“Social Media is ‘Outing’ the Real You! How to Be Ready to Let it Grow Your Business Rather Than Destroy It.”

By Tanya Smith

Social Media Marketing - is your business ready for public scrutiny?

Whether you want it or not, the unstoppable rise of social media in the business world is shining a spotlight on you, in a way that too many business owners are ill-prepared for.

It used to be in the ‘good old days’ that if someone heard about your business and services, they would have checked you out via your website. Upon arriving at it, they would have seen of course, the carefully constructed public image that you chose to portray through your website.

That’s not to say that your website was giving an untruthful picture – just that it’s human nature to want to show our best side, and that because a website is relatively static in nature, you have very easy control of what gets put onto it, and so what gets seen by people viewing it.

Enter social media into the world of business.

Suddenly your ideal prospects…plus everyone they are connected to through their social media platforms….can see you in real time.

They can give you feedback like never before, and many times how you respond to that feedback will be in the public domain. An indelible online footprint.

This is a powerful tool which has changed the face of doing business in a way never before seen.

It can be used to your advantage…or it can wreak damage at breakneck speed. The outcome of your social media footprint can either be client attractive, or client repellent!

Let me share an example with you – something that I saw on Facebook just this week. This was an actual facebook conversation between a very well known marketer (whose response quite frankly surprised me) and someone who had opted in for his complimentary report therefore becoming a subscriber of his. I’ve removed the names :

Prospect : I don’t see a way to send you this feedback privately – just wanted to give you a heads up that I signed up for your free reports yesterday and was disappointed that the information is outdated (free resources identified are now paid services and top expert tip pages no longer exist – one “expert” even appears to have gone out of business). I had heard raving reviews about you from one of your pd. clients and am very disappointed. Might I suggest now is a good time to update your offerings for joining your list. Thanks for listening.

Well known marketer : Thanks for letting me know. AND, I always send out outdated information at first to those who only opt-in to get the goodies and then quickly opt-out. Had you stayed as a subscriber maybe you’d have gotten something good. Good luck elsewhere…

Prospect : Interesting business model – give potential clients outdated information and hope they want to stick around and buy something from you. Only after wasting my valuable time reading outdated information (and following up on the outdated tips) did I opt back off your list. Had I been presented with current information I would have remained on your list and perhaps become a raving – and purchasing – fan.

Ouch and double ouch!

To say that I was astonished by the response from this well known marketer is an understatement.

That was a perfect opportunity to acknowledge the prospect’s opinion, thank them for pointing out that some of the links were outdated, and even suggest something that could be given in return as a gesture of goodwill.

Now, I don’t know the outcome of that very public conversation of course – perhaps it was taken outside of Facebook and a happier ending was created.

The point is that it is still there on the well known marketer’s Facebook page  – saying a LOT about his attitude to handling complaints, and his ‘respect’ for the people who opt in for his free offer.

As I cover in depth with my clients – the free offer is the most important “sale” you’ll make! It’s the critical opportunity you get to show your prospects that you are worthy of listening to, and that you can help them solve their problem. Getting it wrong will kill the know, like and trust factor quicker that you can believe.

Do not for one moment imagine that you can get someone through the door with a cr*ppy offering and then make the sale. When you position your free offering correctly with your best material (and yes there is a way of doing this without giving away so much that they then have no need for your services) …that’s when someone will want to become a paying client.

If you want to do differently – well – you’ve seen what sort of response that gets – from the conversation above.

So as you can see – social media can be your friend or your downfall in business.

People WILL check you out on social media now, as well as on your website. You may not think that you use social media as a marketing and selling strategy in your business, but trust me, if you’re in business, and you’re also on social media – it IS one of your biggest marketing and selling tools in this day and age.

So ask yourself this : Will people like what they see when they check you out on social media? Will it be congruent with how you want your business portrayed?

Be under no illusion – the lines are becoming so blurred now that your social media persona and habits will determine whether someone decides to do business with you, just as much as what you show on your website and at your networking meetings.

It offers an amazing opportunity to create connection, build the relationship with your prospects, deepen the trust with people who follow you, and yes – ethically promote your business and services to those who are interested. When used correctly!

Social media allows your prospects to see the personality behind the business, which is hugely beneficial, especially if you are a personality led business (such as coaches, consultants, therapists, and anyone who has a service business).

This is like rocket fuel for you business – very powerful, and to be used with the utmost respect!

My ‘Action = Results’ invitation for you is this : Take a moment today to review your social media as if through the eyes of someone who’s connecting with you for the very first time, who might just be your ideal client (or indeed have your ideal clients in their circle of friends and colleagues).  Is it what you’d want them to see? Now’s your chance to make sure that it is!

So which social media platform do you MOST love to use in business – leave a comment below and let me know! I think I’m enjoying Facebook the most at the moment – how about you?

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