Marketing Consideration for Social Media Types

December 11, 2008 · Comments

money Here’s one: if you’re going into business for yourself, consider marketing to the people who will give you money, not the people doing the same thing as you. Once you’ve decided that you’re going to make a business out of your ability to blog and tweet and navigate LinkedIn, let’s be clear: your customer isn’t me. Your customer is someone who doesn’t know how to blog and tweet and navigate LinkedIn. Your customer is possibly a marketer, or a small business person, or a non-profit. But hint: it’s not another social media type.

You might look to other social media types to band together and pool resources or share leads. That’s great. But in that interaction, you might try bringing something to the table, too. It turns out that two social media types who know how to blog and tweet and navigate LinkedIn are just as broke as one, unless you work on finding and retaining customers.

Business partnerships usually work something like this: I have something you don’t have as much of. You, most likely, will offer me something I don’t have. Hint: it won’t be your incredible talent to blog or tweet or navigate LinkedIn. Because that’s something where I’ll come to you and I’ll ask you to fulfill on a project. But it’s not something I need unless I’ve got too much business to handle.

What To Do Instead

If you are a social media type and you’re looking to market, consider doing the following:

  • Create a simple rate sheet that shows the kinds of projects you do, the deliverables those projects yield, and the rates you charge for those projects. (Hint: if you don’t have the “deliverable” figured out beyond “you’ll be smarter,” that’s not much of a project. Sure, education is great, but that should be adjunct to what you complete.)

  • Ensure that your blog is ready for business, and that yourblog design backs that up.

  • Tidy up your LinkedIn profile.

  • Create a real, simple, clear call to action on your blog and make that the most obvious element on your website. It’s amazing how the basics of sales and marketing still work.

  • Join several traditional marketing newsletters and groups on places like Yahoogroups, and participate. Give your perspective. Don’t spam them with your offer, but give them a sense of how you think.

If you’re thinking of making this a business, you have to own your store in 2009. If something’s not working, try something else. If that doesn’t work, try something else. Push and push some more. Get out there and scour for customers. Look for leads. Think of ways to develop more opportunities. Offer free trials or whatever else might close your new customers.

Did I miss anything? Have you any ideas to share that will equip the would-be social media business people among us? Marketers – what do you need from these folks. Speak up. I know you hang out here. Great day to decloak and say hi to us all.

Photo credit, Jeff Belmonte

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  • As always, a great, quick informative post helping folks navigate the social media waters.
  • Amen, Chris. People often forget (or don't even understand) that the ones they are interacting with online through twitter or whatever... aren't the decision makers when it comes down to the dollars and cents. YES, building those relationships are important and vital, and sure those people will one day be in that position, but you need to be careful of what you're investing your time into.

    @bradjward
  • Great advice, Chris. I'm happy to just hang out with like minds, but that's because I have a day job. It's a sad thing to hear about a group of social media folks commiserating lack of work. Perhaps this post will help!
  • I so very much agree with this. I follow a lot of Social Media people, but I am taking the education to my local community. Just setup a classroom in my office and already have people lined up for classes on Social Media strategy and Search Engine Marketing. My goal here is to learn, my mission afterwords is to educate. I want to help Small Business succeed.
  • Hi Chris:

    How true! And don't forget, nothing beats face-to-face networking: talking to everyone you know, being yourself and letting them know you are there to help them. I opened up shop earlier this year and have been quite busy with mostly word of mouth business. And when I get a referral, I find those people are researching me on the web in advance. When they see me talking about issues they are facing, they can see we could be a good fit. So, the networking and the visibility online are working hand-in-glove.

    Cheers,
    Connie
  • agree, that as a photographer seeking to gain exposure/business - my targets are not other photographers.and then again, i have met some great photogs and plan to collaborate on a few projects together. combining skills can reveal interesting lessons, unexpected exposure and continued fun. my approach is thoughtfully optimistic.
  • Chris, I would only add to your list the following: Be prepared to share first (at no cost) some initial ideas as a way to educate target audience. Not everyone gets SM (yet.) We still need the basics available for various industries.
  • I am glad you are educating your competition and improving the industry. The last thing Social Media/PR2.0 industry needs is where SEO market ended up - bunch of amateurs, using same tools, no unique value add, and endless pitches at every event without regard you need them or you care... Kind of like financial planners these days, you can run from them, but you can't hide.

    Just my 2 cents.
    Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius
  • Fabulous advice.

    As I work with clients, I find I have to consciously start simple. My problem is that I like to give them the explanation of what's going on under the hood (not just RSS, you want feedburner, here are the accessibility implications of using Flash or Javascript), and often people just want something they can drive off the lot.
  • A great and important point, Chris. Sitting around in our little bubble all day is important in regards to building relationships, but we need to build relationships with our customers as well.
  • I agree with you, it's really easy to get lost in talking to like-minded people. Great point on reaching out. We've been putting that into practice and we are yielding some amazing results that were a lot easier to get than trying to sell people in our same industry. I think that is one of the best pieces of advice, reach out, go to where the people are congregating. You have simple, practical advice; worth a lot more than many might think.
  • Terrific reminder that social media is still but one tool in your box and that regular ole marketing and sales still must be done. Bravo!
  • Solid, sensible advice and yet still so many professionals miss out on these points.

    It's like being a butcher and marketing to vegetarians, or an exotic dancer trying to score a week's performing at the local church - you have to know your audience and when something is simply a bad idea.

    Offering real-time examples are great as well. Want to impress a (potential) new client with Twitter, for example? Ask them to spare some time and then search out people that are talking about their brand. Get the company online and involved in these conversations while you're explaining the benefits of that small interaction.

    Then show them how that interaction has just led to a spike in interest in their brand because they're actively using social media to converse with their customer base.

    It's a game of show and tell in reverse - tell them what you can do and then show them the proof. Cost of that proof is then easier to justify.
  • Chris GREAT post!!! Spot on, all of us that have "joined the conversation, or basically started the conversation" should step offline for a couple days and do some research about how the majority of the population lives. Sure everyone's heard of the facebooks, youtubes, etc.. but how many are really participating? As our friend @bradjward likes to say "it is our job to EDUCATE and Inform"

    Great stuff!!!
  • Man, you hit the nail in the head! :)
    Thanks. This is the path I am taking as I am starting to develop my new blog A MAUI BLOG. I still have a lot of do, but reading this post help me a lot to be on the right path :)
  • Love this post. As much as I love social media and all of these great technologies, it takes going a step backward to find the right people to sell to. As you mentioned, people here on this blog or your followers on Twitter are most likely not the people who will be buying from you, as they already get it.

    Thanks for all the other great links in this post as well. I'll probably be using those resources and this post as a guide to work off of for the coming year of business.

    Keep up the great work!
  • Chris, those are all great "go to market" strategies. One other thing I suggest, is for folks to hold back on the Web 2.0 buzz speak. You're building a blog for the offline customer so they can attract and keep customers. Period. That translates into dollars for them. It's either worth their time and money or it isn't.

    If the client starts to ask more curious questions then fine, buzz away. But start with plain dollars and sense. @jesseluna on Twitter
  • Nice post. Too many people are preaching to the choir re:social media. It's easy, and gets a lot of "Yes"es and not a lot of $. Preaching to the yet-to-be-convinced is a lot harder but the $ payoff is a lot better.
  • Chris-
    Great points. I can tell you from the perspective of someone still on the outside you hit the points well. I started to participate in the whole SM thing just to keep current. I own a computer support firm as my "day job" so I need to be able to speak intelligently about all these things. This is especially important since I position myself as a trusted advisor. Can I show them how to leverage and grow their network? Not as much as I like. I am finding people I would feel comfortable pointing out as examples and I think that is probably one of the greatest strengths of SM.

    Also I am learning by watching and reading how I can leverage this all to my advantage as well. While I do love being a computer support person there are other passions I want to pursue and will be better able to make those a reality thanks to the great words and work people like you are doing.

    If that doesn’t work, try something else- has been a part of my mantra for awhile now. Glad to see it isn't "old" media.

    Keep up the great work and thanks for the time.
    Alyx
    Twitter @smartalyx
  • Thanks for the reminder Chris. I know I needed it and the timing of it couldn't have been better for what I'm to next.
  • Chris,

    Were u talking to me or its possible that you read my mind. That's absolutely what I was thinking about.

    I conduct workshops on social media for my clients n their employees, as part of my services. But if I start looking for more clients, I need to find people who looking for my services.

    A wonderful marketing principle my dad taught me when I was young, "Sell salt in the forest and firewood near the sea. Not the other way round"
  • Wow. I can't believe that after all this time people are amazed that all this social media babble comes down to doing something which the best people and companies do continually - selling.

    I have commented and blogged about this for a long time and am usually howled down as if I am trying to kill the messiah. The real art of this post is presenting the idea of simple and efficient selling like you, with the help of new forms of social media, invented it.

    Fabulous!
  • Well put, Chris. The delivery to the folks who don't know SM or search marketing for that matter needs to in simple language and focused on results for them. Limit or simply eliminate industry jargon. It creates a glazed look that signals overload.

    Nice job of helping shake some of us up. New theme is strong btw.
  • Great Post- lots of food for thought.

    (found this via a tweet)
  • Thanks for the good thought and the idea defeinitely carries over to other industry. My wife is a musician who actively markets to the kind of groups that would consider her band for performances. Yet, when her industry magazines arrive in the mailbox, I'm floored how much time and money other bands spend marketing to each other. Always enjoy your posts.
  • Return phone calls & answer e-mails. Do what you say you're going to do on time. Amazed how many social media *experts* still don't follow basic business social etiquette.
  • Thanks Chris. As a Web 1.0 veteran, I remember when we all had to make a similar shift to doing less talking and more listening and integrating..with clients' business processes, culture and systems. Its a good thing!
  • I've noticed a lot of business is Word of Mouth in our industry. Do something free for someone and ask them to tell their friends about you. You'd be surprised at how many people see the good job you did and inquire about your services.
  • You are so on point here. Many social marketers stay in the bubble of social networking sites and wonder whey they don't have customers. If you are on Twitter, Facebook and have a blog 90% of the time you don't need me.

    You have to reach out to communities that may need your services. You have to go out an sell yourself.
  • Chris,

    Thanks. I'm trying to build my own consulting gig right now focused on helping old school business development professionals leverage all these new tools. I think you made an important point when you said, "It’s amazing how the basics of sales and marketing still work."

    I see so many people who have already bought into social media become entranced with the technology itself. The old rules of the networking game still apply - meet as many people as you can, bring whatever you can to the table without expecting anything in return, and build human relationships.

    Social media just makes this happen much faster and more efficiently. Clients I'm targeting are old pros at selling and are just in search of someone to teach them a better way to do what they already know how to do.

    But with all the buzz these days on the social web, selling the concept as a valid approach is getting much easier.
  • Great, useful points as always.

    One key things to remember is that most people don't actively participate in blogs, post youtube videos, interact on twitter and so on. There are many potential clients that realize this could all be important to them but don't know where to start. They need simple, basic education and providing that is great way to get going. You don't have to be Chris Brogan to do that :).

    It is possible that some of this initial education happens for free (though not necessarily) and that builds a relationship which could lead to business. For example, I was recently approached by a film/t.v. producer that is working on a very exciting project and they need some basic help initially. What is a blog? What is twitter? What is slideshare? Then the questions evolve to: How can I use these things in my business? How can I use facebook as part of launch.? What tools can I use to monitor how things are going? Can you help with all of this?

    Based on this, I put together a very simple slide deck for my clients to walk them through this stuff and a simple 5 step process I can take them through, starting with simple stuff and moving from there. So far, so good.
  • The Willy Sutton rule applies:

    "Why do you rob banks?"
    "Because thats where the money is."
  • WOW, You're saying that other bloggers won't pay me to do what they already know how to do?
  • Or, as baseball player Wee Willie Keeler said,"Keep your eye clear, and hit 'em where they ain't" .
  • Hey Chris, you said it well. I have looked all over your site, but try as I might, I cannot find your simple rate sheet. :)
  • Really the idea is to impress that first client. Most leads come straight from word of mouth, especially in marketing consulting. If you can impress one client and help improve their traffic and ROI, you will certainly be getting phone calls from others.
  • I definitely believe if you impress your clients right away that you should be fine. You got to excite your clients and prove that you know what you're doing. Other people will realize that you are a mastermind and you actually do know what you're talking about and that your service does work.
  • Hi everybody! I admit i hang out here.

    The whole Twitter world seems kind of introverted and self-serving... these are some great tips to break out of the shell!
  • Ooooh. Hot button issue for Amber (which causes her to talk in third person).

    As a "traditional" marketer now blending in some of this social media stuff as an independent, I WAS the client for a long time. And the one thing that's killing me is the idea that everyone wants to be the leader, the glamour shot, the one standing in front of a room killing it with some uber powerpoint deck.

    Truth is, I see few SM "experts" in my sphere that are willing to sit down and do the grit work: writing the social media press release. Launching the blog, including working with the developers to implement it and train people. Do research and write reports. Develop content, and lots of it. So even if they're selling it to the right people, it's all about being and looking smart and not so much about being useful and impactful (much less accountable).

    If you write me a proposal, I need to see what you're going to deliver, in concrete terms, how long it's going to take, and how much it's going to cost. Those are the things that matter to me as a marketing director, because I am counting on you to ease my burden and shoulder real workload. That's what I'm paying you for. If you're providing social media services, you'd better be able to tell me what that means to me on a day to day basis, not just in terms of standing up in our boardroom and talking theory for an hour to our executive team. Soundbites aren't going to improve my business. Real work will.

    Thanks for the reminder and gentle kick in the pants.
  • Yep. Twitter is a microcosm of this. The people you should be following aren't necessarily those with 2,500+ followers, but the ones with 33 looking to make sense of it all.
  • Chris
    As always great advice. I love the idea that SM people are pitching to other SM people, perhaps they think that is easier as those people already understand SM. I completely agree with Richie. Be prepared to educate for free first. If they dont understand what it is you are trying to sell, then your potential customers are not going to buy.
    Simon
  • Great post Chris. I came to similar conclusions after getting some of my designs featured on design sites. It was nice to get some nods of approval from my colleagues but ultimately it didn't cause that much of an increase in how many RFPs I was getting from potential clients.

    I am launching a new website in 2009 with an integrated blog and my game plan is to start writing some simple DIY type of posts designed to help some of my target customers get motivated and see the value in branding. Hopefully this may give me more visitors who are customers instead of colleagues.
  • Batman
    I attended a conference recently, where we, and when I say we, I mean, 'The Press', were effectively called out, and they declared that it's all social media. So, you might ask, how'd I get a Press Pass to Digital Hollywood? It's easy, anyone can, these days....

    My point here, is that I can get good at this SM stuff on my own, and I don't need an expert, such as in this case, you. So, I'm guessing your point has been made, and that I need to find what makes me unique, just like everyone else :)
  • The that I keep reminding myself and my colleagues is social media needs to help grow the business. If can't do that, then why do it? I work with clients on helping them understand how to use social media, and even today, I was helping another understand Twitter. However, this is to support their communication objectives, which is tied to their business objectives.

    And, I have to say, it drives me a crazy to here SM "experts" talk in absolutes. In this space, there is nothing absolute. Just a whole lot of gray. A LOT of gray. Yes, there needs to be goals and objectives, strategies, etc, but in the end, it has to support a business. Only one thing is absolute - profitability. Or, else the biz will die.
  • Also, on the deliverable front, speak in terms not just of "what" you'll deliver, but "how" it will impact a prospective client's biz. Especially if your clients are small biz with a traditionally more brick and mortar focus.

    They don't know or care what a lot of the social media "features" are, they just want to know why paying you is going to make them bigger, badder, more competitive and richer. If you can't answer that, it's game over.
  • Wow! This has given me lots to think about.
  • Great blog, Chris. There are a lot of ideas you've given that apply to me as a composer looking for future collaborations with directors, with some adjustments:)
  • Always, it's three important things that matter if you are looking for business and have any web presence at all. And to my mind, these three things are the only things that drive business.
    1. A Headline that matters - to your ideal client!
    2. Media that proves you deliver! ie: a web presence, Regularly updated samples of your best Photos, Audio, Video, Words - easiest to do through blogging or commenting on blogs (if that's where your ideal client will see them).
    3. Calls to Action - keep just a couple great ones and focus on the engagement level of action - ie: follow me on twitter.com, subscribe to my feed.

    Things not to worry about:
    1. your logo
    2. a standard web site
  • For me it's still about going out to other cities, offices and exhibitions to find and talk to people that acually start to support your projects with real money and pay for what you do. Social Media is THE tool to back up this real life work and make you even faster by sharing information. These information may make you a winner on you next real life workday.

    Great post!
  • I think Mark Buchholz makes an excellent point. Sometimes people forget that a face-to-face meeting can help you clearly communicate what you can offer to the client and also build a more lasting relationship. In my experience in design, I have always had much more repeat business with companies I physically interacted with that the ones I only virtually interacted with.
  • This is great business advice for people to follow in and outside of social media.

    Thanks, Chris.
  • kimberlyn underwood
    Hi and thank you for the interesting article. Looking forward to hearing more . Yeah!
  • GDI
    When you start to make money, your first profits should be reinvested
    into your business. Especially if your first profits come
    from free advertising. I suggest you upgrade to some paid
    advertising programs, so that your next profits come faster. Or
    buy software that will help you promote your business more
    effectively. If you decide to spend some money at the beginning
    of your business, you should keep some of your earnings, let's
    say 20-40%, but no more. Spend the rest on upgrades and tools to
    build your business faster.
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