If there's one central characteristic of social media that people new to it should get their heads around it's this: It is two way. It's a conversation, not a lecture. Your aim should be to use it to develop many friendly, brief but nonetheless meaningful online relationships with others who share your interests.
That's pretty obvious. It's called social for a reason, after all ...
But it's clear that many people -- often those in business --- don't quite comprehend this. They tend to think it's a variation on the concept of a mailing list. The believe you get a whole bunch of followers who are interested in what you're selling. And you just keep pumping out offers until eventually some of them purchase something from you.
I think this is why so many people fall into the trap of buying followers and likes, which is a total waste of money.
It's also completely understandable that it would be this way. If you're trying to make your business profitable you have to have a hard-headed approach. You think very much in terms of raw numbers, demographics, leads, and percentages that convert into sales, etc.
So seeing a promotional method as much more of a human, interactive, even emotional process is a big ask. But if you can make that shift you will immediately start making progress with social media. And it will be a whole lot more enjoyable, not a chore at all (unless you hate interacting with people, as some do, no doubt).
Still, progress can be very slow even if you are doing it right. If you are in business of course you want to get some sales, and soon. And there's no guarantee that this will happen in a time frame that you consider acceptable.
This can cause deep frustration, even for those who are quite adept at social media use and who are enjoying the process on one level. I think more than a few business people decide that while it's right for some people, the ROI is just not high enough for them. So they give it away or hire someone else to do it.
The whole question of ROI for social media activity is a big one. And the need for answers to it has spawned a whole new industry of analytics tools and consultants. So the vagueness about just how much time you need to spend on it to make it worthwhile may be gone before too long.
In the meantime I think the best approach is a comparatively free-wheeling one that isn't fixated on results. Basically, get in there and find those good people. Help them with your knowledge and learn from them. Be helpful and friendly. It will help you progress in the long term, even if you can't quite see how.
Apart from their recommendations in the form of shares, links etc, some of them are sure to buy from you. You're just doing things in reverse. Rather than customers getting to know you after buying something you're selling (then returning because you've established a cordial relationships) you're establishing the relationship first.
That's pretty obvious. It's called social for a reason, after all ...
But it's clear that many people -- often those in business --- don't quite comprehend this. They tend to think it's a variation on the concept of a mailing list. The believe you get a whole bunch of followers who are interested in what you're selling. And you just keep pumping out offers until eventually some of them purchase something from you.
I think this is why so many people fall into the trap of buying followers and likes, which is a total waste of money.
It's also completely understandable that it would be this way. If you're trying to make your business profitable you have to have a hard-headed approach. You think very much in terms of raw numbers, demographics, leads, and percentages that convert into sales, etc.
So seeing a promotional method as much more of a human, interactive, even emotional process is a big ask. But if you can make that shift you will immediately start making progress with social media. And it will be a whole lot more enjoyable, not a chore at all (unless you hate interacting with people, as some do, no doubt).
Still, progress can be very slow even if you are doing it right. If you are in business of course you want to get some sales, and soon. And there's no guarantee that this will happen in a time frame that you consider acceptable.
This can cause deep frustration, even for those who are quite adept at social media use and who are enjoying the process on one level. I think more than a few business people decide that while it's right for some people, the ROI is just not high enough for them. So they give it away or hire someone else to do it.
The whole question of ROI for social media activity is a big one. And the need for answers to it has spawned a whole new industry of analytics tools and consultants. So the vagueness about just how much time you need to spend on it to make it worthwhile may be gone before too long.
In the meantime I think the best approach is a comparatively free-wheeling one that isn't fixated on results. Basically, get in there and find those good people. Help them with your knowledge and learn from them. Be helpful and friendly. It will help you progress in the long term, even if you can't quite see how.
Apart from their recommendations in the form of shares, links etc, some of them are sure to buy from you. You're just doing things in reverse. Rather than customers getting to know you after buying something you're selling (then returning because you've established a cordial relationships) you're establishing the relationship first.