If I asked you what your social media strategy was, could you tell me?!
Because whether you are aware of it or not, you either have one that’s working for you, or very soon you could find yourself with one working against you (by default!)
People of common interests are coming together online in their masses, shifting away from a preference for fabricated brands towards connected consumers (communities).
If the last decade was about getting found by search engines (via bots), this decade will be about influencing social search (via people).
People are no longer interested soley in what you have to say about yourself;
they are more concerned with what others are thinking, doing and saying.
So you are either participating in and influencing this discussion or you face becoming a potential victim.
Communities are talking!
For many of you, it will mean changing your current strategy.
As the Internet continues to expand, getting people to visit your website will become increasingly more difficult.
You need to start thinking of the Internet as one big city and make the effort to go out and meet “them”, then bring them “home” (back to your website or optin page) afterwards.
Why? Because it’s starting to become far easier (and quicker) to get noticed in these high traffic networks than to get found on Google
PLUS people arrive on your website or optin page pre-sold on you because they have already connected with you.
This is why everyone is talking about getting your face and personality out there and being prominent on social networks etc
It means adapting from “trying to sell” to “making authentic connections”, from running “campaigns” to “small daily acts”, from “controlling your brand or image” to “being 100% yourself”, from being “hard to reach” to “available everywhere”.
There are multiple rewards: You reach and bond with more people, in less time, gather social proof and nurture a deeper loyalty.
In an age where many professionals are seemingly identical in service delivery, it’s those who can nurture loyalty through the most Know + Trust + Respect Relationships that will get and keep the most clients/customers.
One-way email communications are no longer enough. Prospects and clients now expect to hear from you in multiple ways and see you in multiple places, to know and “get” you better.
Is that not offering a more complete service/package and greater value anyway?!
The only caveat is you must have a robust plan or social media can very quickly add up to a massive time-suck!
Going back to the internet as a city analogy; think of learning online social networking a bit like arriving in a foreign city (I learnt this from Nancy Marjemlo and thought what a great way to explain it).
Just like you don’t need to be 100% fluent in that language to get by, you don’t need to apply every technique or try every social networking tool (nor can you!) to succeed with social media. Start with one, get known, then add another if appropriate.
So to answer the question: “Do you still need a list”
The answer is an emphatic YES
BUT a list is no longer enough in isolation. It’s better to think of a “Keep-In-Touch or High Visibility Communication System“.
Where “Your List” is THE key driver in connecting your Blog with Twitter with Facebook with your You Tube channel (or whatever you choose “YOUR SYSTEM” to be). Because we know blog RSS subscribers and readers can be fickle; plus it’s easy to pass through the slipstream of “noise” on FB/T/YT etc
Once more using the City analogy. Just like you use mobile text to communicate, your list (or email) is the online equivalent as you roam from one social network (district) to another (online).
And you communicate in more ways than just text don’t you? (assuming you are not a teenager!). Ditto your list.
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Noel Lyons is a Strategic Business & Personal Leadership Coach, founder of The Lyons Den and developer of the Mastering Business Automation (MBA) System. An internet veteran of 8 years, Noel is committed to helping you work less whilst impacting more people through building a business that LASTS (with Leverage + Automation + Systems + Time Off + Scale).
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I am looking forward to the upcoming calls as creating a list is one of those pieces I know I need, but am not positive on how to get started. I have been looking at my list, twitter, facebook, blogging as parts of a whole, but too many parts to try and start all at once.
I have run my blog for almost a year and am starting to feel like I have a good handle on that aspect of my net presence. My blog, however, is not clearly attached to the business I am now beginning so I need to make that connection. I think a list will be one way for me to start introducing this connection between business and blog.
Now that the blog is moving along I feel I am ready to introduce the next step in the overall plan. I am hoping the information in the upcoming week helps me to piece together this next step and keep myself moving forward with my plan.
Hmmm….that sort of bounced around a bit. Looking forward to this upcoming week!
Jeremie
Thanks for responding Jeremie! Yes definitely start connecting your blog with your list and vice versa (eg have a STRONG lead capture page – note I did not just say box). Then get some of your blog posts out as articles to the directories (with links back to your lead capture page), get your blog posts into Facebook as Notes, and now and again comment on your latest posts on Twitter to see if you can get a conversation going. Noel.
A list is still essential, the key is in the quality of your subscribers though. Be laser targeted in who you want to sign up and keep giving then top quality content that raises the bar from anyone else out there in what you go.
“Just like you don’t need to be 100% fluent in that language to get by, you don’t need to apply every technique or try every social networking tool (nor can you!) to succeed with social media. Start with one, get known, then add another if appropriate.\” ……..
So assuming you were (like me) at the beginning with your business, you had set up a blog which was slowly building readers, in what order would you use the various social media tools? Which one would YOU start with? Facebook? Twitter? etc
Hi Jon, that’s what I strive for too. Personally I think the staggered rates at Aweber are a good thing; they coach you to keep a clean and highly targeted list. Subscribers then come to view you as a quality person too. Noel.
Hi Liz, I know there is a popular trend to simplify everything and come up with step-by-step plans – but bottom line it’s easy to blur technology and tools with the fact that the Internet is still about dealing with people. Going back to the city analogy, it’s a bit like saying which networking group is best for me to go to? The online networks are like real life; it’s a question of getting involved, knowing your objectives and then choosing if you like the company (and I think that depends on your own preferred communication style). For me, I like the creative types who have their own TV Channels at You Tube! Noel.
Hello folks,
I feel like I’m in the middle of a massive learning curve at the moment and in danger of being overwhelmed by too much information (I’m also looking at on-line marketing). So I decided, in true coaching style, to take it one step at a time, probably starting woth Twitter and Facebook. If I do that I’m sure I’ll get my head around it sooner or later.
I’m looking forward to the forthcoming week so I can get from the experts the best way to proceed.
Dave
Thanks for being honest Dave. Yes often it’s not about more information but making better sense of that you already have. Don’t expect step-by-step next week – but I think it certainly will help clarify a few pointers. Noel
Hi again,
I don’t expect step-by-step, but I am getting to the point of feeling ready to take the plunge. I’m very good at cherry-picking, so I’ll probably end up listening to some but not all the contributors.
Dave
I agree it can all seem mind blowing at first, especially if you are not a techy person – which I am not. However, I have run my blog for my personal coaching practice now for several months and have recently set up a Twitter account and interestingly the Twitter account is growing faster than the blog account. People seem to prefer the snippets of news and updates rather than committing to reading a page of information. I haven’t set up a facebook account for the business yet, but I am thinking about using it to create a forum for my clients. Best advice is, just have a go. It’s quite straight forward to set up and don’t forget to check out your blog numbers to see who is reading your page.
Thanks for the great information. I firmly believe that no one can go it alone. There has to be community, networking and reciprocity.
I commented on this in an article on my blog: http://elainelockard.com/2009/12/12/reciprocity-the-golden-rule-in-networking/
I also agree that a strategy is important. I just learned that lesson (lol) and am making my plans now.