I see it time and time again, business dipping their toes into the Social Media Sea only to find it isn't working for them. They send me emails, they PM me on Facebook and DM on Twitter ..."Annie what am I doing wrong?"
Here are your answers - the 3 biggest mistakes most of you are making:
3. You are focussing on getting your message out, rather than building relationships and hearing what your customers and prospective customers need and want from you. Almost every time I check a social media profile to answer you, I see loads of posts and comments leading back to your links, your products, your services and the benefits of using your business and nothing about helping your audience solve their challenges and problems.
When was the last time you found out exactly what is keeping your customers and audience up at night with regard to your niche? Do you know what wakes them up in a cold sweat at 3am wondering how they can get the help they need to solve their problems? Start listening and really hearing your customers, followers, friends and Likers and try asking them what they want from a business like yours, ask them how you can help them and then strategically change your business or marketing and solve those challenges for them. Social Media is giving the world a voice and they (your customers) want to be heard! You can show them you have heard them by responding to their wants and needs and providing solutions, rather than coming up with your own ideas of what to provide.
2. You are being way to static and business-like in your conversations and responses, Steve Jobs has the right idea - "Provide insanely great experiences for your customers." These "insanely great experiences" need to start right from their first interactions with you on social media and track all the way through to after the sale. If you get this right amazing things will happen, you will create a relationship with each customer based on fulfillment and feelings of happiness that will radiate out from each of those happy customers and create 'word of mouth' recommendations and loyal advocates of your brand. The Holy Grail of marketing!
So your next question needs to be, "How can I create 'insanely great experiences'?" and brainstorm this with your team, mastermind group or business coach. When you get this right you will never have to sell your business again!
Just a few clues to getting this right from the outset in your conversations on social media:
- create a safe space for open dialogue on your profiles and pages, allow both positive and negative comments and respond to both, allow these to shape your marketing and what it is your business provides in answer to these conversations. You will be the business who is listening and providing exactly what your consumers want and need and that is unique in and of itself.
- use my GAVA engagement process: Gratitude for every post and comment on your page (except SPAM) and express this openly; Acknowledge each and every person by name; Validate all points of view expressed and prove in small ways that your Likers and followers have been heard; be genuinely Authentic in all your conversations, comments and posts all the time.
1. You have not set any outcomes, goals or measuring parameters for your social media, you have no road map to success and therefore no way to tell whether you are on track, let alone ever going to reach your destination!
Whoa! Do I see this a lot! Where is your strategy? What outcomes do you want to achieve? What parameters have you set to show you are on track? Being strategic can also be social, and being strategic is the only way to create a path to success. Make sure you audit your social activitied regularly, create a strategic plan for your social media and maximise your time management.
Last but not least don't hand over the keys to your social media to the 16 year old receptionist in your office, just because she understands social media - she isn't a marketing expert, she doesn't have a plan and she doesn't understand branding and marketing through social engagement - get help!
Most of all remember why you got into the business and connect with the passion you have for what you do, remember your secret super powers and add value in all that you do on and offline. The secret of social media is based in your own super powers and how you use them to create conversation and expand awareness of your brand and business - think Superman and Wonderwoman and gather advocates, likers and followers everywhere you go!