Or Just Wasting Your Time?
More and more I’m seeing that there is a “trick” to social media, and it’s not to bombard people with a plethora of content. Rather, it’s to use specially crafted content designed to lure a customer in and get them at least one step closer to becoming your customer.
Have you ever gone fishing? What’s the secret to becoming a great fisherman or fisherwoman? It’s not blanketing the water with bait. Sure the fish will consume it, but if it’s got no hook, how are you going to reel them into the boat?
Instead, the secret lies in using the right bait on the right hook AND knowing what to do when you get the nibble – that is, setting the hook before the fish gets away.
So what’s your bait in social media? It’s helping the person to solve a problem. Think about this – you’ve got a problem and it’s causing you stress, perhaps making you lose money, lose sleep, or just plain irritate you. You don’t know what to do. You begin searching the Internet for answers, but nothing seems to fit until you run across a person on Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter, etc. who claims to know something about your challenge. You provide a few details and ask him or her what to do and BOOM! They give you a solution that HOT-DIGGITY-DOG actually WORKS!
How do you feel about that person? More to the point, are you open to doing business with that person? If you’re like the vast majority, the answer is a resounding “YES!”
So what happens next? If this person is smart, they’re going to get you to take another step. It might be to opt into a list, get on a skype call or make a small purchase. They are setting the hook and you are HAPPY to be joining them. In this way social media is gaining you more customers.
Contrast this scenario with one of throwing out a ton of content here there and everywhere and hoping upon hope that somebody somewhere notices and raises their hand and says, “SELL ME SOMETHING, please!” Sure it happens, but it’s not a system – it’s a crapshoot.
So here is what I propose – become the helpful go-to person in your niche, whatever it might be. Demonstrate that you WANT to answer questions and help people. In fact, use your social media time specifically for this one purpose – answering questions in your niche. On days when no one asks a question, give the answer to a common problem – guaranteed someone out there is searching for a solution to that exact problem the moment you are posting.
By focusing on offering real solutions to get social media gaining you more customers, instead of simply spewing content, you’ll find you spend LESS time in social media and get far better results.
