Goodwill and Social Media

The Internet has provided us with a free platform to market our products and services. Smart marketing, however, involves subtle techniques of convincing people you truly offer the best products or service because you are an expert in your niche. To build this kind of brand value you need to sound authoritative and knowledgeable. For instance, when you send out newsletters and emails, use a tone that says “I know what I am talking about” without sounding arrogant or pompous. Your posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites should also carry the same note of authority.

Sounds great, right? I know; it sounds wonderful to me too! As Therapy in Transition continues to move through the ebb and flow of its journey, I have come not only to live and breathe but also love the idea of social media and what it means to us as an organization. Originally I joined the world of Facebook to connect with family and friends who live at a distance, only to quickly learn that as a business we can also be connecting with current clients, potential clients and strategic partners. But navigating these new waters opened up a whole new world. Here are three concepts I’ve learned as a business owner and would like to share to hopefully allow you to embrace using social media a little more effectively.

Social Media is not my personal area of expertise; I readily admit it, which is why I solicit the support of a few key people who do count it among their areas of expertise. As a business owner what I do know is that in making these types of connections it is extremely important to remember what you share cannot be overtly promotional. Informative and well researched? Yes! The promotional parts need flow naturally through embedded links or a link at the end of the post referring to content relative to what you’re sharing via your post. The important key word in the last sentence is “relative.” The link you’re sending your potential or current clients needs to be relevant to them and their situation. There is a fine line between “pushing” content on readers and offering the opportunity to them to learn more about what you have to offer. Ultimately, your posts need not give out all the information but instead should be written more like teasers, gently nudging the reader to click on the link you have embedded.

Building goodwill within your social media interaction takes time. This means you need to dedicate a good 30 minutes each day to visiting your chosen social media outlets. It doesn’t mean you spend the 30 minutes randomly clicking “Likes” or sharing and reTweeting other’s posts. It does mean you need to ensure what you do want to “like” supports your overall vision and mission for business. If you share or reTweet non-supportive content, then you are doing a greater disservice to you and your audience. Just like when you meet someone in person for the first time you get one chance to make a good impression, with your interactions via social media you get one chance to make what you have to offer valuable. Be conscious of the content and your audience, as you may not get their 10 seconds worth of attention again.

Finally, the third piece of knowledge I’ve learned firsthand is not all social media outlets are good for my business. I need to know my target audience: their habits of interacting with the Internet, where they like to receive their news, and ultimately what they use to make the final decisions to say “yes” to a purchase or investment. For example, if I am working with a demographic highly based on small business or entrepreneurship, then LinkedIn is a great place for me to spend time connecting with individuals, whereas MySpace would be unsupportive and not a wise investment of my time. People’s basic socializing habits remain the same, but over time as they grow within themselves their habits may change; therefore, revisiting your overall marketing approach to which social media outlets are supportive of your vision and mission is critical.

Social media truly offers amazing marketing opportunities. The key to unlocking its true potential lies in using it appropriately. It begins by knowing your own strength and expertise, making sure your content is relative to your audience and their needs, and finally knowing your target audience intimately. In the end you need to allow people to come to the conclusion you aren’t just active to promote your business, but because you genuinely want to share your knowledge. The more “real” you appear in the online world, the more goodwill you are likely to amass.

Until next time, embrace your inner wisdom.

Namaste,
Karen