What's a Hook?
Great brands stand for something. They have a hook that potential customers connect with.
This could be anything you believe in, stand for, or have a passion for.
If you look at it like this, there are thousands of small businesses selling very similar (if not the same) products as you, so how can you become the one that gets the sale? Well, I’ll tell you, you have a hook.
Make a Connection
Making a connection isn’t as hard as it sounds. I know that some small business owners worry about their confidence and putting themselves out there, but finding people who have the same passion or ethos as you is a great start, and the best way to find customers.
First, sit and think about what your passions are, what do you feel strongly about, and what could you add to your small business that would attract like-minded people. It doesn’t have to be anything to do with what you're selling either.
So for example, an illustrator could be a dyslexia warrior, a candle maker could be a fitness guru or a beautician could have a purple passion. All of these small businesses can connect with their audience by using their ‘hook’.
Use your social media, website, and other platforms to promote these ‘hooks’ too. They will support your business and people will make a genuine connection with you.
If you can use the ‘hook’ to relate to your business then that's great but if you can’t it’s not that big of an issue.
Here’s another example:
Kelly makes rings and she has a passion for saving the dolphins. She often mentions dolphins in her posts and uses the colour theme aqua to give them a water feel. Only 20% of her socIal media feed is about selling rings but she does add that 5% of all rings sold will go to a dolphin charity, plus she adds free dolphin fact sheets to all of her orders.
So now Kelly has connected with potential buyers who have a soft spot for dolphIns. So if they want to buy a ring for a present in the future then they would be more likely to buy from Kelly than any other ring shop.
Does that make sense?