One of the biggest mistakes people make with social media marketing – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter – is they think it means they don’t have to talk to people. They think if they’re posting to Twitter, updating their status on Facebook or posting videos to YouTube that’s it for social media marketing.
But making posts without any real connection to real people isn’t really marketing. The truth is everyone is doing that. There are 500 million people on Facebook, and while a significantly smaller number are businesses, everyone is doing the same thing. They’re all busy posting away and hoping that it will get them business.
But the real secret of social media marketing is that these online networking tools only allow you to get on people’s radar. It’s very rare that somebody who follows you on Twitter comes along and buys something. There has to be a step in the middle.
And that step is a real conversation.
You have to either get face-to-face with prospects or at the very least get them on the phone. The big difference with social media marketing is these are not cold calls. These are people you had conversations with, they’ve gotten to know you, and now the two of you are ready to take your business relationship to the next level.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think you should start calling all your Facebook and LinkedIn connections and set up sales meetings. In fact please don’t do that. What I am saying is when you meet somebody online and they are interesting, and the two of you have an ongoing conversation online, why not take the conversation off-line?
Over the years, I’ve done this several times and the results have been phenomenal. I haven’t always known what the results were going to be, but I took the chance and talk to these people.
I have one business colleague I met six years ago in an online discussion group. We’ve never met in person, and only talk on the phone once or twice a year. But I consider this man to be a good colleague and friend. Over the years he’s played some phenomenal resources my way, resources that have changed my business and my life. As a result, whenever he says something I pay attention. I know he’s always got something of value to say.
And that’s the power of the off-line conversations.
Once you have spoken with somebody in the real world, your online conversations take on a more personal note. They’re more likely to pay attention to what you have to say, and are more likely to send referrals your way. If things work out really well they may even become a customer.
So look for your list of connections on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Make a note of the ones you’ve had the most interesting conversations with. These are the ones you should get in touch with. Join me back here tomorrow when I’ll tell you how to approach these conversations.
Andrea J Stenberg
