Are you More or Less Social with Social Media?

Recently I’ve been obsessing in thought about a quote I heard in the hallway during the National Speakers Association conference in July.

“The more I use social media the less social I become”.

Over and over again delegates kept repeating, tweeting and retweeting this comment. Not sure who said it originally, or in what context, but I it did become a rallying cry for those out to prove that social media is a worthless and time wasting fad.  

I think many people saw this quote as just the proof they need to justify their own negative opinions because they don’t know how to use Social Media, or are to lazy to use it effectively.

My believe is that is if you are becoming less social while using more social media you are not using the media correctly. Used correctly, all social media platforms will increase your sociability. Social media is not meant to replace physical contact. It’s meant to compliment it.

Social media provides an additional outlet to listen and engage with your clients. And, in this marketplace you need as many customer contact outlets as possible in order to stay in that coveted top of mind position.

Inside the Engage network we have discovered that smart (profitable) companies and sales reps are using social media in the following ways – to increase their sociability!

1) Encouraging participation on Facebook Fan Pages by giving away products and discounts that can be used in store. These companies include information about joining their various online networks both in information sent to the clients in the mail, through on line newsletters, on fliers sent out with purchases and on “on hold” messages on the phone. By using a multi media approach they are engaging their customers many more times in a month than they could using only traditional media.

2) Following their customers on Twitter and using the information they find – announcements, articles, and press releases – as a reason to call and schedule a meeting. Make sure you share good news. Retweet your customer’s announcements. Provide answers to their questions. Actively participating in your customer’s networks increases the chances they will want to engage with you offline more often.

3) Connecting with clients on Linked in. Our most successful clients use Linked in to ask and answer questions, create client groups specific to their products and ensure they are connecting like minded clients who can help each other. Some clients are having success creating virtual advisory groups that meet online and offline to improve customer service and enhance products.

4) Having virtual launch parties or product announcement parties to ensure all marketers are informed about products at the same time. Asking clients to participate on line and rewarding them for inviting others is a great way to attract new clients and reward existing clients.

5) Promoting live events. Smart companies allow their clients to network before live event by creating online event pages. Event pages encourage attendees to connect with other attendees before the event improving the face to face networking that takes place at the event itself. Personally I have found this to be true for myself and the events I attend.

6) Using live chat to engage with clients online and then continuing the conversation off line. Let’s face it. Some prospects don’t want to pick up the phone to call you. They feel safer engaging online. They feel like they have more control. And that’s fine. By using a social media tool such as Live Chat, you can engage with those clients, build their trust and then when they are ready, take the communication offline to the phone. How many contacts are you missing out each day because you are not engaging online with your prospects?

7) Find new prospects with your blog by encouraging and allowing comments. Not all prospects will subscribe to your newsletter. Many prefer to subscribe to your blog. Do you know how many client and prospects you miss connecting with because you don’t have a blog? If you don’t want to b log then read other’s blogs and post comments. Get in the habit of thinking and then writing about your market and expertise everyday. This will lead to great sales success. (And Wealth!)

Social media will help attract and retain more clients. You can use the tools to make you more sociable as long as you use them to compliment not replace traditional media and sales approaches. This week act now to increase your socialability by adding one more communications platform to your sales mix.

Dedicated to increasing your sales

Colleen