Ashley Libby Diaz - Brand + Marketing Strategy

24/04/2020

If you're like a lot of practitioners I know, you dislike marketing, perhaps strongly. If you do it, you do it begrudgingly or halfheartedly.

Did you know your mindset can affect your marketing results?

Seeing marketing as a 'necessary evil' could be hurting your business:

Is your marketing mindset helping your practice or holding it back?

23/04/2020

What can ancient Sanskrit and science teach you about your brand?

It's probably not what you think!

Click here to learn what it is: https://ashleylibbydiaz.com/blog/what-ancient-sanskrit-science-can-teach-you-about-your-brand/?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

22/04/2020

"Does this spark joy?"

It's my favorite line and question from Marie Kondo's book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, because it applies to so much more than just tidying our homes and belongings. It applies to our lives in general - and to our businesses.

Our businesses and practices need tidying too, especially when it comes to our brands and marketing. Logos that no longer spark joy should be discarded. Same goes for brand elements and marketing materials that no longer spark joy.

I believe the application of this question goes far beyond personal and professional assets... personal activities, along with branding and marketing activities, that don't spark joy should go too.

Why do or have anything, in our lives or our businesses, that doesn't spark joy? There's no point.

What branding or marketing assets or activities are you still holding on to that no longer spark joy? What do you need to let go of to allow more space for the things that do bring you joy?

If you need some guidance on tidying, I highly recommend spending some time with Marie and her book:

21/04/2020

Have you ever seen someone and thought, “That person's hasn't changed his / her hair in decades...”?

I know I have.

Have you ever had a similar thought about a business and its brand, say maybe its website?

Me too.

Whether it’s seeing someone’s dated hairstyle or visiting a business’s outdated website, the experience may leave you with an impression, but probably not a great one, right?

As a Brand Architect, I see this over and over again – not just with websites, but with various aspects of brands and their branding. I have clients who come to me with a brand they once loved and were proud of, but then left it alone year after year, only to wind up embarrassed by their logo, website, or brand materials.

What happened? Nothing. And that’s the point.

It’s easy to take a ‘set it and forget it’ approach to branding, and the only thing it does is lead to brand betrayal (aka a brand that’s betraying its owner).\

‘Set it and forget it’ might work for a time, but that approach is sure to fail after a while.

And this is where ancient Sanskrit and science come into play…

Keep reading here:

Learn what taking a ‘set it and forget it’ approach to branding can do to your practice.

20/04/2020

Truth: Your brand will form by accident, if you don't form it by intention every day. What are you doing to shape and build your desired brand today?

17/04/2020

Your patients don't wake up in the morning thinking, "I really want to be a supporting character in someone else's hero story today." They waking up thinking, "I want to be the hero in my story!"

Why Your Practice Should Never Be The Hero Of Your Story: https://ashleylibbydiaz.com/blog/why-your-business-should-never-be-the-hero-of-your-story/?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

16/04/2020

"The highest level of mastery is simplicity. Most information is irrelevant and most effort is wasted, but only the expert knows what to ignore." - James Clear

This is so true. Brands and organizations make their audiences burn way too many calories trying to figure out the message they're sending. If an audience doesn't know how an organization is going to help them survive or thrive immediately, they're out.

In StoryBrand world, we're always choosing simplicity and clarity in messaging. It's vital to success for any organization that uses words to sell products or services.

Where are you using too many words or unclear messaging and turning your audience away?!?

15/04/2020

"We are often terrible judges of our own work." - James Clear

Isn't that the truth. When it comes to brand messaging and marketing messages in particular. As business and practice owners, we're too close to have clarity. We put out these messages that are as clear as a crystal to us, and clear as mud to our clients. 😕That's not a recipe for success.

One solution is to have someone review your messaging. That's never a bad idea. But it doesn't always mean your messaging is going to be 'on-brand', unless your reviewer has integral knowledge of your brand. The surefire solution is to have your core brand messaging pre-set, so you can pull from it every time you put out a marketing message.

With a brand guide that tells you what your messaging is, you can save a ton of time and money on marketing and create a recipe for success.

On a scale of 1-10, how clear do you think your messaging is, with 1 being mud and 10 being crystal?

14/04/2020

If you're only speaking to your potential patients' minds, you're losing opportunities to grow your practice. Here's why:

https://ashleylibbydiaz.com/blog/why-youre-losing-new-business-by-speaking-only-to-your-clients-minds/?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

13/04/2020

Are losing new patients by speaking only to their minds?

You want and need new patients to grow your practice. That’s a given.

You need effective marketing to attract those new patients. That’s also a given.

But what constitutes effective marketing?

It can be frustrating and time-consuming trying to figure out the pieces of the puzzle that, put together, create effective marketing. But it gets easier when you know the key piece is the words you use.

If you’re not speaking the right language, you’re losing opportunities to connect with new patients every time.

What Is The Right Language?

In a nutshell, or two, your patients’ language is the language of what they want and the language of what’s standing in their way of getting what they want.

What they want has to pertain to your practice for them to become a patient, so answering this question is a great place to start: What do they want that you can provide?

But that’s just the beginning. Wanting something isn’t enough to get someone to say yes to working with you.

What words will get a potential patient to say yes?

You might think it’s talking about their problems, and you would be partly right. If you’re talking about what your patients are facing, you’re certainly getting closer to getting them to say yes, but you’re not there yet. Although those problems are getting in the way of your patients getting what they want, and articulating those problems lets your patients know you understand what they’re up against, those two things won’t actually get them to say yes.

You have to go to the heart of the matter. You have to talk about how your patients’ problems are making them feel.

People buy from their hearts. They say yes because they’re uncomfortable. They say yes because they want to get to a better place. If you’re not going there – to the depths of your patients’ discomfort – in your marketing, you will fail to engage your potential patients, and it will be an uphill battle to get new patients, no matter how beautiful your branding and marketing may be or how qualified you are to help them.

In this way, you’re actually doing your potential patients a disservice by not acknowledging their unwanted feelings and bringing them to the surface.

When you honor and validate your potential patients’ feelings, you will start to connect with them on a whole new level. And they will start to see that you’re the one who just might help them overcome their problems and get what they want. That’s a beautiful place for both of you to be. It creates hope that there's a way out and maybe even a path to success.

If you’re struggling to connect with and engage your potential patients or feeling frustrated with your marketing results, let's talk to see how we can tweak the words you’re using to start speaking to the hearts and the minds of your potential patients, so you can bring in all the new clients you want.