24 Mar Social Media is Not a Magnet

Remember the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams: “If you build it he will come”? So many businesses believe this analogy to be true of Facebook and Twitter presence.

Creating a business page, Twitter profile, and even a blog does not mean your clients will be magnetically drawn to you and become viable prospects.

Instead, you need to encourage people to come to your social pages, and once they’re there, you have to create enough value for them to hang around.

Here are five ways you CAN make that happen:

Make sure your message is worth telling. Without compelling content, why should your potential customers or clients keep you in their newsfeed? What’s in it for them? Really, they don’t care about your latest sales, they want news they can use.

Play in the sandbox together. It’s not about dominating your field these days; it’s about becoming a helpful authority to your audience. This means promoting others as well. Do it right and you create a network of resources and keep your business top of mind to your prospects when they ARE ready to take action.

Respond to comments and questions right away! The whole appeal for consumers to interact with their favorite brands online is the response by a real person. Even if they have a problem that can’t actually be solved, they will share about the experience and attention they received, and that’s what people remember.

Offer value-added knowledge. Give people free reports or whitepapers on what they may be most struggling with. Many companies are afraid to share their secrets, but studies have proven that even if you give away 90% of your material, clients will pay premium prices for that 10% you didn’t share.

Really listen. Social media is an amazing tool that offers real-time feedback on your product or service. When you listen to your customers you have the ability to fine-tune your offerings and meet their exact needs without relying on old-fashioned focus groups and marketing studies.

How do you best attract your audience to you?

Sibet B Freides
socialmedia@ideaassociates.com