Social Networking

Make your social Networking the genuine article!

Linked In can sometimes feel a very lonely place.

Remember of course we all start with nothing, no connections, followers, nada!

But you start to question yourself if you post and don’t get any response and you just stare at the screen wondering what you’re doing wrong.

There’s far more to building genuine connections than just clicking the ‘connect’ icon.

So here we look at how to make your social networking a resounding success!

Am I connecting with the right people?

Your main strategy should of course be based around connecting with people in your target market.

But don’t restrict yourself just to this.

If you enjoy someone’s posting style and enjoy interacting on their posts, why not send a connection request along with a little message explaining that you like their stuff?

After all, they might not be your target market but then somebody they are connected to might be, you need to get to know people in order to find out!

Business comes from genuine connections, not just casual acquaintances that you haven’t established a rapport and trust with!

No comment!

You are commenting on posts, aren’t you?

Both in response to comments on your own posts, and on the posts of others?

Success on the platform doesn’t come from posting alone.

It’s especially bad form if you fail to respond to comments on your own posts.

A bit like not sending your Gran a ‘thank you’ letter for that childhood present!

If someone has taken the time and trouble to read your post and comment on it the least they deserve is a ‘thank you’!

Plus ‘thank yous’ lead to conversations, and conversations are what it’s ultimately all about.

Never lose site of the fact that we’re talking SOCIAL media!

Comment sense on other people’s posts

If you don’t comment on the posts of others why would anyone want to do the same to yours?

The prime purpose of commenting should be to add value to the post.

This can be achieved in a number of ways:

• Showing industry knowledge by answering a question
• By offering support and encouragement
• A humorous remark!

Never be afraid to be your true self in your comments, people respect and admire authenticity, never be afraid to show your personality.

Commenting ‘don’ts’

In a word, negativity!

If you don’t like a post or disagree with it, scroll on by, don’t get into a time-consuming argument with the poster, life’s too short!

It’s very much that ‘do unto others’ principle.

You wouldn’t like negative comments on your posts, so why put them on other people’s?

If you make negative comments you also show yourself in a negative light.

And do you really want to create an impression that you’re an unpleasant person?

You hopefully don’t need to be told, but steer clear of inappropriate comments on appearance, you may as well go around with a post-it note on your forehead with ‘I’m a creep’ written on it….

Remember that the platform is a community and as we know, ‘everybody needs good neighbours’!

Messaging

A polite message accompanying a connection request is a good thing.

Bombarding a new connection with a sales message 5 minutes after connecting with them isn’t!

Social media is just the same as real life in this regard, you wouldn’t go up to a complete stranger and try to flog them something, would you?

You don’t even know if they need your product or service and you’ll come across as pushy and rude!

You don’t turn up to a networking event with a flip chart and start delivering a lecture, if you send a sales message straight off this is exactly what you are doing!

Would you respond favourably to such a message?

If you wouldn’t, why would anyone welcome one from you?

Getting to know you….

Effective social networking takes time, like a fine wine it needs to mature before you get the best results.

Get the ball rolling by commenting on your prospect’s posts.

Once you have started to develop a rapport you can send a message letting them know what you do and asking if they might need your services in the future.

Why try to sell to someone when you have no idea if you will be able to help them?

You only discover the answer through getting to know the person first!

Create posts that people want to comment on

Make sure your posts are the basis for a conversation, don’t lecture your audience!

A catchy headline and intriguing hookline to make them want to keep reading to find out more.

Break up your text into manageable sections, blocks of text are very off putting!

Ensure your post has a ‘call to action’ so your audience knows what sort of a response to give.

Above all, show your true colours so that people feel they are meeting the real you!

And remember, posts aren’t good because of the quality of the writing, it’s the quality of the message that counts!

Quality trumps quantity any time

It’s far better to concentrate on developing a quality network than getting uptight about the quantity.

It’s the same with posts, a large number of comments isn’t necessarily the measure of how successful a post is.

Better 5 meaningful comments than hundreds of comments that require time to respond to but don’t provide you with any value.

And never forget that it’s the number of views your posts attract that really matters.

Not everybody comments on posts and many of the best leads come from lurkers who have read your posts, liked what you had to say and got in touch when they are ready to start a conversation.

Ready to make it meaningful

So there you have it, succeeding on social media isn’t so different from succeeding in business in the real world!

It’s all about the quality of the relationships you forge, ‘people buy from people’ has only become the cliché it now is because of the fundamental truth of it.

And by getting to know your connections, being genuine, helpful and not pushy will ensure you don’t have a lonely time of it on the platform.

As well as a regular supply of organic inbound leads!

Of course, if you don’t have the time or confidence to do all the groundwork yourself you can outsource to SocialJems!

We can work with you to ensure you have the right strategy to succeed and make the right connections.

But at least now you can go about building the relationships that will make your business succeed with confidence.

Happy connecting!