I often hear from people who spent some time on Facebook or LinkedIn but eventually gave up because they just didn’t see results. Others keep going but are telling me they don’t know if it’s working.
If you’re not seeing results – or you’re just not sure what they are – you need to take a step back and consider what your social media goals are. Remember the Rule of Seven? It says people won’t buy the first time they hear your message. They need time to get to know, like and trust you first.
Be interesting
That’s goal number one in social media: getting people to know, like and trust you. Connect with people. Show your personality; let people know who you are as a person. Talk about your life, your family, funny things that happen. But don’t forget to show who you are as a business person as well. Provide useful hints and tips that showcase your expertise.
Make Sure You’re Connecting with the Right People
Look at the people you’re connected to on Facebook and LinkedIn – or any social media platform. Are the majority of them from your target audience? Or are they full of head hunters or multilevel marketers trying to sell to you? Your social media efforts will fall flat if you aren’t connecting with the right people.
Analyze your connections. Look at their profiles, check out their websites. Do they fit the profile of your ideal client? If your answer is mostly no, then you need to spend time changing that. Look for places your target audience hangs out. Become active. Post comments, answer questions, invite people to connect. While not everyone you connect to needs to be a potential client (after all, you never know who they know) but the majority should be if you’re using social media for marketing.
Get them off social media
Once people get to know you, your ultimate goal must be to move them off the social media site and onto your website, preferably your email list. This is not something that will happen over night. People guard their email addresses like their money. They have to have a relationship with you before they’re willing to take the chance that you’ll fill their in-box with spam.
Raise your right hand and repeat after me: “I will never send a link to my site as part of a first contact with someone.”
This means no automatic DM with a link in Twitter, no “buy my widget here” link on their Facebook wall.
Instead, over time, as you build trust with people, find ways to politely send them to your site. If you blog, Tweet about new posts and import them into Facebook or LinkedIn. Post thoughtful comments on other people’s blogs. When answering questions in LinkedIn, if you have a blog post that answers a question that’s been asked, post a brief answer and include the link to the post. Interview some interesting in your industry and offer the recording to your followers if they sign up. Be creative and offer value.
Over time, as people get to know that you are genuine, interesting and know your industry, if you make them an interesting offer they’ll take you up on it.
Once they are on your email list, they’ve given you permission to connect with them more directly. They’ve given you permission to sell to them. If you send the occasional email with a sales pitch to people who first connected with you on social media and then signed up for your email list, they’ll be more receptive because they already know, like and trust you.
Andrea J. Stenberg
