Copy Blog — Web Consulting

 I remember when I first found out about Linkedin groups, I got excited. I hoped I’d be able to attract endless sales leads just by writing about what I had to sell. I thought, “hey, here’s an opportunity to get my message out there.” Then I spammed a group for a few weeks and got almost no response. That was a few years ago.

 

 

       
I’m sorry and embarassed I started out that way on Linkedin, but that’s how it happened. The only thing that dismisses my behavior is that half the business people who come online do the same thing – just take a look at what’s being offered in most online groups, and especially on Twitter. It’s a common pattern. Yeah, there are blogs teaching social media skills so fewer newbies start out spamming, but it still happens – a lot.

Anyhow, once I got past my disapointment of not having generated any leads, I started to pay more attention to what else might work. I didn’t do a whole lot with social media in the following months simply because my business situation changed as the economy weakened. But when I did get back to Linkedin and groups, I knew I’d have to figure out a better way to engage with people. So I spent some time studying and here’s what I learned.

Back to School

There seems to be two schools of social media marketing. First there continues to be the direct marketing approach. These are cowboys who thinly veil their sales messages behind a half-hearted offer to be helpful. They do things lile posting free offers for webinars at the end of which they are going to pitch you heavily. Or they offer news messages that have a sales pitch tacked on. For example, I saw a message about a hurrican develoing in the Gulf of Mexico, that had details about where I could get flood insurance tacked on at the end. Basically, the marketing cowboys are always talking about their own needs.

But having said that, the thing about sales cowboys is they do get their message out there. That’s not inconsequential. After all, most of us turn to social media in an effort to satisfy our business needs. We are usually looking for information and advice.

When I need to buy something I often look online and when I come across a sales pitch that seems to meet all my needs, I listen – and, sometimes I buy. So, asking for sales, as cowboy marketers do, is a necessary part of the time invested on the internet or else the business features of social media just aren’t going to pan out. I mean, at some point, you have to ask for the sale if you intend to make any money. 

                               

The second school of social media marketing, I’ve identified, is conservative. It says that short-term slaes efforts are doomed and totally miss the point of online community. In this philosophy, relationships are at the very heart of social media. People turn to internet groups looking for recognition, influence and the rewards of community involvement. So don’t piss people off by shoving your needs and your advertisements in their face.

Instead, since your looking to build relationships online, you have to invest time sharing genuine information about yourself. Even in online business situations, where efficiency is important, these relationships are significant. After all, people want to trust each other so they can comfortable act on information shared by others.

If you embrace the advice of this second school of online marketers, you have to answer questions, read other people’s postings with care and be willing to generously share your time and knowledge. Oh yeah, you also need to offer interesting and engaging posts of your own that enrich the whatever community you are in.

Many Good People

As I’ve continued to look for the best ways to enteract online, I’ve notice there truly are a lot of kind people, who are willing and even eager to help. They provide acurate information when they come across a person with questions. Also, I’ve noticed that people are pretty polite, which is really refreshing. What’s even more amazing, it that I have found there are also some marketers out there who seem to get it. As they offer their services for sale, they do so by consistently adding high quality value at bargain prices. Unfortunately, while I see these marketers occassionally, they are still pretty rare.

Twist Them Both Together

After more than a year of looking into this, what I’ve come to believe in is a combination of the two schools. I think what is sorely missing in social media marketing is a creative combination of timely and valuable sharing with compelling and valuable sales offers. I mean who gets upset when they are guided by a professional towards a deal that turns out to be a bargain?

                                                
So how do you go about consistently offering this combination of valuable sharing and sales? I think it starts with research. You have to spend a little time figuring out what you can say to a community that will be meaningful. In fact, what can you offer that is meaningful and also alittle controversial so it grabs attention? That’s what is too often missing online.

What I suggest as the best solution for this problem is to study trends that apply to your community and begin sharing what you learn about those trends when you post messages. If you really offer information about a new trend in your industry it is both valuable and should produce some controversey. Next, I think spending a little time learning the basics of sales persuasion can really add spark to your presentation. After all, currying people’s interest helps produce sales. So if you use these methods to shape a sales offer you set yourself up to succeed at both sharing valuable information and presenting useful sales offers.