NDIS Marketing Agency for Disability Service Providers: Build a Brand That Connects
The hardest part of creating a brand strategy is knowing where to start. There are so many related components and, even when you’re the expert on your business, it’s not always clear which part to prioritise. Plus! We are all scared of the 7 Deadly Sins of Strategy, and that missing the mark could hurt us.
That’s why we have the five W’s, the bread and butter of marketing, if you will. So what are they? You might be annoyed by its simplicity, but simply put they are – who, what, where, when and why.
TRUTH BOMB: If you can’t answer one of these points, it’s probably a good idea to review your strategy. Without the 5 W’s, planning and organising your brand strategy will be virtually impossible.
So let’s dive a little deeper.
Who do want to help or interact with?
Much like failing to look someone in the eye during a conversation, a brand without a clear audience is going to struggle to get a message across clearly. Especially in the Disability Services Sector, connection is key to building trust with your audience. If you don’t have a clear idea of who you’re talking to or what problems you need to solve for them, you can be sure that people will automatically assume you’re not talking to them.
To remedy an initial lack of audience focus, creating character personas is a powerful exercise for beginning to picture who it is you’re targeting. Launching a new website? Perhaps your audience includes Rachel, a single mother of two who needs help to understand her new NDIS plan because none of the new headings seem to be clear whether you have funding for a particular therapy or not, and she needs to keep a close watch on the expenses as it’s the first plan, and it’s only for $19,459.89. And maybe it includes Tom, a first year student who’s still getting to grips with budgeting his own plan for the first time, since he just became independent and moved into his own apartment receiving SIL services. Narrowing down your audience and getting specific with your messaging is key. Don’t assume your brand has the ability to speak to a whole crowd at once because, in all honesty, no brand really does.
What services should your brand offer?
While it feels like other providers are doing a fairly good job of it, most can’t sell everything at once successfully. At least to begin with, it’s a good idea to understand where you have conflicts of interest, for example if you offer both Plan Management and Support Coordination. If you’re offering 7 services, most people need to really study their plans to see whether they fit any of them and have funding available. Creating questions in their minds like: ‘Can I just let them do everything?’ ‘Can they provide me with x, y and z without the NDIS cracking down on me saying they won’t pay the invoice?’ It gets too time consuming and we move on.
Remember, first and foremost, you’re here to HELP! Not make it more complicated by spraying your services in ad after ad and praying that clients will come running. I bet you’re sitting there and wondering now why you haven’t realised this and simply continued to do what you’ve always done! You’re not alone.
Just focus on a few key elements that your services or people make possible to solve your client’s problems. Like Rachel or Tom’s problems in the above stories. Focus on something that your brand can forge a clear identity in the marketspace with, that you will be remembered for.
Where should you interact with your target audiences?
We’ve spoken about this topic before in our blogs, but not every channel is right for every Provider. And spreading yourself too thin by trying to have a presence on every channel out there is a waste of resources. As a first step, ask yourself who exactly you’re trying to reach.
The largest age group of users on Facebook and Instagram is 25-34. While Twitter and LinkedIn’s average ages are a little older, coming in at 30-49 and 46-55 respectively. Meanwhile Snapchat (13-34), TikTok (18-24) and YouTube (15-25) reach far younger audiences. So, with this in mind, to establish your ‘where’ it’s worth returning to the character personas in your ‘who’, because that will answer exactly which platforms you need to focus on.
When should you interact with your target audiences?
Now there are of course data-driven answers to this – Sprout Social, for instance, claims that Tuesday between 11am and 2pm is the best time to post on Instagram – and, while this is certainly useful insight to have, it’s not always as simple as this.
Over the last few years, media consumption habits have transformed. Why? Because ‘how’ we work has changes. People have been working from home, and kids have been schooled from home too. Our usual patterns of living have been disrupted and, as a result, social media consumption patterns have been too. So our best recommendation is to practice a policy of trial and error. That’s the beauty with social – different strategies can be tested and insights are instant. Try the time windows the data points towards to begin with but, if you’re not seeing the results you’re after, tweak it until you find your business’ sweet spot. And, word of warning, never get lazy – be prepared for this sweet spot to be continually shifting.
Why is your brand needed?
Now this is the most important W, and it’s probably something you’ve asked yourself when you decided to launch / work for your business. What can your brand offer that is meaningful? What problems are out there that need a solution?
Maintaining a clear sense of your why is like being able to read a compass and map on an expedition. Don’t be a fool who gets lost in the marketing woods. Have your why written somewhere where you’ll see it regularly. Not only is it motivating, it is the W at the front of the line guiding all the other W’s in the right direction.
A Final Word
So the five W’s. They’re the foundations necessary to build your brand strategy. The other stuff which comes next, after brand strategy – brand positioning – relies on having a firm set of these foundations in place. Once you’ve worked out these, your next step is finding your how – this is where you begin to build your brand upwards.
Is your business looking for some guidance with your marketing strategy? Are some of your W’s not quite as clear as you would like them to be. Our expert team are always up for a chat – get in touch to organise a free 30 minute consultation.
