One of our clients recently started a jewelry business and created a fan page on Facebook, so to support him, I became a fan.\u00a0 Within minutes, I received the first status update: \u201cI\u2019m excited to announce my new jewelry business!\u00a0 We offer a wide variety of gold necklaces, rings, and bracelets for any occasion.\u201d\u00a0 An hour later, I received another update which was very similar.\u00a0 A few hours later: \u201cHi everyone!\u00a0 One of our items would make a perfect gift for your loved one\u2019s birthday!\u201d\u00a0 And so on for a few days, with much of the same on Twitter and LinkedIn.<\/p>\n
He called me a few days later, extremely frustrated.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t understand why people aren\u2019t placing orders!\u00a0 My products are great! I\u2019m trying so hard \u2013 you saw my updates.\u00a0 Not one person responded!\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what else to do!\u201d<\/p>\n
Should he be surprised?\u00a0 I\u2019d be impressed if he managed to keep any of his connections from being totally annoyed.\u00a0 I tried to offer him some advice, and here\u2019s what I said, \u201cImagine 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.<\/p>\n
Imagine that in the beginning of the meeting, you walk up to the microphone and say, \u201cHi, I\u2019m Larry, and I own a jewelry business.\u201d\u00a0 Then 5 minutes later you walk up to the mic and say, \u201cHi, it\u2019s Larry again\u2026remember, I have some great rings and necklaces for any occasion.\u201d\u00a0 Then a half hour later, \u201cHi, Larry here again\u2026for the next 15 minutes I will offer 50% off of any items.\u201d\u00a0 And the same types of announcements every 10 minutes.\u00a0 What would you expect people to think of you?\u00a0 His eyes opened as he realized the point I was making.<\/p>\n
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 .\u00a0 Just as personal networking does not yield immediate results, the same is true of social media.\u00a0 Remember, you\u2019re planting seeds for the future, not prospecting for immediate sales – hunting vs. farming.<\/p>\n
Continual promotional messages are annoying, and no one likes someone who\u2019s all about themselves all the time.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Annoy them now, and they never will.<\/p>\n
So on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, offer some value to those you are connected with.\u00a0 Give them a reason to stay in touch.\u00a0 Engage them in conversations that are not about you.\u00a0 Ask questions, ask for help when you need it, and offer help when others need it.\u00a0 You can promote yourself once in a while, but keep this to a minimum.\u00a0 Have fun contests and giveaways.\u00a0 Do this and people will like you and keep you \u201ctop of mind,\u201d which is what it\u2019s all about.\u00a0 Then when the need for your service or product comes up, they will think of you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of our clients recently started a jewelry business and created a fan page on Facebook, so to support him, I became a fan.\u00a0 Within minutes, I received the first status update: \u201cI\u2019m excited to announce my new jewelry business!\u00a0 We offer a wide variety of gold necklaces, rings, and bracelets for any occasion.\u201d\u00a0 An […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-media"],"yoast_head":"\n