Social Media - Is it Destroying Your Business?
Social Media is all the rage.
Everybody is doing it.
People use it to connect with old friends and new.
People use it to let others know what they are up to.
People use it to sell themselves, their products, and their services.
But is social media destroying your business? The answer is that social media is not destroying your business.
But, the actions you are taking on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other Internet sites just might be.
Let's look at Facebook.
This site allows you to re-connect with people from your hometown, high school, college, and many places you may have worked.
It also allows you to connect with new friends and build relationships you may treasure.
That is the crux...
relationships.
Social media is really a relationship tool.
It can serve you well or it can be the death of your business.
Entrepreneurs and small businesses often have very small marketing budgets so they rely on the exposure they can generate from social media sites to increase business without spending marketing dollars.
That is not a bad strategy.
But first, you must build a relationship with your target market - just like you would in the offline world.
Would you walk up to a complete stranger and immediately start to present a hard sell of your product? No way...
they would run away as fast as they could.
Then they would tell their friends about this awful sales person they ran into and your potential business just hit the skids.
You lost the sale before you ever got started.
It's the same with social media.
Are you sending friend requests that say here's the product I sell (and even if you don't ask them to buy...
that is the presumption about the message) and expecting the person to want to accept your friend request? Is your first, second, or even third point of contact and it is already screaming sales? If it is, your actions may be killing your business right before your eyes.
It is critical that what you post on social media sites, send in messages, or display on your profile or wall, represents you well.
Your posts should be considered advertisements.
No not for a product or service but for you.
Remember you are on this site to build a relationship.
So what can you do to build those relationships? Here are five easy actions to take (or not):
You are treating your social media contacts just like you would treat your friends up close and personal.
This is a mutual exchange.
With many social media sites placing limits on the number of friends, tweets, etc.
it is imperative that you have to choose your contacts and your content carefully.
I can hear it now...
you are saying just do a fan page on Facebook and solve that problem.
Hmmmmm..
..
not so fast.
Remember that social media is a relationship tool.
Promoting a fan page is just like saying "like my page and let me feed you everything I want to, true I won't see your posts, but I don't care about you - it's all about me.
" Be careful going down this road - unless you are building relationships and then inviting people to your business page.
Hint - don't post the same messages on your personal page and your business page - they are two different tools and should be kept completely separate - even if the goal of your "personal" page is business.
Now you are in the flow.
Social media is working for you.
You have built relationships, you are posting and tweeting appropriately, and you get a good response from others.
You are on the right path.
So if a little bit of social media is getting such great results, you think that a lot more posts and tweets will get you even better results.
Not so fast! Too much of a good thing is just as bad (or even worse) than not doing the right stuff to begin with.
Think before you post...
have you posted the same information within the past 7-10 days? If you have...
wait before you post it again.
Have you offered a webinar, a special pricing deal on your product, or mentioned your MLM lately? Again, wait at least 7-10 days before making a similar announcement or post.
You wouldn't go and knock on your neighbors door multiple times everyday to sell them your product.
Treat your online relationships the same way as your offline relationships.
Social media is a relationship tool.
Make sure that through your actions you are using those tools appropriately to build relationships and not destroy your business.
Everybody is doing it.
People use it to connect with old friends and new.
People use it to let others know what they are up to.
People use it to sell themselves, their products, and their services.
But is social media destroying your business? The answer is that social media is not destroying your business.
But, the actions you are taking on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other Internet sites just might be.
Let's look at Facebook.
This site allows you to re-connect with people from your hometown, high school, college, and many places you may have worked.
It also allows you to connect with new friends and build relationships you may treasure.
That is the crux...
relationships.
Social media is really a relationship tool.
It can serve you well or it can be the death of your business.
Entrepreneurs and small businesses often have very small marketing budgets so they rely on the exposure they can generate from social media sites to increase business without spending marketing dollars.
That is not a bad strategy.
But first, you must build a relationship with your target market - just like you would in the offline world.
Would you walk up to a complete stranger and immediately start to present a hard sell of your product? No way...
they would run away as fast as they could.
Then they would tell their friends about this awful sales person they ran into and your potential business just hit the skids.
You lost the sale before you ever got started.
It's the same with social media.
Are you sending friend requests that say here's the product I sell (and even if you don't ask them to buy...
that is the presumption about the message) and expecting the person to want to accept your friend request? Is your first, second, or even third point of contact and it is already screaming sales? If it is, your actions may be killing your business right before your eyes.
It is critical that what you post on social media sites, send in messages, or display on your profile or wall, represents you well.
Your posts should be considered advertisements.
No not for a product or service but for you.
Remember you are on this site to build a relationship.
So what can you do to build those relationships? Here are five easy actions to take (or not):
- Before you send (or accept) a friend request on any social media site make sure that you and this person have something in common - just like you would in the offline world.
If your primary use of social media is to build your business, and the person doesn't fit your target market, you may be better off to ignore their request. - Get over yourself.
It's not about you! Never, and I mean never, try to promote your website, your product, your business until you have had at least three prior exchanges on a personal level.
Yes, list this information in your profile but don't send it in a message, put it in a post, or IM it to a contact. - Remember your photo, video, website links, etc.
represent who you are.
Your profile photo - make it recent, make it appropriate and make it of you! Your website links - make sure you have entered the correct URL and make sure they are fit to be shared.
If you do a video - make sure it is at least semi-professional and shows you in a positive light. - Hold those private messages, event invitations, page suggestions, etc.
to a minimum! Make sure that you are only sending them to people who want them - or they will be seen as SPAM (regardless if they fit the "legal" definition).
If someone asks you to stop - take them off your list.
You are the intruder.
Never tell someone to remove themselves. - Watch your language! We all use those four-letter words...
just don't type them!
You are treating your social media contacts just like you would treat your friends up close and personal.
This is a mutual exchange.
With many social media sites placing limits on the number of friends, tweets, etc.
it is imperative that you have to choose your contacts and your content carefully.
I can hear it now...
you are saying just do a fan page on Facebook and solve that problem.
Hmmmmm..
..
not so fast.
Remember that social media is a relationship tool.
Promoting a fan page is just like saying "like my page and let me feed you everything I want to, true I won't see your posts, but I don't care about you - it's all about me.
" Be careful going down this road - unless you are building relationships and then inviting people to your business page.
Hint - don't post the same messages on your personal page and your business page - they are two different tools and should be kept completely separate - even if the goal of your "personal" page is business.
Now you are in the flow.
Social media is working for you.
You have built relationships, you are posting and tweeting appropriately, and you get a good response from others.
You are on the right path.
So if a little bit of social media is getting such great results, you think that a lot more posts and tweets will get you even better results.
Not so fast! Too much of a good thing is just as bad (or even worse) than not doing the right stuff to begin with.
Think before you post...
have you posted the same information within the past 7-10 days? If you have...
wait before you post it again.
Have you offered a webinar, a special pricing deal on your product, or mentioned your MLM lately? Again, wait at least 7-10 days before making a similar announcement or post.
You wouldn't go and knock on your neighbors door multiple times everyday to sell them your product.
Treat your online relationships the same way as your offline relationships.
Social media is a relationship tool.
Make sure that through your actions you are using those tools appropriately to build relationships and not destroy your business.
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