How Many Facebook Friends Does it Take to Screw in a Lightbulb?
By Stu Leventhal – Guru Marketing tips Editor
I mean really, do you know how many online connections it takes to get you one new customer, client or order? If you were to add 1000 new Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus Fans by the end of this month, how much actual additional business would you expect those 1000 folks to add to your company’s bottom line? How many new orders would you get? How much extra profit would you make?
Growing your social media audience to 25,000 connections is the first step and it is not so easy to do but you still have to master a method of turning those online folks into actual customers and buyers. It is one thing to be Tweet buddies and another to get a real customer/client relationship going in which a very recent total stranger is paying you money or buying something from you.
Yes, first you have to make people aware that you and your company even exist. Then you can pitch your offerings.
You need to show why someone needs to do business with you when they have been getting along just fine without you for all these past years. Most successful marketers will also agree that there has to be a state of urgency to hire you or buy something from you right now, immediately. You have to make it dire that they do not pass up your onetime special offer to get in on this life changing opportunity.
Offline sales people, even telemarketers know that if you allow your prospect to slip away from your presence or to dismiss you or shoo you away; there is probably zip to no chance of you getting a sale later on. Online sellers have to take that same premise up a notch because there are so many competitors online that a website visitor or blog post viewer or article reader is not going to find their way back to your webpage, anytime soon! You have to close the deal NOW!
Remember that business blogging and business social media is not done the same as personal social media posting. With online business publishing and posting you are targeting a specific type of person; one that you know buys the things that you supply.
Do you know how to convert your Facebook friends into customers? Are you asking your Google Plus and LinkedIn connections to introduce you to their friends and associates, audience members that you could possibly do some business with too? How many people have you met online that you are actually collaborating with to create more business for you and your company? How much business is coming in from each social media outlet you are participating on? How much business is offline generated compared to e-commerce? Where are your new offline customers coming to you from? Why is new business walking into your store, office, dining room or factory showroom?
Do you know for sure whether posting great photography or a new video or a text post or a long article gets your company phone ringing the most? You have to know what is working best so you can do more of that rather than doing more of something no one is interested in.
Poll your customers. If you know why people are coming to you already and how they are finding out about you naturally; then you can try to enhance what is already happening to generate even more business for you. If your new business is coming from referrals because your steady customers are telling others about you then you can devise ways to help more of your current happy customers to spread the word. It could be something as simple as printing hats with your company logo on them and giving them to your best customers.
Make it easy for happy customers to spread word of mouth about your brand and they usually will. Make it fun to talk about your company and exciting, even prestigious to say they use your brand!
Everyone is a connection and they all know other people so if they do not do business with you themselves then maybe they can introduce you to someone who may do business with you. If they already do some business then the question is; how can you get them to do more business?
Are you sharing your knowledge and exchanging ideas with your various online networking partners? Are you trying to develop new thinking on old problems? Are you working on finding ways to collaborate with other non competing companies that also sell to your same customer prospect pools?
Are you slowly but surely building a powerful audience and marketing platform in various strategic places online that will assure your company’s success for many years to come? Are you strengthening your online relationships forming bonds that insulate you and your company from your competitors’ smear campaigns. Do you and your employees discuss competitor discounting campaigns and price undercutting attempts at stealing business away from you and devise measures to counter, your competitor tactics?
What about SEO? Are you using smart keywords so folks can find your social media posts. Are you building backlinks to your website pages? Are you reading up on the emerging internet marketing trends? Do you belong to some social media groups where your customers also are members of? Do you actually participate in these groups; start conversations, comment on ongoing conversations? Are you monitoring how others participate with what you do and learning what your customers like from you and dislike, so you can design more engaging copywriting, exciting, pleasing web content and better ways of communicating in the future?
Boy that sounds like a whole lot for business leaders to be constantly thinking of; perhaps that is why so many business CEOs, owners, upper management and crew bosses are so confused. What the heck should I prioritize working on first?
It is always a good idea to ask lots of questions of your audience. Poll them. Show that you care about them, as you find out what is important to them. Pleasing your prospect pool is what matters. Ask your social e-fans and customer base to critique your company and what you sell. Is there a way you could improve service? Ask, ask, ASK!
Next test the answers you compile… Are you customers, clients, prospects, giving you good business advice? Measure your efforts and keep doing more and more of what is working the best. Cut down on what does not work and try to come up with a new way to achieve the goals you have for any failed marketing campaigns. Do not give up on the goals; just find a few more efficient ways of attempting to achieve them.
TIP: Do you have a strong satisfaction guarantee? Toot about your guarantee as much as possible! People that are on the fence, wondering if they should take a chance with a new company like yours, need assurances, especially e-commerce customers. Show everyone that you stand behind; your company, products and services. A strong guarantee takes all the risk out of trying out, you, the new brand!
Growing your social media audience to 25,000 connections is the first step and it is not so easy to do but you still have to master a method of turning those online folks into actual customers and buyers. It is one thing to be Tweet buddies and another to get a real customer/client relationship going in which a very recent total stranger is paying you money or buying something from you.
Yes, first you have to make people aware that you and your company even exist. Then you can pitch your offerings.
You need to show why someone needs to do business with you when they have been getting along just fine without you for all these past years. Most successful marketers will also agree that there has to be a state of urgency to hire you or buy something from you right now, immediately. You have to make it dire that they do not pass up your onetime special offer to get in on this life changing opportunity.
Offline sales people, even telemarketers know that if you allow your prospect to slip away from your presence or to dismiss you or shoo you away; there is probably zip to no chance of you getting a sale later on. Online sellers have to take that same premise up a notch because there are so many competitors online that a website visitor or blog post viewer or article reader is not going to find their way back to your webpage, anytime soon! You have to close the deal NOW!
Remember that business blogging and business social media is not done the same as personal social media posting. With online business publishing and posting you are targeting a specific type of person; one that you know buys the things that you supply.
Do you know how to convert your Facebook friends into customers? Are you asking your Google Plus and LinkedIn connections to introduce you to their friends and associates, audience members that you could possibly do some business with too? How many people have you met online that you are actually collaborating with to create more business for you and your company? How much business is coming in from each social media outlet you are participating on? How much business is offline generated compared to e-commerce? Where are your new offline customers coming to you from? Why is new business walking into your store, office, dining room or factory showroom?
Do you know for sure whether posting great photography or a new video or a text post or a long article gets your company phone ringing the most? You have to know what is working best so you can do more of that rather than doing more of something no one is interested in.
Poll your customers. If you know why people are coming to you already and how they are finding out about you naturally; then you can try to enhance what is already happening to generate even more business for you. If your new business is coming from referrals because your steady customers are telling others about you then you can devise ways to help more of your current happy customers to spread the word. It could be something as simple as printing hats with your company logo on them and giving them to your best customers.
Make it easy for happy customers to spread word of mouth about your brand and they usually will. Make it fun to talk about your company and exciting, even prestigious to say they use your brand!
Everyone is a connection and they all know other people so if they do not do business with you themselves then maybe they can introduce you to someone who may do business with you. If they already do some business then the question is; how can you get them to do more business?
Are you sharing your knowledge and exchanging ideas with your various online networking partners? Are you trying to develop new thinking on old problems? Are you working on finding ways to collaborate with other non competing companies that also sell to your same customer prospect pools?
Are you slowly but surely building a powerful audience and marketing platform in various strategic places online that will assure your company’s success for many years to come? Are you strengthening your online relationships forming bonds that insulate you and your company from your competitors’ smear campaigns. Do you and your employees discuss competitor discounting campaigns and price undercutting attempts at stealing business away from you and devise measures to counter, your competitor tactics?
What about SEO? Are you using smart keywords so folks can find your social media posts. Are you building backlinks to your website pages? Are you reading up on the emerging internet marketing trends? Do you belong to some social media groups where your customers also are members of? Do you actually participate in these groups; start conversations, comment on ongoing conversations? Are you monitoring how others participate with what you do and learning what your customers like from you and dislike, so you can design more engaging copywriting, exciting, pleasing web content and better ways of communicating in the future?
Boy that sounds like a whole lot for business leaders to be constantly thinking of; perhaps that is why so many business CEOs, owners, upper management and crew bosses are so confused. What the heck should I prioritize working on first?
It is always a good idea to ask lots of questions of your audience. Poll them. Show that you care about them, as you find out what is important to them. Pleasing your prospect pool is what matters. Ask your social e-fans and customer base to critique your company and what you sell. Is there a way you could improve service? Ask, ask, ASK!
Next test the answers you compile… Are you customers, clients, prospects, giving you good business advice? Measure your efforts and keep doing more and more of what is working the best. Cut down on what does not work and try to come up with a new way to achieve the goals you have for any failed marketing campaigns. Do not give up on the goals; just find a few more efficient ways of attempting to achieve them.
TIP: Do you have a strong satisfaction guarantee? Toot about your guarantee as much as possible! People that are on the fence, wondering if they should take a chance with a new company like yours, need assurances, especially e-commerce customers. Show everyone that you stand behind; your company, products and services. A strong guarantee takes all the risk out of trying out, you, the new brand!
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