Introduction
This article will provide you with some tangible social media marketing tools that will increase your sales effectiveness on the web. Social media marketing uses the two-way communication aspect of today’s web technology to improve the effectiveness of your marketing. In Internet marketing, since products and services are purchased without direct human involvement, the ability to be liked is essential to be trusted. Social media marketing is a means of using the two-way conversational technology available today to achieve your sales goals. Think about giving your money to someone or some organization you don’t trust…it won’t happen! People need to like you in order to trust you. Being nice does not mean being loving or being a friend to your customer. It means being a favorable overall experience in all respects for your customer. It can mean being friendly in your communications. But that doesn’t mean being friends to chat and chat. I know many successful salespeople who are very brief in their communications, but take appropriate action when I communicate with them. and i trust that
So you ask yourself, what do I need to say or do to be liked? First of all, you have to be yourself. I have made the mistake of trying to replicate a voice that would appear to be “consumable” to my audience. Appearing friendly when you’re naturally a bit sardonic (for example) might seem like a smart choice. But what happens is that it is difficult to assimilate someone else’s way even if you think you need it. Just be yourself, it’s much easier to be effective.
Additionally, customers’ web experiences with you must be seamless. Your website should be intuitive, all the links work, the copy should reflect the keywords they are searching for and be visually appealing. There are nasty websites (take a look at Craig’s List) that do succeed, but they are the exception. Trusting you means that you have satisfied your web search with the expectation that it will meet your needs for more information. Don’t disappoint them on the first appearance or you may never see them again.
1. Blog/website
Lately there is a very strong trend for companies to put their blog ahead of traditional web pages. Because? Because these companies know that when people (or your company) like you, then you’ll be more likely to trust them and ultimately that will lead to sales. In other words, your voice (ie your opinion) means trust, and trust means sales. Since your online showcase is your blog and your website, it is essential that you defend your clients in the search to solve their needs.
In the early stages of the sales cycle, your job is to make sure they know you and that you’ve given them essential education. The essential education is that you are a credible source. When you show that you know how to solve his needs, then he will be much more open to expressing his concerns without reservation. So, using your blog, you’ll want to demonstrate your passion for solving their problems and getting them on the best possible path with an answer (your answer). This should take shape in your copy and image on your blog.
2. Meeting groups
There’s nothing like good old-fashioned face-to-face meetings on hot topics to let people know what you’re made of. Although it may seem like work to some people, physically meeting in Meetup groups with other people is a great way to spread your influence on the web. Meetup groups are special interest groups that continue to form on every continent. Whether your niche is rock climbing, push-up collecting, or lingerie, there are groups that form on the Meetup Groups website in your location that are a great way to provide your personal touch.
Each meetup group has a web page on their website, and many of these groups allow group-wide open messaging. As is common with sending spam messages, it is always best to ensure that your message provides content that is of high interest to the group and not a blatant presentation of your product. Because remember, we’re trying to get you to like them. They need to like it before they buy. If they like you, they may be able to use their network of people to get the word out.
3. Online video
Whether you’re using Linked In, Facebook, MySpace or any other Web 2.0 property, the ability to use video is as intimate as it can be on the web. If you want to be liked, let people see you and hear you talk about their interests. Be sure to also express what kind of answer they are looking for and how your solution solves it. You Tube is the way to do this very simply. Many people are shy with videos. When you’re shooting video for the first time, it takes a few times to get comfortable in front of a lens, but after that you’ll become a natural. Recording a video with your digital camera or camera phone is the easiest way to do it. Upload your video to You Tube, make sure it is keyword coded according to your niche. Because? Because the second highest search engine (after Google of course) in the world is You Tube. That means more people search for things on YouTube than on Yahoo. Embed the video on your web page and other places using the code provided by You Tube.
4. Share photos
Flickr.com is the best known of the photo sharing places on the web. Flickr is a free service and uses the name of your Yahoo account, if you have one. If not, you can create one. The beauty of Flickr is that 1) you can use these photos in any type of web activity: email, blogs, discussion groups, Twitter messages, and more, and 2) Flickr gives you another opportunity to have a page where people can come and meet you
With photos, you have a kind of presence similar to that of video. However, photos allow you to cover a lot of ground quickly. You probably already have lots of digital photos of vacations, friends, family, your product, your dog, your house, and your garage band. You can use any of these that can enhance the brand you are promoting. Remember that brand is – is the gut reaction people have to you, your products, your interests, or your approach to a cause. Make sure it’s consistent and use photos to enhance it.
5. Content aggregation
What is content aggregation? Content aggregation is when you actively funnel publicly available web information (blogs, websites, videos, presentations) to your people (customers, for example), who you know will be interested. The benefit to your customers is that it saves them from running around collecting opinions and information. Plus, they get the benefit of hearing your comment on this information in the notes above. The advantage to you is that you keep them on your channel while they are viewing this information. You don’t want them to leave your website (your storefront) to go looking for things.
Content aggregation allows you to appear as an advocate for them in solving their problems, while continually introducing your product. He also provides objective opinions and information from other experts that confirm his intellectual understanding of your needs and how it relates to your solution.
internal marketing
What do I mean by inbound marketing? It is the feedback that will drive your business practices to better serve your customers. If you find that you are getting customer traffic to your site without an expected response (for example, a high bounce rate). It’s time to think why. Are you talking to your customers directly? In your copy, I advise you to use the word “you” when speaking to your audience rather than simply referring to “our clients.” Do you get a lot of comments on your blog? If not, ask your close friends, family, and colleagues to check your blog for potential issues. I know this is hard. It may be that the complexity, colors, copy, or tone of your blog does not match your expectations.
Measuring how well customers like you
While it’s challenging to know how well you’re liked in your niche web deals, there are some telltale signs that this is happening. Assuming you’re getting traffic to your blog, do people sign up to subscribe or comment on your posts? If not, it may not mean they don’t like you or your cause. It may mean that your writing doesn’t appeal to them or that you’re spending too much time promoting your product at the expense of connecting with them as a person. Hear a connection in the tone of the comments that are there. Does it sound like they understand that you have captured their interests? They may have questions about competing alternatives or product features or how to buy, but those are not “like questions.”
In summary
Now that you know how to please customers, you’ll overcome a big barrier to later stages of the sales cycle. Remember that liking means that you are consistently connecting with their problems and representing a dynamic solution. It does not mean to be friends or friends to them. You should also not spend time being friends or friends. There isn’t enough time. You already have friends and colleagues.
Seriously representing their needs, showing them that you know what they need to fix it, and being the answer is the way. The ideas above are means to convey that. Be yourself and enjoy your interactions with people. You are here to bring your uniqueness to your business.
Follow me on Twitter – @/frank_dobner