  • 13:18 Aligning Your Marketing Strategy
  • 20:05 Action Steps and Conclusion

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00:00 - Sylvia (Host)
Hello everyone, and welcome back to episode 68 of the Serve First, sell Later Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, sylvie Garibaldi, and today I'm diving into something that every lawyer, mediator and divorce professional should hear. 

02:11
So why is it that one marketing strategy seems to skyrocket results for one person and then completely flops for another? So you may see someone post a reel and suddenly they've booked three new clients, and then you try the same thing same format, same music and you get three views. You could invest in a program, or you copy someone's content strategy right down to the hashtags, but then it just doesn't land right. Can you relate to that? So it's not the strategy that's broken. So what is the real reason? So strategy only works when it fits the person's brand, who's using it, and in my experience, I've seen this over and over again with my work with professionals. So you could have two professionals, same niche. They use the same approach. One gets traction and the other one gets silence, and so the difference comes down to invisible variables that most people don't even consider. So things like how many years you've been in the game, whether or not you engage with others consistently online, how big or warm your network is, how coachable you are when someone gives you feedback and, yeah, how confident you are showing up as you online. And really this is just the start, because I see this over and over again and so I felt really compelled to share this topic with you so that it could help you no matter where you are in your journey as a professional. 

03:47
So in this episode, I'm unpacking the eight biggest hidden factors that decide whether a strategy works or flops. So this is the clarity episode, the aha moment, if you will, and it's the one that helps you stop blaming yourself and start playing to your strengths. So I want to help you stop copying and start calibrating. Hope that's making sense. So let's jump right into this. So I want to start with the core problem that I see all the time. 

04:20
So we're sold on the idea that marketing is formulaic. Follow this five-step system, use these exact email templates or post this kind of content every Monday, and don't get me wrong, these frameworks are helpful, but what no one tells you is this Marketing is personal. What works for one professional isn't automatically going to work for you and your brand, and it has nothing to do with how hard you're trying. It has everything to do with the fit. So let me say that again the best strategy in the world will fall flat if it's not aligned with the person or brand who's implementing it. The way I see it is, it's almost like trying to wear someone else's prescription glasses. Their lenses aren't made for your eyes and, in the same way, their strategy wasn't made for your stage of business, for your voice, for your audience or your strengths. 

05:23
And yet so many professionals blame themselves when a strategy doesn't work. They think well, maybe I'm not cut out for this, or maybe I'm just not good at marketing, maybe I'm just too late to the game, and so that inner critic gets louder and louder. But I want to challenge that voice today, because chances are it's not you. It's the fact that no one ever taught you how to choose or adopt a strategy that fits who you are. So how do we go about this? Well, for starters, you're going to want to know why one marketing strategy works so well for one person, and when you implement it, it leaves you feeling invisible. And so why is that? And it's not luck, it's not timing, and it's definitely not because you're doing something wrong. It's because marketing strategies do not live in a vacuum. They're filtered through you. They're filtered through your brand, through your personality, your habits, your mindset and even your positioning, and so I call these things strategy influencers, and there are eight of them that I've seen show up time and time again when working with professionals. 

06:36
So I want to dive right into these. The first one is your experience level. So think of experience like social proof in human form. So a lawyer with 20 years under their belt. They may not need to post as often because their brand already carries weight and their testimonials roll deep. But if you're newer let's say under five years, your strategy might need to be more visible and more education-based. So you'll need to build trust in public before people hire you behind closed doors. And that's not a flaw. It just means that your game plan needs to include more nurturing touch points. I hope that's making sense. 

07:22
The second influencer is your engagement habits online. So you can't host and ghost, okay, if you're. If you're not spending time engaging with others, commenting on their posts, resharing, jumping into conversations, connecting with new connectors, your content isn't going to perform, no matter how good it is. So algorithms always favor relationships and people familiarity. So the question isn't just am I posting, but rather it's am I present in the community that I want to be seen by? Okay? 

08:01
The third influencer is the size and warmth of your network, and I see this all the time. A lot of professionals think well, I have 3000 connections. That should be good enough, but are they your people, right? Are they actively following you for insight, or are they college classmates and old colleagues from a different chapter of your life? See where I'm going with that. So the size of your audience or your community matters only if it's warm. I take 300 engaged loyal followers, over 3,000 cold ones any day, okay, and it really does make a difference. So a strategy that works for someone with a highly curated audience might flop for someone who's still building theirs, okay. So very, very important you need to figure out where are you with the size and warmth of your network or your community. 

08:56
Okay, the fourth one is your coachability and openness to feedback. Now, this one's delicate, but it's huge. So some professionals get stuck in oh, I know best and they've been doing things in a certain way for many years and then change really feels threatening to them. Is a moving target, because if you can't take in new information, try new things or adjust your message based on feedback, then I promise you you will be stuck. So coachability isn't about being wrong, it's just about being open open to feedback, open to change, and that openness will lead to growth. 

09:38
The fifth influencer is your brand clarity. So if your LinkedIn bio sounds like 10 other professionals in your field, we've got a clarity issue, because people want to hire the person who owns their lane. So brand clarity means you know what you do, who you serve and how you're different, and you can say it in a way that actually sticks. So a crystal clear brand acts like a magnet, and that's what we see time and time again. That's why we help our clients create that brand that really sticks with their ideal target market. And, of course, a vague one repels without you even knowing it, and I'm sure some of you can relate to that. The sixth influencer is your niche focus, and so the question is are you trying to speak to everyone? Because if your content feels generic, I promise you it will be ignored, because niche focus is what helps you stand out. It's what gives your message edge. So I help families navigate divorce that's fine, but I help high conflict co-parents reduce drama and build parenting plans that work. Now that gets attention right. See the difference between the two. So the tighter the niche, the more precise the message and the more likely a strategy will actually convert. 

11:06
Number seven is your consistency and follow-through, and I see this one a lot, because marketing is not a one-time event. I think a lot of professionals think that, oh, I'll do a little bit of marketing for this timeframe and then I should be good. The reality is, marketing is an ongoing relationship with your audience. If you post once a month and then vanish for two and then show up trying to sell something else, your audience will feel it, and so strategies like content marketing, email newsletters and SEO they all take time. But if you're consistent, even if it's just once a week, the compound effect is real. So you don't need to hustle daily, but you just need to show up reliably. Okay, I hope that's resonating with you, because that reliability speaks volumes to your audience. 

12:01
Number eight is your ability to communicate value clearly. So are you speaking in legal speak or are you speaking in human language? Right? A lot of professionals get stuck writing like they're drafting a court brief, when what your audience really needs is clarity and not complexity. So can you explain how you help in 15 seconds or less, or can you break down your offers in a way that makes people want to DM you? If not, your strategy might need a messaging makeover, because clarity is what converts time and time again. 

12:41
So those are the eight key influencers, and so these are the filters through which every strategy gets tested and either thrives or falls flat, and so you don't need to be perfect in all of them, but you do need to know where you stand so that you can adapt and not adopt blindly. So self-awareness in business isn't just a mindset thing. It can really be a strategy multiplier. By the way, if you're finding this episode valuable, I've covered related topics in past episodes that can help deepen your understanding, so please be sure to check out those episodes, and I'll drop the links in the show notes so you can find them easily. Okay, so now that you know the eight influencers, let's talk about how to actually use this knowledge. 

13:32
Okay, because here's what I don't want you to do. I don't want you to walk away thinking, great, now I have more things to fix before I start marketing myself. No, not at all. This is not about fixing. This is about aligning. So alignment means choosing marketing strategies that feel doable, that feel natural and that are true to the season that you're in. And I think that's really important that it's true to the season that you're in and not the one that you wish you were in. 

14:04
Okay, so here's how you do that. So the first thing you do is you audit yourself honestly. So look at those eight influencers that I just covered. Where are you strong? Where are you still building? Are you new to the field? Then, if so, start by building visibility and authority through simple, consistent content. Maybe you're not comfortable on video yet. That's okay. 

14:32
Lean into written posts or audio. You can grow your confidence while you are building traction, and your strategy should meet you where you are right now, not shame you for where you're not. Okay, I see that a lot, you know, when I talk to professionals, I hear that all the time oh, I should probably be here by now, but I just haven't quite made it there yet. Do not shame yourself. Just start marketing where you are right now, because there is a process, there is a blueprint to follow, no matter where you are in your business, and that's something we help a lot of our customers do. So if you're feeling stuck, feel free to reach out to me. I'd be happy to have a strategy call with you to help you figure out where you need to go next. Happy to have a strategy call with you to help you figure out where you need to go next. 

15:24
So choosing strategies that match your bandwidth is going to be another important element to consider, because this is step number two. Okay, so time and energy really matter, and so if you're in court five days a week, a daily posting strategy probably isn't realistic, and that's okay. Maybe you batch content once a month, or maybe you start with one high value post a week and then you repurpose it into a newsletter, and so a strategy that burns you out is is a strategy that won't last. I promise you that, and we see that a lot. So the best marketing plan is the one that you can sustain. All right. And so step number three is are you a great storyteller? Okay, so if you are, use personal stories to teach. Maybe you love serving and educating first Great. If you do, then create how-to content or myth-busting posts right, that's a great way to start. If you love educating, maybe you prefer one-on-one conversations. If you do, then lean into DMs and voice notes as part of a funnel, right? So when your strategy feels aligned with how you naturally communicate, it's going to be easier to stay consistent and it connects deeper with your audience. 

16:49
Step number four is test small, but don't go all in blind. Okay, because before you invest in a course or a program, I want you to test it. Right. So try one piece of content a week. Test a new CTA, meaning a call to action in your email signature, host one live Q&A or a free consult. The feedback you get, even if it's silence, is data. That is data for you, that's information. So let the data guide your next step instead of assumptions or pressure. Okay, so this is why testing is so important. 

17:29
Step number five is get external eyes when you can Okay, so what do I mean by that? You don't have to figure this all out on your own. So sometimes it takes someone outside your brain, like a mentor, like a coach, like a professional, maybe even a smart friend, to point out where you're overthinking, where you're overcomplicating things or where you could be undervaluing what you already do well, and that's a pretty powerful one. And we see that a lot. You're too close to your genius, right. You know too much about yourself and how you think, so you really need to get that outside perspective, and what we see when people get that is that it typically unlocks things faster than trial and error ever could. So the bottom line is this there's no one right strategy, only the right one for you, and when you stop chasing trends and start building from your strengths, that's when the marketing finally clicks Okay, and that's when people start reaching out saying I don't know what it is, but something about your content really resonated. That's alignment, and that's exactly what we're after. 

18:48
So the biggest takeaway that I want you to walk away with today is that marketing isn't plug and play. It's not about copying what works for someone else or your competitor, for example. It's more about custom building something that works for you and your brand. So your experience, your voice, your audience, even your bandwidth all of those matter, and so you deserve a strategy that actually feels good, not one that drains you or makes you feel like you're shouting into the void. And the truth is, you don't have to have this all figured out alone. 

19:28
This is where working with a professional marketer, someone who gets your industry, who's seen what works and what doesn't, can change everything, because really just trying to untangle all of this on your own it can be really exhausting, and I think what takes you several months of guessing, tweaking, doubting would probably take my team and I a couple of strategic conversations to really uncover what you need to do next. So my role isn't to give you more to do, but really it's to help you cut through that noise and identify what fits and give you a plan that matches who you are and where you are in your journey right now. So if you're sitting there thinking, okay, I get this, but where do I even start, let's talk. Whether it's a DM or a strategy call or even just replying to this episode, reach out to me. I'd love to help you map out a marketing approach that feels aligned, that feels more like you and that is going to be super effective, because when you have clarity and consistency, everything becomes easier, and when your message aligns with your voice, clients start showing up. 

20:46
So your action steps today are pretty simple. Number one reflect on those eight influencers that I just shared. Number two ask yourself honestly where am I strong, where do I need support? And step number three, then, is don't keep guessing. Reach out. Let's build your strategy together, because you've got this. Thanks for tuning in today. If you found this episode helpful, I'd love to hear from you, send me a message or share your biggest takeaway and, if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you don't miss future episodes packed with actionable strategies to grow your practice. See you in the next episode.