Social Media Time Trap – Sales vs Small Talk

Let’s get down to real business sense in this post.  Why does anyone want to read a blog about marketing, social media, or branding?  Is it just to give us that warm fuzzy feeling to say we have done something useful with our business time?

There are typically only two reasons to read an article on social media marketing:

1. To educate and keep yourself up to date on social media trends and tactics.

2. To learn how to make more sales.

If you are spending your days surfing articles and tweeting trending topics you are starting out on the right path acquiring followers and have accomplished a very basic concept.  If you are adding in relevent conversations with your community, you are ahead of the game in social media since there are still those that still don’t get that engaging is key.  Now you’ve become so adept at opening conversations on trending topics that you are well loved in your community and seen as a go-to person in your niche.

Great.  Good job.

How much money did you make from those conversations and time spent surfing and tweeting?

The old adage “build it and they will come” may hold some truth in today’s socially promiscuous world, but when they DO come to your blog, website or event…What are they buying?  How are you making money?

My point is, it is so easy to get caught up in the drama of who, what and why of social media marketing and totally miss the boat.  If you are reading marketing articles of any type it is because you, or the company you represent, wants to increase revenue.  Am I right?

I will be the first to admit that I despise sales.  There are those that thrive on closing the sale and can sell ice to Eskimos.  Social media lends itself to people like me that prefer to sell indirectly…by the mouth of others recommendations,  by building trust and being well liked.  However, at some point you are still going to have to ask for the sale.  The whole point of building the rapport was to eventually lead the customer to the water and ask them to drink.  So, ask.

Humpty Dumpty Syndrome

If you are sitting on the fence waiting until your product is perfect or your skill level is as high as someone like Jason Falls or David Risley, then you will never make the jump because the experts are ahead of the game by years of experience.  Everyone has to start somewhere and while you may not land the big fish in the corporate world on your first cast, you will learn from your experience.  You will tweak your procedures and your rates to accommodate.  The only thing you MUST do is take the first step to start making money.

I mention Jason and David because they both had articles this week that lit a fire under my ass.  David’s post from last week hit home.  I’ve had his words haunting me for months now,  never allowing me to truly be satisfied with my work because I knew I should be doing more than promoting OPP (Other People’s Products).  I love David because he is real and doesn’t beat around the bush. In his post Are Bloggers Just Crappy Business People?” he asks why so many bloggers fail to connect the dots.  He says:

The answer is to think like a business. As I’ve said a gazillion times, if you want your blog to be a business, then you have to treat it like one. That means:

1. Have something to offer them.
2. Engage in relationship marketing (be helpful, be trustworthy, be liked, be memorable)
3. Ask them for a sale.

In today’s post over on Social Media Explorer, Jason Falls stirred up some controversy by telling the “social media purists” that only preach talk, talk, talk will not last much longer without sales to back up the talk.  Jason, who has been at the forefront of the social media boom, has always taught that engagement is the premise to social media marketing.  While that still holds true you still cannot survive on talk alone.  Jason puts it ever so eloquently:

I’ve got news for you. In the world of business, all that talk will get you exactly nowhere. Conversations do not ring the cash register. Engagement does not sell more product.

Make Your Stance

Bottom line…what are your reasons for following social media marketing topics, or any marketing topic for that matter?  What are your intentions for the next 30 days?

I have mine.  Are you ready?

While I have been consulting with clients on a free basis for months, it is time for me to take that step out and get off the fence. I am now “officially” offering my services as an Event Community Manager.  (Yes, this is why I have been doing the series on event marketing with social media and I will continue that series this week.)

So, what is an Event Community Manager?  It is very similar to having a online brand Community Manager but my focus and niche is on event marketing and creating communities around events in particular.  I will be taking on clients that need help in getting their conference and event promotions to be spread virally, monitoring community feedback about the event, and increasing attendance.  (Make more sales!)

My passion has always been helping people so it has been easy for me to continually “help out”.  This does not mean that I can’t answer your questions when you email me.  I will…and am happy to help whenever I can.  If you’re waiting on an email back from me you should be hearing from me soon.  My focus for the last few weeks has been on creating the Services and Rates for my new venture. (Available by request by emailing me: coree atmarketlikeachick dotcom).

So, what are your intentions?  Where are YOU going with YOUR business? Don’t be Humpty Dumpty and remain waiting on top of that wall for the next windfall.  Chances are you will end up like he did.

To Your Success,

P.S. ~~> Watch for a new Services Offered page being added soon with all the details on the Event Community Management role along with rates.  Until then, please email me via my Contact page or directly at coree atmarketlikeachick dot com for more information and I’ll have the pdf sheet sent out right away.  I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback on the fence sitting and have hopefully (gently) kicked a few of you off your bums as well.

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Tagged as:  community · Event Community Management · Marketing With Social Media