Tired of being a best-kept secret? Social media is all about
customers connecting with you and your brand.
While we can’t promise a magical increase in
sales, this month’s introduction to social media networks will explain why a
well-maintained Facebook or Twitter account can help your company’s traditional
means of word-of-mouth business explode.
“Many people get on, get overwhelmed and get off. They’re scared,” says
Melissa
Galt, interior designer and marketing consultant with five-plus
years’ experience with social media (
www.facebook.com/melissagalt).
She offered several teleseminars on the subject this year, and
PM
sat in on a few. Galt discovered this marketing medium the “long, hard way,”
but she says the connections she’s made online have opened up her networks and
her life.
For her, online networking is all about making those tiny bonds of connections
with potential clients. “If you’ve found that your list of contacts has
stagnated, social networking can get it moving again,” Galt explains. “Educate,
relate, excite. These are some of your aims for social
media.”
In the United States alone, total minutes spent on social networking sites have
increased 83 percent year-over-year (Nielsen Co., June 2009). Your customers —
of all demographics — have turned to the Internet for their information and
lately have preferred to do the searching themselves.
“Instead of continuing to push marketing messages out, effective marketers
adapt to this consumer behavior by creating marketing campaigns that pull
people into their business. This strategy is called inbound marketing,” say the
marketing researchers at
HubSpot.com. “Inbound marketers offer
the public useful information, tools and resources to attract people to their
site, while also interacting and developing relationships with consumers on the
Web.”
Editor's note: HubSpot.com has an invaluable resource page. Download their free whitepapers and ebooks, especially "How to Use Facebook For Business" and "How to Use Twitter For Business: A Beginner's Guide". Find them here.
Russ Duker at Master Tech Plumbing in Columbia, Mo.,
understands this switch in the consumer mindset and uses his company’s social
media sites for top-of-mind awareness. He was introduced to the concept through
his association with Nexstar, where marketing coaches hold training events and
explain the ins and outs.
“The change in the economy pressured me to look toward different marketing
ideas,” he tells
PM. “We are reaching friends of friends.
Some people are clicking on our paid ads and reaching our Web page.” However,
they’re not booking calls, he admits. “It’s only name building for
now.”
Craig Woolheater of Innerline Plumbing in Dallas agrees: “It is another avenue to get
your company’s name out there at little to no cost.” Woolheater, a member of
PHCC’s Quality Service Contractors, has been using social networks on a personal
basis for several years, and only in the past year has he used it for his business.
He didn’t have any expectations for the venture, but hopes it eventually leads
to revenue. “We profile projects and company news. We’re connecting with customers,
both new and existing,” he says.
Industry manufacturers, too, have watched social media grow in popularity and
are not letting a chance to increase their brand awareness pass them
by.
Decolav recently held a month-long contest at its new Facebook fan page (
www.facebook.com/decolav)
and gave away a bathroom suite of fixtures to one lucky winner. Director of
Marketing
Brian Brigham uses his growing fan base to connect
with potential customers by offering décor and design tips, educating on shape
and color trends, and launching industry and company news to devotees.
“Facebook is reenergizing our marketing efforts,” Brigham says.
He’s seen the most positive results from posting photography of Decolav’s
extensive product catalog. “I get calls from designers and retailers
referencing certain photos and requesting product information,” he explains.
As of this writing, American Standard is requesting consumers share their
“Favorite Toilet Stories” for the chance to win its Champion 4 fixture. The
company has used Facebook to promote the contest and its new fan page, and
through Twitter (
@AmercanStandard) it educates
followers by linking to news they can use.
You Are What You Tweet
Some of the biggest obstacles to businesses
taking their brand on social sites are time and content. “What do I say?!” is
their concern. Galt says it’s not about what you’ve had for dinner. “There’s
some really cool and relevant information out there — share it!” Many of
today’s news sites offer “Share” options, making it easy to reuse links and
interesting posts from others in the industry.
Check out news aggregator sites such as
Mashable,
Alltop,
StumbleUpon and
Digg, and follow popular posts
at
YouTube and
Twitter.
Offering comments about yourself is a good idea, too; however, take note:
Social does not mean
personal. Avoid TMI (too much
information) situations that could turn your customers off or make things
uncomfortable for you and your company.
A good guide to follow is educational consultant
Angela Maiers’
70-20-10 rule:
- 70 percent of your posts should share
resources (blogs, articles, industry opinions and tools);
-
20 percent should engage conversations and connections; and
-
10 percent of the time you should chat about yourself, your life, your
thoughts.
One thing all our research has shown is that a commercial sales pitch
throughout your social media pursuits is the kiss of death.
“Don’t pitch and sell the whole time. It’s a turnoff,” Galt warns. “You hate it
when it happens to you. Don’t do it to your online friends.” She instead
suggests you keep it interesting and actionable.
“Posting one marketing message after another isn’t effective. It doesn’t
attract prospects or engage customers,” notes
Debra Ellis,
founder of Wilson & Ellis Consulting. “If you are not going to use it to
establish relationships, stay away — far, far away.”
Sometimes social media is a lesson in what not to do. “These are your fans; you
have to make it worth their while,” says Brigham.
Take It Off-Line
As you can guess from the testimonials above,
contractors may not yet be experiencing sales through their social media
efforts. However, once the connections are made, it’s time to take your online
contacts and move them off-line.
“My time is precious,” says Galt, who spends roughly five to seven hours per
week monitoring her various online accounts. “Plus, I’m old-fashioned.” She
likes to take her online network to the next level; she writes them a direct
message or e-mail, picks up the phone or meets them face-to-face. To realize
the opportunities, you have to make contact in the “real world” too.
The key point to remember is that sites like Facebook and Twitter are tools,
not toys. It is important to understand your target audience before you climb
on board. The Internet is unfathomably expansive, so stay focused and
selective. Deep, not wide, Galt suggests. Otherwise, you’ll take anyone’s
business … and anyone will show up. “Scattered efforts get scattered results,”
she warns.
Ellis urges newbies to start the Twitter Test: “Consistently tweet for a
minimum of 30 days; 90 is even better. Watch your traffic and sales to ensure
you’re receiving a return on your investment. At the end of the trial, decide
whether to continue or quit.”
Customers and sales aside, social media sites can connect you with people and
businesses relating to your industry. It is a good way to help your company
grow and educate itself about today’s issues, and even help you develop
relationships with reporters, bloggers and other media people, who can aid you
in getting your name seen even further.
“I started out with zero friends, just like everybody else,” Galt says
encouragingly, whose fan base is now in the thousands. “Social media can
revolutionize the way you do business. Be proactive. Find your ideal clients
and work with them.”
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