Nobody likes being 'sold at'. The first step is to create relationships by getting into 2-way communication with the people you've connected with. This means:
- Sharing information that is of value to them
- Being friendly
- Offering help or answering their questions
- Connecting them to other people who can help them if you can't
Once you have established this profile then you can:
- Ask for help
- Ask them to look at your business - if you use the right approach
- Provide links to your information so they can choose to check you out.
People 'buy' people so it's important to be human, but don't dump loads of trivia into your online feeds, everyone doesn't want to know what you're eating all the time or every move you make. Occasionally a comment about what you're doing is a good way to show you're real, but the key word here is 'occasionally'!
If you're clever you can integrate what you're doing with a subtle sales message. e.g. 'I'm really excited about our new product launch, it's taken two months to get to this stage, watch this space!'
More about managing your online marketing soon - but share your experiences here. What do you love and hate about online marketing?
I can only comment on promotion for self-published authors, as this is my area. This article says it all; I read earlier that one author says she 'schedules' her tweets via some app or other to appear every 15 minutes - but that's not interacting, is it? It's just the sort of 'buy my book' tweet that people skim past. Unless you are interested in other people's ideas, blogs, successes, problems, etc, why should they be interested in your book? I will occasionally RT a tweet that says 'Please RT' but not very often, unless it is for the common good. Earlier I read a long passage from someone who said he can't get people to review his book. I suggest he read other people's and review theirs....! One of the things I love about Twitter and Facebook (the only two vehicles I use) is that I've got to 'know' some really nice people and read some fascinating and helpful articles - like this one. It isn't all just about getting people to buy your product. I find self-promotion difficult anyway, and often think that a slightly less direct method of approach (the one that comes more naturally to me!) works better in the long run. Very good article - I've tweeted the link - and no, not because I want you to buy my book, but because it's good, and I want other people to read it!
ReplyDeleteI do schedule some content - where I'm sharing knowledge and expertise, but I don't broadcast ONLY. I interact with people in person too. I find Hootsuite invaluable for keeping up with all my social media platforms in one place.
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