News Flash - People Don’t Want to be
Sold To
Think about it….Do you watch commercials on TV? Do you read bill boards? Do you read your junk mail? Probably not.
You probably don’t even listen to commercials on the radio anymore
because you’re listening to your own playlist or Pandora.
Then when people need a product or service, what do they do? Probably like the rest of us, they go back to
the person who has given them good service in the past or ask their best
friends or neighbors for recommendations.
Or they may even ask on Social Media.
So as a business owner trying to market your business, how
do you reach your target market? For the
purpose of this article, let’s talk about social media and your business
Facebook page.
·
You must have an audience - How many people ‘Like’
your Facebook business page?
Did you
know that only about 5% of the people who ‘Like’ your page see what you post?
So, say you have 100 people who like your
page, only about 20 are going to see what you post.
So, you must build your audience.
Suggestions to get more ‘Likes’ to your page
is to ask ALL your friends, family, neighbors, etc. to ‘Like’ your page.
Send them an invitation right from your
business Facebook page.
·
You need some champions. Other ways to get more people to see what you
post, is to get ‘Likes,’ ‘Shares,’ and comments on your posts. Facebook sees that as ‘engagement’ and then
will show the posts to more people. So,
you need to ask your best buds, employees, family, etc. to be your ‘Champions.’ Ask them to Like, share, and comment on your
posts. That way, their Facebook friends
see what they are Liking, Sharing, and commenting on and it builds from
there.
·
Don’t Sell to People. People don’t want to be sold to. Read the first to paragraphs again. It doesn’t matter if you have the best deal
in town, if no one sees the offer. If
you haven’t built any trust, then you’re wasting your time. So, what do you post you ask. Social Media, particularly Facebook is just
that - for socializing. Think about the
last party you went to. What did you
talk about? Current events? Your favorite team winning or losing? Ask questions? ‘Did you know……blah, blah,?’ You were socializing not trying to sell your
products or service. That’s what you do
on social media.
o
Let people get to know you. Post about you, photos, likes, dislikes,
hobbies, interests, etc.
o
Use current events. What holiday is it? I did 8 posts last Friday the 13th
for 8 different small businesses and used the theme of Friday the 13th. Everything from haunted ships, real estate numbers,
to Friday the 13th reading list.
o
Provide information. What type of service/product do you
offer? What makes it different from
others that are out there? Provide
industry information. Seasonal
information. For example, a realtor
might provide information on fire safety since last week was fire safety
week. I call this ‘Infotainment.’ Provide information and entertain your
followers. Talk from your experience and
point of view, i.e. your expertise and why you care. As the saying goes – ‘People don’t care how
much you know until they know how much you care.’
o
Don’t be so serious all the time. Laugh at yourself. Post a cartoon. Tell about getting lost. You’re human.
People can relate. Let people get
to know you.
o
Are you involved in the community? What is your favorite charity? Again, this is a way to help people to get to
know you.
·
Post videos.
Learn to use Facebook Live. Show
before and after photos and videos. Videos
are a great way to let people know you do a good job.
·
Get Reviews.
When people brag on your work, ask them to write a review on your
Facebook page and on Google (if you are listed on Google).
·
Learn what people like. Check out the ‘Insights’ section of your
Facebook page or look at the bottom of each post. It will show you how many people the post
reached. The posts that reached the most
people – is what you need to post more of.
·
Boost your posts. This is another way to reach a larger
audience, but there are a few things to know before you throw money at this
one.
o
Get very specific as to who exactly is your
target market, i.e. household income, zip codes, cities, age groups, etc. Think about who are your best clients, what
is their average household income (guesstimate), where do they live, what is
their approximate age, etc. You’ll come
closer to getting some additional followers if you can figure this one out and
target your boost.
o
Do this intermittently and not on a regular
basis. Yes, you want to post regularly
and consistently on your Facebook page, but you don’t want to be regular and
consistent on boosting your posts. Why
is this, you ask? Again, Facebook is a
social platform and even though Facebook is making money on your boosted posts,
they see your boosted posts as ‘selling’ and won’t show them to the larger
audience you seek, if you boost to often.
These are just a few tips for using Social Media to market
your business. You can search my blog site for more articles about Social Media. If you’re still feeling
overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, contact us. We can teach you how or do it for you.
Your comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.
Happy Posting,
Annette
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