One of our clients recently started a jewelry business and created a fan page on Facebook, so to support him, I became a fan. Within minutes, I received the first status update: “I’m excited to announce my new jewelry business! We offer a wide variety of gold necklaces, rings, and bracelets for any occasion.” An hour later, I received another update which was very similar. A few hours later: “Hi everyone! One of our items would make a perfect gift for your loved one’s birthday!” And so on for a few days, with much of the same on Twitter and LinkedIn.
He called me a few days later, extremely frustrated. “I don’t understand why people aren’t placing orders! My products are great! I’m trying so hard – you saw my updates. Not one person responded! I don’t know what else to do!”
Should he be surprised? I’d be impressed if he managed to keep any of his connections from being totally annoyed. I tried to offer him some advice, and here’s what I said, “Imagine going to a chamber or some other networking group, and being in a room with about 100 other people, all getting to know each other, passing business cards, and doing the typical networking.
Imagine that in the beginning of the meeting, you walk up to the microphone and say, “Hi, I’m Larry, and I own a jewelry business.” Then 5 minutes later you walk up to the mic and say, “Hi, it’s Larry again…remember, I have some great rings and necklaces for any occasion.” Then a half hour later, “Hi, Larry here again…for the next 15 minutes I will offer 50% off of any items.” And the same types of announcements every 10 minutes. What would you expect people to think of you? His eyes opened as he realized the point I was making.
I believe that the same networking principles from real life apply to social networking sites, except that with social networking everything is much more powerful since EVERYONE sees it IMMEDIATELY, so you need to be all the more careful . Just as personal networking does not yield immediate results, the same is true of social media. Remember, you’re planting seeds for the future, not prospecting for immediate sales – hunting vs. farming.
Continual promotional messages are annoying, and no one likes someone who’s all about themselves all the time. Just like networking in real life, the idea should be: get to know people, make sure they know what you do, keep in contact with them, and then when they have a need for your product or service, they will think of you and call you. Annoy them now, and they never will.
So on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, offer some value to those you are connected with. Give them a reason to stay in touch. Engage them in conversations that are not about you. Ask questions, ask for help when you need it, and offer help when others need it. You can promote yourself once in a while, but keep this to a minimum. Have fun contests and giveaways. Do this and people will like you and keep you “top of mind,” which is what it’s all about. Then when the need for your service or product comes up, they will think of you.