This interesting statistic was passed to me recently regarding social media and the lack of engagement that prospective clients are getting via their social accounts.
- “We tweet all the time but I don’t think anyone is reading!”
- “I don’t think I’ve ever had a single RT on the company account”
- “I’ve had Facebook a year and we have 7 likes!”
…and so on and so forth. The fact is that unless you are sharing content that appeals to the masses, you may as well be firing a pea shooter at a target 100 miles away. Sure, you may get some engagement , the odd mention or RT here and there and a bit of business if you are lucky, but why leave it to chance when you could just as easily increase the size of your target?
“FACT: The less it is about you… the further it will travel”
Too many prospective clients and businesses that I speak to on a daily basis share this same challenge and it comes down to a common misconception that a website should read all about their business, what they do and how amazing they are at doing it! Fair enough, a lot of them probably are! So sure, go ahead and shout from the rooftops but my honest advice would be to do it on your ‘about us’ page, not via your social networks.
The odd tweet or post relating to a win or a service that has been well received is fine but the key to success is in rich content that appeals to a wider audience and is, therefore, made visible to more prospects.
Take a lesson from the farmer…
“There was once a farmer who was desperately short of money. In order to support his family and keep his farm in business, he decides he needs to sell three of his prize sheep. A decision he doesn’t take too lightly but one that he stands by in a time of need.
On the first day he heads to the market and decides to hang signs that describe how great his animals are and ‘why’ you would want to buy them over the others on display at the market, despite them being more expensive than the others on display. He comes home at the end of a long day with three tired sheep and no profit having watched cheaper animals being sold all day long.
Standing by his belief that his sheep are far superior to the others on display, in light of the care and quality of life that they have received, he decides to consult a close friend regarding his predicament to see if they can brainstorm a solution. The friend recommends that when he goes back to market he leaves the signs and talks more to people about local produce and the benefits of dealing with local traders over the travelling traders at the market.
So the second day comes and the farmer does as his friend suggested. He talks less about his stock and their quality and more about the local produce, area and the benefits of dealing with the local farms. Within a day he has more than 20 interested buyers, interestingly not one that he had spoken to directly that day. He leaves the market having sold three sheep and taken orders for various other products that are available at his farm. He uses the profit to buy 10 more sheep and to hire a member of staff to attend the market each week and do as he did on that day. Business has never been better!”
Moral of the story
The moral is that interesting news, valuable related information and encouraged engagement spread like wildfire. By focusing less on himself and more on promoting his industry, word got out that he was a reputable trader and an interesting chap! Overnight he had become an authority on the local trade and this lead people to ask ‘Where did you hear this?’ so that they too could speak to the man.
Invest in rich content and people will engage with you. Become an authority and a trustworthy provider of information and people will trade with you. Social networking is your direct line to the market, how big the market is, is completely up to you…
Don’t leave it to chance
This interesting statistic was passed to me recently regarding social media and the lack of engagement that prospective clients are getting via their social accounts.
- “We tweet all the time but I don’t think anyone is reading!”
- “I don’t think I’ve ever had a single RT on the company account”
- “I’ve had Facebook a year and we have 7 likes!”
…and so on and so forth. The fact is that unless you are sharing content that appeals to the masses, you may as well be firing a pea shooter at a target 100 miles away. Sure, you may get some engagement , the odd mention or RT here and there and a bit of business if you are lucky, but why leave it to chance when you could just as easily increase the size of your target?
“FACT: The less it is about you… the further it will travel”
Too many prospective clients and businesses that I speak to on a daily basis share this same challenge and it comes down to a common misconception that a website should read all about their business, what they do and how amazing they are at doing it! Fair enough, a lot of them probably are! So sure, go ahead and shout from the rooftops but my honest advice would be to do it on your ‘about us’ page, not via your social networks.
The odd tweet or post relating to a win or a service that has been well received is fine but the key to success is in rich content that appeals to a wider audience and is, therefore, made visible to more prospects.
Take a lesson from the farmer…
“There was once a farmer who was desperately short of money. In order to support his family and keep his farm in business, he decides he needs to sell three of his prize sheep. A decision he doesn’t take too lightly but one that he stands by in a time of need.
On the first day he heads to the market and decides to hang signs that describe how great his animals are and ‘why’ you would want to buy them over the others on display at the market, despite them being more expensive than the others on display. He comes home at the end of a long day with three tired sheep and no profit having watched cheaper animals being sold all day long.
Standing by his belief that his sheep are far superior to the others on display, in light of the care and quality of life that they have received, he decides to consult a close friend regarding his predicament to see if they can brainstorm a solution. The friend recommends that when he goes back to market he leaves the signs and talks more to people about local produce and the benefits of dealing with local traders over the travelling traders at the market.
So the second day comes and the farmer does as his friend suggested. He talks less about his stock and their quality and more about the local produce, area and the benefits of dealing with the local farms. Within a day he has more than 20 interested buyers, interestingly not one that he had spoken to directly that day. He leaves the market having sold three sheep and taken orders for various other products that are available at his farm. He uses the profit to buy 10 more sheep and to hire a member of staff to attend the market each week and do as he did on that day. Business has never been better!”
Moral of the story
The moral is that interesting news, valuable related information and encouraged engagement spread like wildfire. By focusing less on himself and more on promoting his industry, word got out that he was a reputable trader and an interesting chap! Overnight he had become an authority on the local trade and this lead people to ask ‘Where did you hear this?’ so that they too could speak to the man.
Invest in rich content and people will engage with you. Become an authority and a trustworthy provider of information and people will trade with you. Social networking is your direct line to the market, how big the market is, is completely up to you…
Don’t leave it to chance
Many small businesses don’t reach their social marketing potential. It can be because they are overwhelmed by the overall concept of social media and don’t know here to begin. They might have created a Facebook Page and only received a couple of likes so they stopped updating it. The business’s marketing budget might be at capacity.
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I agree. You have to be doing it because you like doing it; not because you are "playing" the numbers.
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