I talk or chat with business people nearly everyday who have drank the Kool-Aid or taken the advice of the so called experts in internet marketing. They now are getting some rough feedback from the few people who come to their site or blog. The first thing they want to know is..
How do I change from what I am doing to using social media more effectively?
In reviewing a few of these cases I find their problems are mostly involving the old adage of ‘marketing from hiding behind the brand’…or in many cases, a logo of their business. They were told…
- to never make marketing personal..
- stay focused to making money not friends.
- make friends in your personal life not your professional life.
- and never ever, ever use your name.
In the larger businesses some of this stuff almost makes sense but overall social media is consumer driven. Consumers are now demanding to know who it is they are chatting with or is representing a product or service.
The first thing I tell them the need to do is drop the Logo and get REAL. They have to be more personable and accessible. Or, at the very least, showing there is a person who is running the business.
Most of the time when I suggest they get out in front of their logos online I am asked..Why? I answer the question with this comparison.
If all you had to choice a business, product or service to use from just a photo of a person or a Logo which would you choose?
In 85% of the cases most people will choose the photo of the person. The remaining 15% would go for the logo if it was a recognizable brand. However in follow up with those 15%, over 90% of them now said they would rather only go for a photo of a person since the experience they are getting from responding to logos online turn out to not be so good.
My Company Will Not Let Me Change
It is unfortunate so many of the large business..or business who want you to think they are large..will adapt overall policies on how the company brand will be represented. Those policies usually state only the Logo will be presenting in all marketing efforts..online or offline. And..employees cannot promote the business online for any reason.
Many of these corporate and large business are now reconsidering that approach since they are seeing a lost of the market share to smaller or even same size businesses who place a face on their business.
What Exactly do I Change?
The first thing I tell any business or business person to do is to review how they want to cover the market. If they have not developed a social media marketing strategy they need to do so. They can do a very effective campaign or ongoing strategy using a team or just a person. This depends on how deep they want to penetrate the online markets and if they are going to balance their online endeavors with offline functions.
With a team each member should have their on existence online with separate Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin accounts. It is very important that full disclosure be part of all of the Bio info in their profiles stating who and what they are doing online to achieve. Once that is done let the social media flow.
However, be careful. Posting just links or making constant pitches of the product or service is a HUGE turn off to the market. Being overly aggressive will set a business back to being placed in worst shape in the market than when they stood behind the Logo and shouted to everyone.
But I Am Way Too Busy to Do This
I hear this a lot mostly from people who have not a clue on how to manage their time. Nobody has ever said that you have to be online 24/7. Matter of fact, it would be respectful to your online community to post on your Twitter page or Facebook Bio your ‘Open for Business’ time. Letting everyone know when you will be online to chat or socialize or..yes do business. Even if it is an hour or two a day that can work to bring attention to you which brings attention to what you do and who you do it for.
HUGE No-No
The very, very, very worst thing to do is HIRE someone to be YOU. Even for a part-time effort where someone pretends to be you or posts or Tweets pretending to be you. This will hurt the image and goes against the purpose of Social Media. It is OK to get help and have someone set up your online existence for you. It is even moderately OK to have someone hold your hand and tell you how to post. Just make sure what is placed online is really done by you. And as a reminder..we are all human so if you make a spelling error or the grammar is not perfect..let it go and improve on the next post.
Unfortunately, I am seeing more LPGA and PGA Tour players turn to hiring people to post for them. In a few cases this deceptive way of promoting themselves in an effort to highlight their sponsors. This happens as their golf season starts. The ones I see turning their SM over to PR Firms do so from being pitched heavy by those firms to handle their Social Media so they can concentrate on their golf or business. This is the Kiss of death for their image and reputation.
Consumes and fans are after reality and have had enough of the plastic or cardboard figures placed in front of them to gather attention for that person or business.
There is a way of having someone represent you if you REALLY don’t have time to do your own Social Media, but it does not include them being the person who hired them. They can represent a person or business by being themselves and telling everyone straight up that they are working for the person they are representing.
Social Media is all about you drawing attention to what you do through building a trust in the community of people who have learned to like what you have to say in Real life.
It is sometime hard to make the change. Sometimes talking to someone who can coach you into how to go about making a change from wrong to right is the best way to go about making the change. Let me know how I can help.
