Pam Dyson has something to give, and people are looking for her just as they are searching for you and I.  They may not be able to verbalize this fact, but once they connect to her energy or to the experience, they come into knowing.  They’re thankful to be found.  Such is the power of living the new marketing model.

Pam is a licensed professional counselor specializing in play therapy and parent coaching in St. Louis, MO.  She works hard to offer the highest quality care and counseling for families, and there are a multitude of ways in which Pam can be of help to parents and their children.  But do people know enough to care?  I’m not talking about announcing you’re open for business, connecting with referral resources, or distributing brochures and business cards.  Don’t confuse this with “knowing”.  For a parent, struggling to balance work and family, Pam is a life preserver thrown out in choppy seas.  Her service value is not fully acknowledged unless a person is genuinely introduced to the work.  A parent needs to be thrown the life ring, grasp onto it, and experience the sensation before clarity comes through.

It’s not easy to see the glass as half full when faced with a struggling economy.  In spite of this reality, there are whispers of opportunity and expansion in between the lines.  One example: markets across all industries have fragmented, giving you and I access to communication channels and business models that had not been available some 10 years ago.  At present, we have more power and influence than we had during the best of economic times.  Pam Dyson knew this.  She also knew that this opportunity had little to do with technology and everything to do with community.  The Internet and television might be her vehicle but the substance would be found in the quality and care of her message.  She knew people were looking to be found, and Pam went out to find them.

Finding the Web

“A lot of play therapists in my market shy away from technology and are not using websites.  So my name pops up a lot when parents go online to look for resources.”

Pam took a different approach than most when she decided to get more involved online.  Her website, for starters, is not your typical site.  It’s not merely a sign post, but a sophisticated marketing and networking tool.  Pam updates content often, and uses Google Analytics to see where she is getting the most internet traffic.  She uses this data to see what messages/offerings are receiving the most interest, and then adjusts her message and her role based on the feedback received.

Pam liked the increase in phone calls that resulted from her web presence, and began looking for more ways to express herself online.  One of the first things she did was entertain the idea of video.  She knew people had a more powerful emotional connection with video, and for a little under $200, Pam bought a flip video camera to record videos she would share with people on her website.  Here’s one such example.

One of the great things about video for the web is it offers “high value” to site vistors right from the beginning.  Without any commitment, people begin to get a feel for who Pam is and how she might help them.  Viewers come to experience what Pam has to offer.  An initial relationship, however slight, is built.

Looking Beyond the Web

Not long ago, Pam started posting parenting advice on a St. Louis parenting forum titled momslikeme.com.  The site gave her a first hand look at what families were struggling with, the questions they were asking, and the help they were seeking. The knowledge gathered from this online community was invaluable.  As time went on, she started her own discussion group and it quickly became one of the more active groups on the momslikeme.com parenting forum.

That’s when things really started to happen.

The managing producer for the website was also affiliated with the local NBC TV station, KSDK.  They liked what she had to share online and offered her an opportunity to be featured on their “Mom’s Like Me Prime Time TV Special”.  Her credibility and visibility in the community skyrocketed and so did her business.  Take a look for yourself. (Her portion begins at the 4:27 mark of the video)

Pam’s efforts to reach her target market continue to pay off.  In her own words, “It’s established me as an “expert” in the St. Louis area and I’m getting a lot of calls from potential clients due to the TV exposure. It’s been a great marketing tool without a financial investment on my part.”

Her story is everyone’s lesson.