One of the most common and repetitive questions I get asked when I tell people what I do is “What is Social Media?”. I love nothing more than the challenge of converting someones thinking from “but isn’t that just Facebook?” to “Oh, we need Social Media for our business”.

So here is my secret formula (or my social media pitch) which when conveyed to a willing audience is done with passion and conviction, so make sure you have lots of that before testing this out on colleagues, friends and family members :)

Social media is being social using the power of media…. simples!

Social Media is all about real converstations, engagmnent and exchange of content online. It’s the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube that enables us to have these conversations with real people in real time. This level of content sharing and online engagment is not only happening on these well known platforms, in fact it encompasses the whole of the WWW. as conversations are happening all over the world with no limits.

So what, why is that good for business??

I think everyone will agree that being able to offer a successful service or to make an amazing product starts by understanding your audience. Being able to understand prospects, customers and even inflencers in your industry is key to the success and longevity of any business so building the right brand is key.
As a consumer, being able to trust the brand or the person you are buying from or recommending is vital.

So how do companies build their brand online in front of the right audience or market?

Nowadays people like to talk to real people and not people stuck behind a companies brand who are full of corporate jargon. Social Media platforms have been designed to help users share, discuss and engage in real conversations with like minded people. By doing this you build real relationships which gives companies that use this in the right way the likeability factor. In turn this builds trust increasing their brand positively and awareness with their audience. Once a consumer trusts a company they are then far more likely to use, buy or recommend their services on to others and in the process tell other people online who know, like and trust them.

How do you get to this point where all your customers are saying lovely things about you and are buying lots of your products?

Well that comes down to being able to integrate social media in to your over-arching strategy and your ability as a person or company to build long-standing relationships.
To build a relationship with someone you need to be yourself, give out helpful advice when necessary and be able to listen. Using social media is no different. Being there for the person on the other side of the keyboard consistently and without the sales pitch agenda (and without talking about yourself all the time) means you will become better connected and they will naturally want to buy or recommend you. It’s all about building the right brand awareness for you and your company. Don’t forget, relationships do not happen over night this is something you have to work on and continue to offer value and support to them even when it looks like you are getting nothing in return.

After a while you will attract a network of people who like to listen to you and the advice that you give. They start to get to know you and like you and your network grows. You start to have your own online personality and tone of voice which is a reflection of the real you and the values of which your company upholds.

Ok, you now get how to build these relationships online but how do you leverage that to increase sales and build brand awareness on a wider scale?

Let’s say you launch a new product or service, you now have this wonderful pool of people who are your online network ready to listen to what you have to say. This is not to say everyone of your followers is going to buy from you or know the right person to pass on your details to. They are there because they have chosen to be and not becuase you have forced a letter through their door or sent an unwanted email that ends up hitting their spam folder.

Another way to leverage your social network of contacts is to get them involved with your ‘go to market’ strategy. Ask them what they would like you to produce as an offering, get their opinion and make them feel like they are a part of the journey with you and that you care about their opinions.

Times are changing, people are changing and the way business is being passed is also changing. We have entered into a world of connectedness and transparency and the old corporate way of marketing you and your business where people read from scripts and hard sell pitch just does not work anymore.

Use these fantastic online tools to your advantage, follow best practices and be free to be yourself. Have fun growing your online community and approch each action without an agenda. Feel free to meet people offline as well as online as this can only strengthen relationships and can open up a whole new world of opportunities. Build a strategy to incorporate your daily business activies in with your social networking and you will find that you end up with a better understanding of your customers, prospects and partners and they start to better understand you.

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