A behind-the-scenes look at my own unfiltered shenanigans from the marketing trenches. A real-life, no BS view of what it's really like to market a small business and ideas to make it all feel a whole lot easier!
One of my very good friends is coming to visit over Christmas break, and I could not be more excited. It’s one of those friendships where you just… resume. Same jokes. Same energy. Same “how are we already laughing-crying?” moment.
We both have families now, kids in every sport known to mankind, and they live all the way over in Vancouver, Washington, so we don’t see each other nearly as often as we’d like. But every time we reconnect, it feels like we just stepped out of the room for five minutes.
Which is hilarious because (I swear this is true) we did not like each other at first. Like really disliked each other.
Flash back to the year 2000. Little itty-bitty freshmen, Molly and I, walking into the Alpha Phi house at the University of Idaho. And there she was. This girl who kept giving me a look like she was deeply, spiritually annoyed by my entire existence.
We had never spoken. Just passed one another here and there. But I kept getting this vibe that she didn’t like my style, my face, my backpack — honestly, that she hated everything about me.
Fast forward a few years into our actual friendship and she admitted that yes, in fact, she had been highly annoyed by me (her words!).
She thought I was this prim, polished little goodie-goodie who sat in her room with her laptop, doing her homework on time with perfectly brushed hair and a matching outfit and some high school boyfriend waiting to pick her up like it was some movie out of the 50s. My life, apparently, looked very “together.” (For the record, not anywhere close to that impression)
And meanwhile, my first impression of her was that she absolutely hated me and possibly might murder me in my sleep. And I was legitimately terrified of her. Or maybe intimidated? Either way, she was not someone I thought I would ever actually be friendly toward.
Which, apparently, are the perfect circumstances to foster a life-long friendship.
Somewhere along the way, we actually talked to one another rather than just making side-eyes and assumptions back and forth.
Turns out, we are the same person. Sarcastic. Not prim or proper whatsoever. Similar family vibes. Same humor. Same values. Everything just aligned.
The transition from “ick” to “you are my person” was so seamless I honestly can’t pinpoint where it happened.
And here’s where I loop this back to marketing. Because of course I’m going to. This is The Chirp, after all.
First impressions? Usually wrong. And absolutely NOT the most important.
With people… and with businesses.
Your customer might see your post, your storefront, your ad, your email and think:
“Meh.”
“Not for me.”
“Scroll…”
And that’s fine. That’s normal. That’s human.
But then they see you again. And again. And again.
You keep showing up consistently, predictably, comfortably. You "bump into them" in their feed, in their inbox, at the farmer’s market, at the Chamber luncheon. And somewhere along the way… the shift happens.
Trust builds and recognition clicks.
The “not for me” becomes “wait… what is this again?” which then turns into “Oh, I like them.”
You don’t always feel the moment. But it happens.
There is a very common fear that we all have about sounding boring if we keep repeating our messaging, using the same core photos, posting the same information. But that is consistency!
You’re not bothering people by being consistent.
You’re not repeating yourself too much.
You’re not shouting into the void.
You’re shaping the second impression. (And the third. And the fifteenth.)
You’re letting people get to know you long enough for the “ugh, she looks annoying” phase to wear off.
Just like I did to Molly...I eventually wore her down and made her be friends with me 😅
Now if I can just sell her a website...
