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You’re making all the right moves
You’ve followed all the expert advice:
You developed strong business branding.
You built and are maintaining an effective, appealing, google-friendly website.
You created a strong, branded social media presence on industry and demographic-appropriate platforms (LinkedIn for B2B, Facebook for the over 30 crowd, Instagram for the younger crowd, Twitter for non-Israeli business and so on) and regularly produce and share quality content.
You activity seek Likes for your page and you Share, Like and Comment on friends' pages to get reciprocity.
Your Facebook business page is getting good reach, views and engagements (for more information read my blog on Facebook insights) and you are beginning to get comments and requests for further information from viewers directly on your page. Kol Hakavod! That's great, but this is not the time to sit back and be satisfied with what you have - this is the time to exploit what you built to intensify your relationship with your audience and actively bring in sales.
What’s next?
Try to make a lasting connection
Answer all Facebook comments and requests as quickly as possible to get your response times recognized by Facebook and potential clients alike.
Use enthusiastic, warm words when you answer: “I am so happy you contacted me.” “It’s great to hear from you.” Think about it: if someone started a conversation with you - in a store or a restaurant - you wouldn't just ignore them and walk past them - you would communicate with them.
When answering a comment try to strengthen the connection with a CTA (call to action), such as “please visit our site [LINK] to find out about all our …” “Read more [LINK] about X on our site” and add a link to the specific page.
If the Facebook comment is a request for a price quote: keep in mind that the minute you mention money – all marketing efforts have ended. Avoid giving a price quote in your reply. Ask for the viewer's phone number to contact them directly to find out their needs and provide further information. This is the only chance you may get to tell them about your product/service and your value. Only a phone call enables you to ‘reach out and touch them’; an IM to their personal page cannot take the place of a human voice.
Make your own sales opportunities
Social media is a great marketing tool, but it is not enough! Don’t wait for business to drop into your lap, no matter how great your Facebook numbers are. No matter what your business is, make your own opportunities:
Create for-pay events suited to your area of expertise.
Create working relationships and partnerships with other business - not necessarily in your field - to increase your visibility.
Host and/or sponsor events to increase not only your visibility, but also your professional credibility within a field or a target audience.
Organize and hold live events, workshops and classes, as well as online webinars on your areas of expertise.
Heavily market these events on social media, as well as traditional print media and word-of-mouth. Even if these activities are not successes participant-wise, the marketing and associated hype will bring you increased exposure. If you are able to hold the event, make sure to create signup sheets for participants, with full name, phone number and email; these lists can later be utilized for newsletters and future, more personalized, advertising. Also make sure to take pictures and videos of the event to upload to your website and to make after-event social media posts.
Don’t wait!
Business doesn’t fall into the hands of those who wait – business is created by those who make it. If you want to learn more about how to market your business and then take advantage of your social media exposure talk to me today 052-3413249.
Do you want to open yourself to a more successful business? Are you lost in the social media jungle? Let me help you re-energize your business and rediscover your passion in your profession. We’ll work together to improve your marketing strategy and online exposure and find the perfect target markets for your business. Contact me today to schedule a free introductory meeting.
