3 Steps to Creating Aligned Messaging for Exponential Growth

All too often, entrepreneurs I coach on growing their businesses feel “stuck”. They believe in their mission and vision, but they don’t know how to expand the reach of that mission to millions, if not billions, of people. They want an army of passionate clients and fans, but they just can’t figure out how to build that. Most of all, they want to spend their time focusing on opportunities that are aligned with their purpose, but they aren’t quite sure where to start. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be so overwhelming, especially when you know where to put focus your effort.

There are three types of media that can exponentialize your business and help you create more impact in your one chance on this Earth:

1. Earned media – is content written about you or your business that you haven’t written or created yourself. Examples include: an article in a magazine about your company, a Tweet from a reporter about your company, a blog post written by someone else, awards
2. Owned media – content you create and control. Examples include: social media platforms, company websites, your blog and newsletters
3. Paid media – refers to external marketing efforts that involve a paid placement. Examples include: Paid advertising on Facebook, Google or YouTube.

Now that you know what assets can help you get where you want to go, let’s cover the three simple steps you can take with your business’s messaging today to flip your business from a stagnant entity to a growth machine. And the best part? You don’t have to spend any money to get this started!

STEP ONE: Solidify Your Mission and Vision Statements

Your business can’t reach its full potential without a solid mission statement. Your mission statement should be clear, concise, and powerful. To craft a new mission statement or edit your existing statement for alignment, focus on the what, the who, and the how.

• What does your business provide for its customers? What makes you unique?
• Who are your target customers? Investors? Clients?
• How does your business stand out in a crowded marketplace?

A great mission statement is short, sweet, and to the point. It’s 1-2 sentences that gives your potential customers and investors an immediate idea of what your business exists to accomplish. 

Your mission statement should set you apart from other businesses and should be personalized so that your business is recognizable from that statement alone. Avoid using buzzwords that don’t offer real meaning, and instead, focus on concrete words and ideas. 

While your mission statement positions your business in its industry and our society in the present, your vision statement positions your business in the future. When your mission is fulfilled, where and how does your organization operate? Where your mission statement is focused on the concrete, your vision statement is your opportunity to dream big and look through your time machine into the future. 

Vision statements vary widely in their length. Some vision statements are a single sentence, while others are paragraphs or pages long. If you’re struggling with crafting your mission statement, begin with your vision statement instead. Journal about your passions, your goals, and your dreams for your organization, and then work back from this vision to work into your mission statement. 

STEP TWO: Look for Consistency

In order to grow, your messaging needs to present an aligned brand for your business. An aligned brand that integrates your purpose into your operations and messaging can drive the exponential growth of your business. Consistency is key.

Test your brand to see if your messaging is consistent across the board. Perform an internal audit. Here are the 4 steps we take to conduct this audit:

1. Write a list of all owned platforms you have
2. Look at your metrics
   1. Reach- # of people that see your post
   2. Engagement- # of people that interact with your post
   3. Followers- # of people that follow you
   4. Impressions- # of people that your post is served to
3. Input that data into an excel document
4. Look for trends
   1. Which platform do you posts perform best on?
   2. Are you utilizing all platforms available to you?
   3. What types of content perform best?

Doing this will help you see what’s working, what needs to be adjusted, and where you can pivot. 

STEP THREE: Craft Captivating, Mission-Driven Language

Take some time to create brand-aligned language that you can use on many platforms. If you’re having trouble coming up with this messaging, go back to your mission and expand each aspect. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to make sure you’re on the right track:

1. How do you show up online to potential customers, investors, clients, press?
   1. Are you hooking them in?
   2. Who are you actually reaching/talking to?
2. Are all your posts the same on all platforms?
   1. Never post the same content to all platforms- your audience is different
   2. Your content should be created for a specific audience
   3. Your messaging  should be adjusted for the platform and audience
3. Can a reporter understand the “who and what” of your business within the first 10 seconds of visiting your website?
   1. Is it visually appealing?
   2. Is your value proposition clearly and definitely communicated at first glance without having to scroll down or click through to another page?

With a truly aligned brand and clear external value proposition, you can exponentialize your brand without spending a dime! You already have a promotion machine right at your fingertips – your earned, owned, and paid media opportunities. When your business is easy to identify by its mission-driven messaging, your opportunity for growth will explode. When you maximize your potential today, you can exponentially grow your impact as a Force for Good tomorrow. 

The G-FORCE Mastermind works with topics like this every week. If you’re ready to become a more organized, impactful, or an overall happier entrepreneur and leader – schedule a discovery interview with our team here.