Picture courtesy of ABC
By now, you’ve heard about this clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live! You may have even watched it a few times. It’s hard to miss it on Facebook and Twitter.
Jimmy revealed that he and his wife gave birth to a son, who, after delivery, was found to have severe heart defects. Jimmy shared details of what lead up to the emergency surgery – and then a plea to level the playing field of healthcare.
We can learn a lot from Jimmy Kimmel here. This is a perfect example of why he’s so popular. While Jimmy Fallon can sometimes seem a little too sugar sweet and even fake — Kimmel’s the real thing. Fallon’s afraid of ruffling a few feathers… Kimmel is authentic.
By looking at Kimmel as a company, as a brand, you can take a few things and use them to grow your own business.
Specifically, I want to talk about know, like and trust.
Marketing is all about getting a prospect or lead to know you’re out there… like who you are and trust you.
This doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to build a brand and the trust needed to land the sale or gain a new client. When you see someone you like in a bar, you’re not usually jumping right to the wedding that night. It takes TIME to get to know, like and trust.
- KNOW: Jimmy didn’t just land the TV slot he has now. He started in college radio and found himself eventually at LA’s KROQ. In the 90’s, he hosted Comedy Central‘s game show, Win Ben Stein‘s Money. Later he joined with Adam Carolla and Daniel Kellison to create The Man Show and Crank Yankers featuring David Alan Grier, Dane Cook, Seth MacFarlane, Wanda Sykes, and Sarah Silverman. Jimmy Kimmel Live! debuted in 2003. YOU started by creating a digital brand with a website, social media and maybe a Google ad. Or – you started selling an item out of your garage and then after you grew, you got a storefront. You didn’t just appear out of the blue to your audience. They gradually got to know you through many channels. They may have heard your name 12 times before trying your product. This is how marketing works. You have to be there all the time, so when they need you – you’re there. Drip, drip, drip. An email blast, a Facebook post, a media interview, a blog… give your audience lots of “drips” so when they need you – they’ll see another “drip” from you and call you. I can help you with this media/marketing strategy.
- LIKE: Jimmy is a master at this. I liked him on The Man Show… I liked him even more when I found out he was dating Sarah Silverman. Then he started bringing his family on his show… then he created the Halloween candy video phenomenon showing parents stealing their kids’ candy… the list goes on and on. They guy is just so damn likable. But here’s the real takeaway. He’s AUTHENTIC. He shows his family and doesn’t hide his and their faults. He makes jokes about how he was brought up… how loud his aunts are… He let Sarah Silverman make fun of him over and over on air. He makes fun of HIMSELF. In this video posted above he thanks his current wife for “having sex with him.” He doesn’t think he’s a stud. He’s honest, humble and REAL. He’s authentic. He also lets you talk back. It’s a real conversation. He asks for videos from his audience and other ways to initiate a two-way conversation. He doesn’t just talk “at” his audience.
- TRUST: The more your product costs, the deeper the trust needs to be. Trust makes the sale. We trust Jimmy Kimmel. He’s not fake – he’s consistent and doesn’t disappoint. We know he’ll be on and he’ll be real. He doesn’t even have to be funny all the time because we like and trust him.
That last point is huge. At some point, your company will make a mistake. By laying this groundwork of helping them know, like and trust you — they’ll let you make that mistake and stick it out with you. You’ll survive a crisis better if you’re known, liked and trusted.
Can you show more authenticity in your marketing?
Can you sound more honest and humble?
Are there ways you can get real with your future customers?
Are there ways you can become known better through media, blogging and social media?
