We all need leads.
Qualified prospects whom we can do business with.
Consumers also need leads, leads to valuable, reputable and passionate companies.
The question is how can you put yourself within this wedge and help both parties.
If you have an answer to that in your niche chances are you have a business in the waiting.
Do not just suffice with communicating good value for money.
You need to communicate INSANE value.
Where your customers go this is crazy how can they offer that? Now i’m not saying inflate values with ponzi values, offer genuine value.
If you can offer insane value each and every month your customers will never leave.
One of the number one questions I get is:
1) What do you do?
2) How do you earn money?
Since #1 almost requires an essay i’m going to answer #2.
Actually no I’m not as that would require answering #1 which neither of us have time for (save that for another day).
The real question is how do you make a return off social media?
It is all about frame of reference.
Some Tv Ads are all framed around awareness, such that when you are making a purchasing decision you choose one brand over another.
Social Media works on a similar wavelength, that is by turning up and participating, you are putting yourself (and your products/services) in the frame of reference of those that also read / participate.
Then once they in turn have a conversation or are making a purchasing decision their experience with you floats to the top of their minds.
Why? Because they have had a real experience with you, whether it was some Marketing Advice or some chit chat about your favourite podcasts. In such a fragmented world this is where the real value is derived.
Is this directly measureable? No but neither is word of mouth (unless you engage in just one tactic) but it is rewarding.
How about trends? Return is not straightforward, you need to look over the long term, over 6 months how are we trending.
So when you find yourself doubting social media, remember:
1) You are engaging with people.
2) They may not need you now but are likely to sometime in the future.
3) Once you have a relationship. No one can compete.
I tweeted this the other day:
“The real problem 99% of the time is people aren’t willing to do what they know they ought to do.”
Tom Peters also iterated this last week, stating that he wasn’t there to introduce something new he was there to remind us of what we already knew when we started out in entrepreneurship but had lost sight of in the heat of the moment.
It’s more true that you first realise.
I want to share a brief story from my uni days:
“I was heading back from the airport on the motorway, and a car in the lane beside us suddenly jerked to the left, forcing itself into our lane, nearly forcing us off the road. Argh!! Five minutes later this same car missed the offramp so swerved across two lanes nearly missing us again. I jotted down its number plate. Later that day I wandered into uni, only to be very nearly swiped off the road by a lunatic driver. The very same driver that had already just about wiped me out. Three times, one day, same driver.”
The issue here is accountability.
Sure I can report the dangerous driving to the Police who may send a warning letter BUT what difference is that going to make.
Altering the general attitude on the road is almost a culture change.
Particularly in Auckland where I live. Drivers are frequently rude, cut in, swerve, drive with no care for others. As there is virtually zero accountability such people continue. This continues on a downward spiral as it becomes more acceptable.
How could you solve this? Make everyone accountable to their number plate. Register each number plate online where people can put feedback on your driving. In fairness for each negative response you should have to upload a positive response for someone who was nice to you.
It would be a gold mine of activity, huge opportunity for novel stories to be shared and create accountability.
Benefits:
It would be nice to implement. However could you really do this? I fear (like the recording industry) their would be a huge uproar and the dangerous few wouldn’t let it through.
Thoughts? Do you think there is a better way? Or more importantly has a model been proven but in a different scenario?