You could spend your whole day doing social media ~ I’ve built an entire company around doing that. However, eight hours spent on Facebook does not actually bring in business if you’re not doing it strategically. So today, let’s talk about the things you need to do daily if you’re going to make money from social media.
- Post on FB daily, in the morning, with a message that is the essence of your company. If you are an Olympic athlete trainer, you can post about anything that has to do with the winning spirit, overcoming great difficulty, and striving to be the best (i.e., “My daughter just won the National spelling bee. I’m so proud…and glad I made it there on time after a full day of coaching.”)
- Automate to fill in the gaps. If you won’t be around to post on weekends, use a program that allows you to be consistent with your clients by posting for you. If you haven’t found your tribe on Twitter yet, use the Twitter application on FB so your FB posts get put up there – perhaps your tribe will start to find you. Don’t automate everything – no one I know who does that is bringing in a lot of new business via social media. It actually makes more sense to go play golf, I think. The key here is to not waste time.
- Find your Target Market and engage with them. It’s not enough to simply post. “Social” media is social. It will also get you higher on the Top News feed which gets more new eyes on you. (People don’t need to be your friend to see your posts.)
- Write nice things about your clients on their FB walls. Don’t be spammy, but do say, “You rock! The world is going to adore what you’re getting ready to launch.” They will most likely say something complimentary in return, and then all of their connections will not only have their eyes on you, but also have heard a testimonial about you from a third party. That’s priceless.
- Do web shows. The intimacy and ability of those watching to create group buying is key. You can check out an example at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15978440. Do you feel the difference vs a tele-seminar? Intimacy and transparency are key, and web shows posses these in spades – for free.
- Put the clients that you’re really wanting to work with into a list on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and follow up with them closely.
- Recognize that time spent – with no clarity about exactly how it will help your business – doesn’t count as business time. For instance, you need large numbers of “likers” on FB business pages if you are looking to get a publisher or sponsors but it does nothing to guarantee sales. It’s a nice theory that a high number of people on your page will bring you business, but social media is not a numbers game. It’s about real, human connection. And that’s why it works so well for business.
There’s no need to waste time on social media. You shouldn’t really do anything for your business that you have no plan behind, and no idea of how it’s impacting things. There are people out there who need you and being ineffective doesn’t do that. And, if you’re doing something that you’re unsure is yielding any results, feel free to ask me your questions at http://www.facebook.com/ilikelindsay. I’ll tell you!
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