There has always been great value in conversations when it comes to business. And when we use social media for business, conversations still matter. Word-of-mouth has always been the bread and butter of business. Social media takes word-of-mouth and translates it into world of mouth; especially in Halifax; or anywhere for a matter of fact.
Conversations make for great fun and great business 🙂
In my social media workshops, I teach my participants how to converse with people using social media. Conversations are critical to effective social media marketing. After all, the last time I checked, it was people who were your customers. Sooner or later, some of the conversations are going to have to focus around business, and not just every day banter.
I’m a big fan of the 20/80 rule when it comes to using social media for business. 20% is about you and 80% is about the community you build around you. In a nutshell, you talk a lot more about your community and things that are useful and will help your community, than your business. But don’t get me wrong, you still need to talk about your business.
Just imagine you’re at a networking event and you meet someone face to face. The walk right up to him and ask them…”Do you want to buy a house?” – if you’re a real estate agent? No, you don’t do that. You engage the other person in casual conversation and then you find out what interests them. You might even exchange business cards and potentially set a coffee date down the road to discuss more things.
Social media is very much like that. You start off with a casual conversation and eventually exchange your social media business cards so to speak. Through the process of conversation, you might actually find someone in business that you can form a strategic business alliance with. That would be very useful to both parties.
The problem with a lot of people on social media is that they are like the real estate agent, who asks over and over again…”Do you want to buy a house?”. Business usually doesn’t happen abruptly. As a business professional, you ease into business because you know that business involves relationships. Relationships are built over time, and need to be nurtured.
So how do you find these people who you can potentially do business with? You can find them through the process of exploring conversations on social media. After all, not everyone you meet will do business with you; but some of them will. Business really is an art form. Those that do business well, do it very graciously and naturally.
One of the great things about having a conversation on social media is this… while you are talking with the other person, your community that surrounds you on social media gets to listen in. A great conversation can influence a lot of people to do something. That is the true art of business; influencing those around you that are listening.
Never underestimate the power of starting a conversation off with a question. It doesn’t have to be a profound question. The best question is the one that gets asked. Many people try to put together their question the right way, just perfect… but the question never usually gets asked because they feel their question is not good enough to put out there. Some of the questions you ask will fall flat and no one will respond. Some of your questions will draw a lot of answers because they resonate with your community.
So what will you ask as a question? Don’t think too long or too hard. Just get it out there. Get in the habit of engaging the community around you with your questions. I suspect that the question that will resonate with your community is not going to be the one that you think will. It’s like, trial and error. You test and see what happens.
As you build your social media community around you, there will be people who will stand out. You will know who they are when the time happens. Chances are that you will end up in several conversations with them over time. Remember business is about relationships. Building relationships on social media is important for business. It’s important for building friendships as well.
You never know where your conversations with the person will end up. Those friendly chats over coffee might very well end up with a referral or request for business. After all, people do business with people they like. Getting people to like you requires building a relationship. People refer businesses that they like and trust to their friends. This is a process that takes time and many conversations.
One person comes to mind today. I had been engaging this person in conversation for over a year on Twitter. I had retweeted this individual many times and joked with them on several occasions. I even used one of Spock’s greatest lines… “I have been – and always shall be – your friend.” (Great line by the way) I respect this person very much and like what they’re doing on social media. And pleasantly to my surprise, the offer to work together presented itself. This is the power of many conversations over time.
If you’re only on social media to ask… ”Do you want to buy a house?”, you’re going to miss the boat. You are not going to build any equity in your community. Chances are you going to drive away a lot of people. That’s not what you want to do.
Now there will be time for short conversations that produce quick results in business. You may have a customer that is looking for something and you provide the correct answer that initiates business. This can happen. They can also take time as well. Both ways work, but I suspect the latter will produce a greater return on your investment of time.
Imagine this, you are a corner store owner. You engage your customers in conversations when they walk into your store. You get to know each and every one of them by their first name, and by what they do. You say “Hi” to them when they walk in the door and ask them how their week has been. They enjoy coming to your store. They tell your friends all about your story about you. Their friends come. You engage them as well. And soon your business has a lot of customers. You are like the “Cheers” of the corner store businesses.
Now take this same principle and spin it the social media way. Now do you understand when trying to convey to you? Social media requires both short and long-term investments in people. Both methods provide their own return on investment. I believe the long-term investment will pay in greater dividends.
So when you’re trying to get your head wrapped around what you do on social media, think about what you’re trying to create. Think about how long you want to be in business. And then act out how you want your business to be perceived. Conversation is going to be key to a healthy business. But never be ashamed to ask people “How can I help you?”. It’s not wrong to ask for business, but not all the time.
So take a moment to say “Hi” in the comments or engage me on Twitter as @4JeffBrown. Maybe I am the one you are supposed to talk to and get to know 🙂
