5 Simple Steps to Social Media Success
by Simon van Gool on 02/09/10 at 6:46 am
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘Build it and they will come’….
Unfortunately this isn’t always the case on the internet.
You can build a blog or a video website, upload plenty of quality content but yet still lacking the connections you were hoping for.
Connecting with others online is the core of social media, but it doesn’t happen by itself…you have to make an effort to make it happen.
Whether you are a traditional bricks & mortar business, an online business or just a home based social media business, you must dig yourself into the social trenches and start conversing and connecting with others, to build up a relationship and trust.
It is all about your connection that will draw people towards you and connect with what your business or services have to offer.
But yet most people in social media aren’t doing this. Why?
Simple. Most people don’t understand there are 5 simple steps to online social media success.
You need to connect with the social media culture and get involved with others already online. After all, this is who you are targeting.
Give them the ‘online handshake’ and introduce yourself.
You can’t afford to just set up your social media and then decide to be anti-social!
What are the 5 steps to social media success?
1. Connecting
2. Conversing
3. Building Trust and Value
4. Creating a Doorway
5. Gaining Customers
Step 1 – Connecting
Connecting with others on social media is where successful social media networking begins. Connecting with people on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and any other niche social networking site online that matters. Getting yourself known on as many social networks as you can.
Here’s a tip…you will connect much easier to those that are looking for you. Make yourself visible and accessible to connect to.
Add your social media links to your email signature, your website, even your business cards.
Brand up your accounts where possible… Create a unique Twitter background and icon. Your Twitter background can also be used to promote your other online connections such as other online networks, your website, etc
Add a unique Welcome page to your Facebook account so people can link straight to your Twitter account, make your user pic a banner which promotes your online networks as well as your brand.
Create a Youtube Channel and brand it up, and again flaunt your online network addresses.
Linkedin – promote your accounts…etc
This is so easy to cross promote through other online networks, and it costs nothing to market yourself this way! Enhance and embrace the technology, people!
2. Conversing.
Once you look the part, go out and start introducing yourself. Find people on Twitter simply through the search panel, and connect with people that are in a similar region or that appear to share similar interests. These are the easiest to connect with.
Get chatting and also mention you are on Facebook, etc. Most likely they are as well, and you can then share that connection as well, and then hopefully you can connect with their connections and the chain begins.
Keep them interested. Talk about what they want to talk about, and study their profile and pictures and you can learn a lot about them just by paying attention.
You can then use this knowledge to target their needs and wants later on. Work on building that relationship first.
Make sure you stay in touch and listen when they communicate with you. This will ensure they want to stay connected with you as well.
3. Building Trust and Value
Once you have started to build an online social relationship with potential customers you can bring out the Trust & Value Magnet and begin to pull them towards your services you offer.
Playing on their needs and wants, show them value they can obtain from your products that will enhance or improve their lives.
You could simply do this through tips or how to do videos or even simple blog posts, as well as tweets.
By reaching out through your posts to this targeted audience you not only appear to be a trusted professional in your industry but also in the process expand their dreams through offering them something that can enhance their life, make their financial position easier, or just simply offer them something they hadn’t though about purchasing before until they met you.
4. Creating a Doorway
Creating the link between the conversation to creating a doorway of a sales opportunity is where you convert the prospect to a customer.
If you have followed my previous steps, this is the simple part…
‘Give’ them an offer they simply can’t say ‘No’ to!
The magic word here is ‘Give’.. Offer them a unique but limited opportunity.
It might be a 24 hour ‘Twitter Only’ special to receive 2 for the price of 1, or 20% off a product, or just the fact that the product is only on sale at a ridiculously low price for 3 days. But give them the opportunity to realize they won’t get this opportunity again and need it now. Impulse buying is one of the most successful sales methods around. We’ve all seen it on the late night TV ads..’Buy now and get this free…for the next 10 callers only’ Guess what…it WORKS!!
Get your customers’ addicted to your Message, Value and Emotions you are portraying. Really tell them how much they need the product and if they miss out it is a huge opportunity lost.
But don’t force them…let them decide and realize the opportunity.
5. Gaining Customers
Once you make the initial sale this should not be the end of the business relationship. This is where you start building it.
Always give customers more than they expect. After the initial purchase, offer them free things. It could be a free ebook download, or a special VIP discounted rate on their future purchases.
Or allow them to unlock a special members only area to your website or product range.
Always encourage them and thank them after the sale, even with just a simple email, and let them know you appreciate their connection. People really appreciate this.
This simple technique works in both traditional and online business and will gain you serious long term customers and additional customer referals. Cheapest and most genuine marketing you will even have!
They will probably become your best marketing tool, because they will embrace your emotions, products and value you provide, and tell their social friends about it.
Author: Chris Bourke of Webcrowd – www.webcrowd.com
Chris Bourke is a web and graphic designer with Devision Design Australia, and online affiliate marketing coach at WebSEOCoach.
Follow on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/webcrowd
