Is Your Business Doing These Three Things to WIN Online?
It's easy for businesses to put social media on the back-burner after reading some headlines these days. "Users are leaving Twitter" and "Facebook can't figure out how to monetize mobile" are hot topics on all the financial blogs. The simple truth of the matter, however, is that "social media" has become the place where people spread word-of-mouth referrals. Whether the vehicle remains the same or not, social media is here to stay. For the foreseeable future, customers are spending time on Facebook, and that means your business should, too.
Below I'm going to share 3 things that, I feel, must happen for a business to begin seeing a return on their investment online. At this point we aren't even talking about money, we're talking about building up that lucrative network of followers that can help get you in the door at your next job. Obviously this list isn't all inclusive, and exceptions may exist -- albeit few and far between.
Cast a wide net. Today while "adding" friends on Facebook, a little error message popped up and said, "only add people if they are friends or people you know IRL (in real life)." This is hogwash. Facebook is about being social -- You can meet people on Facebook the same way you can meet people anyplace else. Just mind people's privacy, and never try to add someone more than once.
I typically look for people in my same geographic area with similar interests. They might have information about something that is going on in my day-to-day life that will be beneficial to me, and vice versa. I have discovered many previously unknown facts about my area by having these "strangers" on my feed. Some of them are pretty influential businesspeople, too, which helps once we get to step 3. Invite people to participate. Don't assume people are not interested in your page. So long as you are selling a good product at a fair price, you should feel 100% comfortable with inviting anyone on your friends list to check it out. Again, the Golden Rule about Facebook is never personally invite someone more than once. Did they see it? Absolutely. Don't take it personally if they don't immediately like your page. Move on. I generally write a very short introduction message to people whom I want to check out my pages. An example;
Hello Jim! My name is Andrew and I'm a local biz owner in Whoville. Looks like you own a business as well. I come across a lot of people on here and offline, so if I ever talk to anyone who needs XYZ service, I'll send them your way. What do the most of your clients come-in for?
When you have time, please check out my Facebook page. I try to keep all my posts short and to-the-point, and I never share more than two updates a day. If you think of anyone who could use my service, will you pass the link along? Thanks again, Jim.
This sort of message will very rarely ever generate a negative response -- and if it does, just type, "Sorry!" and move-on. If you follow the Golden Rule and don't attempt contact more than once, nothing will ever come of it.
Reciprocate, reciprocate, reciprocate. When your new "friends" share their biz pages, pass them along by sharing them on your own page. If they post a cute picture, make a comment. If they post a thoughtful update, like it. This sounds a bit obvious but you would be surprised at how many business leads I have generated simply by commenting on someone's status. "I'm having a bad day." Can easily be read as, "I'm having a bad day because the copier is broken and I don't know a repairman." a ten-second conversation could generate a lead for my friend Phil who fixes "bad days."
A word to the wise on reciprocating, however -- Know when to move along. If you have liked a a couple of pictures, commented on a couple of status updates, and shared your friend's business page, you probably want to move-along and share your attention with someone else. Nobody likes to feel as if they are being watched, and your 365 coverage of Steve's page is probably going to get annoying real quick. All things in moderation.
In closing, I'm going to bring up something I mentioned earlier. If you have influencers on your page, don't be afraid to reach-out to them. Give them a little Facebook love in the form of a like or a share, wait a few days, then send them an introductory message. The goal here is to just introduce yourself, but if they end up sharing your page to their 10,000 follows, hey, that's good too!
Below I'm going to share 3 things that, I feel, must happen for a business to begin seeing a return on their investment online. At this point we aren't even talking about money, we're talking about building up that lucrative network of followers that can help get you in the door at your next job. Obviously this list isn't all inclusive, and exceptions may exist -- albeit few and far between.
Cast a wide net. Today while "adding" friends on Facebook, a little error message popped up and said, "only add people if they are friends or people you know IRL (in real life)." This is hogwash. Facebook is about being social -- You can meet people on Facebook the same way you can meet people anyplace else. Just mind people's privacy, and never try to add someone more than once.
I typically look for people in my same geographic area with similar interests. They might have information about something that is going on in my day-to-day life that will be beneficial to me, and vice versa. I have discovered many previously unknown facts about my area by having these "strangers" on my feed. Some of them are pretty influential businesspeople, too, which helps once we get to step 3. Invite people to participate. Don't assume people are not interested in your page. So long as you are selling a good product at a fair price, you should feel 100% comfortable with inviting anyone on your friends list to check it out. Again, the Golden Rule about Facebook is never personally invite someone more than once. Did they see it? Absolutely. Don't take it personally if they don't immediately like your page. Move on. I generally write a very short introduction message to people whom I want to check out my pages. An example;
Hello Jim! My name is Andrew and I'm a local biz owner in Whoville. Looks like you own a business as well. I come across a lot of people on here and offline, so if I ever talk to anyone who needs XYZ service, I'll send them your way. What do the most of your clients come-in for?
When you have time, please check out my Facebook page. I try to keep all my posts short and to-the-point, and I never share more than two updates a day. If you think of anyone who could use my service, will you pass the link along? Thanks again, Jim.
This sort of message will very rarely ever generate a negative response -- and if it does, just type, "Sorry!" and move-on. If you follow the Golden Rule and don't attempt contact more than once, nothing will ever come of it.
Reciprocate, reciprocate, reciprocate. When your new "friends" share their biz pages, pass them along by sharing them on your own page. If they post a cute picture, make a comment. If they post a thoughtful update, like it. This sounds a bit obvious but you would be surprised at how many business leads I have generated simply by commenting on someone's status. "I'm having a bad day." Can easily be read as, "I'm having a bad day because the copier is broken and I don't know a repairman." a ten-second conversation could generate a lead for my friend Phil who fixes "bad days."
A word to the wise on reciprocating, however -- Know when to move along. If you have liked a a couple of pictures, commented on a couple of status updates, and shared your friend's business page, you probably want to move-along and share your attention with someone else. Nobody likes to feel as if they are being watched, and your 365 coverage of Steve's page is probably going to get annoying real quick. All things in moderation.
In closing, I'm going to bring up something I mentioned earlier. If you have influencers on your page, don't be afraid to reach-out to them. Give them a little Facebook love in the form of a like or a share, wait a few days, then send them an introductory message. The goal here is to just introduce yourself, but if they end up sharing your page to their 10,000 follows, hey, that's good too!
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