The Only Thing That Matters With Social Media Marketing

6 Sep, 2008  Ross' Thoughts

Social Media Marketing

Social.

That’s the key right there.

One word.

One thing.

A single action.

Social.

The key to marketing anything via social media is to actually be social.

Interact with others.

Build relationships.

Relationships with customers. Relationships with others in your field. Relationships with competitors.

Relationships with people.

By building relationships with your customers, you build trust. You gain insight into your own faults and the holes in your business. You get to see exactly what they need more of from you to feel more comfortable buying from you.

Relationships with others in your field opens up all kinds of doors. It’s much easier to request a joint venture from somebody you know. They might even read your email or return your phone call.

Here is a concept that is usable in industries outside of information based marketing:

There is an idea called “trading traffic” used in adult (porn) marketing. This is based upon the fact that you may not have what a potential customer is looking for and it would be better to hand them off to one of your friends than to lose them to Google or some other website. It’s done by recommending someone that offers something comparable to what you offer, but their products are different. Either a different brand or a different variation on the products you currently sell.

If you don’t have an affiliate program, would it kill you to recommend someone else after someone buys from you? How about a “recommended ______ (insert base keyword here)” that would compliment what you sell.

If you sell Ipods, it would only make sense to recommend that your visitor go to a site that sells Ipod accessories that you don’t carry.

See how this works?

One good relationship could bring you in double your current amount of sales. Based upon a recommendation like this, your conversion should be extremely high.

Relationships with competitors is a slightly more challenging concept.

If someone directly competes with you, it is natural to see them as the enemy. The truth is that you should see yourself as so good that there is no such thing as competition.

I welcome competitors and am happy to work with them. Especially when it comes to information based marketing, it only makes sense to work with your competitors. It leads to new opportunities and products. Combining your expertise can only make you both more money.

So, how do you develop relationships with all of these people?

Here are steps to take to ensure this works as well as possible.

  • Make yourself as visible as possible by using your company name in your social presence.
  • Interact with those that attempt to interact with you. Reply to comments on your blogs, your social media profiles, and tweets on twitter.
  • Be you. If your persona isn’t you, always be that persona. Consistency is key here.
  • Be attractive. Nobody wants to be with an idiot. If you’re an idiot, hide that from others.
  • Help people. Provide information nobody else provides.
  • Treat others as you want to be treated. It’s called “The Golden Rule” for a reason.

    • As always, I welcome your thoughts.

    Knowledge Can Never Die!

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    8 Comments so far »

    1. Micheal Savoie (3 comments) said

      am September 6 2008 @ 4:37 am

      Ross,

      As usual, you hit it right on the head. Social media is the perfect way to become best friends with people you might never have met. I found that by joining twitter after your workshop in Sarasota, that I could build a relationship with awesome people like Simon Leung, Lee and Robin Collins, Eric Farewell, and more that I would never have been very close to except that I exchanged dialog on twitter with them.

      Social media takes it a step further, because you become friends with their friends. While Frank Kern and I are friends on twitter, he still wouldn’t recognize me at a party. But that doesn’t matter, because we can still interact on twitter. I laugh at his jokes when they are funny, and I shoot him off a joke when it relates to one of his tweets. But from Frank Kern I became friends with Jason Moffatt on twitter. Again, we had seen each other at seminars, but he wouldn’t remember my name. With the interaction of people on social sites like twitter, we open our circle of influence.

      So thanks for being one of my closest friends who hardly ever communicates directly with me…lol. With twitter, we are still close, and we know what each is up to and going through. Without the social in social media, twitter would be one big spam engine. But the social component makes twitter much better suited for interaction and friendship building than advertising.

      So keep up the great work, but don’t work so hard, we all need you to stay healthy and be around for years to come. The “immortal” Ross needs to stay that way!

      Have an amazing day!

      Micheal Savoie
      http://twitter.com/michealsavoie

    2. Sam Knoll (1 comments) said

      am September 6 2008 @ 12:58 pm

      Ross,

      You are right on in your direction here.

      There are many aspects to making social media work for one but among them two very important ones are massive proliferation across many sites, and communication (being a friend).

      Mix in some other technical stuff (like proper tagging, linking, theming etc.) and you’ve got the ingredients for success.

      Onward & Upward!

      Sam Knoll

    3. David Rogers (1 comments) said

      am September 6 2008 @ 1:04 pm

      In the “real” world its not unusual for competitors to be clustered together. In the UK you’ll find, say, antique shops or book shops in the same part of town.

    4. Jonathan (2 comments) said

      am September 6 2008 @ 1:05 pm

      Looks like you’re right at the front of the wave again Ross.

      Exciting yes? This line in particular appleals to me: “The truth is that you should see yourself as so good that there is no such thing as competition.”

      Man. That is HOT!!! I just HAVE to get you on my TV show.

      Jonathan

    5. Ross Goldberg (7 comments) said

      am September 6 2008 @ 1:09 pm

      Michael - Your friendships are a perfect example of how being truly “social” and being yourself can move your business forward. You’re a good man and deserve the support you get.

      Sam - Yes, there are more minor details, but the base of marketing through social media is being social. Most of the things you mention make you easier to find through different sites, but being social is always the core.

      David - Very true. However, what if the clerk referred a customer after purchasing to the store next door for additional products? Even better, the store then recommends something your store has and the customer is spending more at both places. Plus, you helped them find something they need. It’s very effective.

      John - Get in touch with me bro, I can always find time for something like that ;-)

    6. Douglas Lampi (1 comments) said

      am September 6 2008 @ 1:21 pm

      I’ll confess - I used to be a search engine spammer.

      I used to create those ugly sites with 10k pages of Google Ads - while keeping my identity hidden.

      It works, to a degree - but it’s just no fun - and has no lasting results.

      Getting Social, and going public has been great fun. But more importantly, I’ve connected with experts in each of my separate niche’s.

      Within separate social networks for my hobby and profession, I’ve created online social contacts that I have been instrumental in teaching me something vital to the next step in my learning or my projects.

      Build a Presence - Interact - Be Yourself.

      BUT, does that make you feel uncomfortable? Do you doubt if you have something worthy to offer and so you hang back, or only make tentative steps toward Social Marketing? You will benefit to Read and Follow @stevepavlina.

      Cheers All!
      @douglaslampi

    7. Book Marketing Success Strategies for Authors said

      am September 6 2008 @ 1:44 pm

      Mama Taught You How To Use Social Media…

      …

    8. Lin Ennis (2 comments) said

      am September 6 2008 @ 2:41 pm

      Excellent points. I’m loving the relationships I’m building on Twitter. Glad to hear it so well put that tweeting is not time wasted. Working alone at home, social networks add balance, Twitter being the easiest to keep up with because it’s faster.

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