Wendy Manganaro, How to Engage and Build Relationships with Your Target Market — InnovaBuzz 481

Wendy Manganaro, Social Abundance Marketing

In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Wendy Manganaro, the Founder and Owner of Wendy Manganaro Consulting, who works with frustrated small businesses to attract, resonate and engage their target market so that they can increase their bottom line through building relationships on and offline. She believes that all businesses can increase their digital success with the marketing mindset and strategic plan.

In our discussion, Wendy talked to me about:

• Staying involved in your own marketing — the human connection part
• Building relationships through social media
• The smart way to use Google Reviews in your marketing

Cat Stancik in episode 451 introduced us to Wendy.

Listen to the podcast to find out more.

Listen to the Podcast

Wendy Manganaro, How to Engage and Build Relationships with Your Target Market - InnovaBuzz 481

Show Notes from this episode with Wendy Manganaro of Social Abundance Marketing

Key points and takeaways from this episode include:

• You’re here because you can go through it all.
• Be able to break things down and figure out the mystery of something that will get you to the next step of where you want to go.
• Surround yourself with people that feel good about themselves and business that are really excited about what they’re doing.
• Take ownership of your marketing. Have confidence in your brand and really work hard on it as opposed to allowing another marketing company to take over it.
• Your brand is who you are. You need to have some say in it so that your business is always represented the way you want it to be.
• Stay away from the shiny object syndrome. Focus on what feels good for you to work with.
• Be clear about who you are talking to and what you really want to do, then think about how you can be consistent about it so that when you add all the other layers, you already know what you really want.
• It’s important for businesses to really take charge of the outcomes that they want have and knowing that these goals are reasonable.
• Viral does not equal sales all the time, especially if it’s not in front of the right people.
• Be sure to establish continuing relationships with your target market because everybody who’s going to buy from you or might give you a referral are already there.
• Google Reviews is where you’ll find your target market coming forward and speaking for you.
• Your people are those people who are consuming your content and having conversations underneath your social media posts. Talk to them!
• Actively seek for Google reviews.
• The best time to elicit Google reviews is when people are at their happiest.
• Have at least 3 touchpoints to request for a Google review.
• You get more negative reviews when you’re not asking for them.
• Asking people for reviews is also listening to them.
• Reviews are not just about doing a great job. They also help you elicit stories that you can later on use for your content.
• Make sure that the reviews go to the right place and right people. When asking people for a review, send them to a dedicated website instead of sending them directly to Google or Facebook.
• Make it fun! Asking people for what you need for your business shouldn’t be boring.
• When asking for a review, make sure that you are giving people the option to go to the place they feel most comfortable in.
• Don’t ask people to give a review whilst they are in your store. It hurts your Google algorithm due to having the same IP address.
• Like any marketing, getting Google reviews has to be strategic and has to have a process.
• The more reviews you get, the more you’ll appear in people’s searches.
• Getting a 5-star review is great, but details about the review are also important for you to know what people are saying about you. Details also help you craft a story around your customers’ experiences that you can use for your content (with their permission).
• When writing a review, take the time to describe why you love that business. Training your customers to do that is super helpful as well.

The Buzz — Our Innovation Round

Here are Wendy’s answers to the questions of our innovation round. Listen to the conversation to get the full scoop.

1. #1 thing to be more innovative — Don’t be afraid. If you want to build something, go do it! Innovation takes action.
2. Best thing for new ideas — Experiment and make mistakes.
3. Favourite tool for innovation — Sprout Social
4. Keep project/client on track — Accountability. Pick the right clients to work with. Schedule regular meetings and make sure that there is clear communication.
5. Differentiate — Be authentic. Know who you are and what your message is. Know who you work with, and more importantly, who you don’t work with. Charge your worth and the right people will find you.

Reach Out

You can reach out and thank Wendy through their website and on LinkedIn.

Suggested Guest

Wendy suggested we have a conversation with Lisa Nichols of Straight Talk Social Media. So Lisa, keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz Podcast, courtesy of Wendy Manganaro.

Links

• Website — Social Abundance Marketing
• Twitter — @WendyManganaro
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Cool Things About Wendy

• She hold’s a degree in Criminal Justice.
• She was born with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and given 6 weeks to live at 6 weeks old.
• She’s a hands on Board President for Fed with Faith, a Louisville Grassroots Non-Profit that serves over a 100 people that are currently homeless or have been homeless in the recent past.

Listen to the Podcast

Wendy Manganaro, How to Engage and Build Relationships with Your Target Market - InnovaBuzz 481