We’ve had the privilege of working on many awesome website projects and business models. At the launch of their website we wish them luck and can’t wait to hear feedback on how their website is working for them. Do you know what we usually hear? Nothing. Just a bunch of crickets chirping alone in the great web-universe.
When we call and ask, “So, how are things going with your new business?” You can already guess things aren’t going too well.
At the end of the conversation (they all end the same), they ask, “How can I get more traffic to my site when I can’t afford advertising, PR or SEO?”
Enter Social Media Marketing
Ages ago I sold knives door to door. It isn’t something I’m proud of, but to my astonishment I was fairly successful. During the training we learned our script, and we learned our demos (like cutting a piece of leather, and snipping a penny in half). We also learned where our leads were going to come from — friends and family, and their friends and family, and their friends and family.
Eventually, I was inside the home of people so far removed from my little circle that I was creating my own customers and friends out of these new people. If that sounds a lot like Facebook, you’re absolutely right. Sales is a social thing. It is a trust thing.
Getting Started with Social Media – It Doesn’t Have to Be Scary, Time-consuming or Hard
To this day, friends and family is still the place to start. They are a ready-made fan base for your fledgling business, and they want you to succeed. It may be awkward at first to ask them to visit your website, become a fan of your business on Facebook, or follow you on Twitter. What you will find is that it’s much less scary Tweeting into the masses when you know you have a few friendly faces in the crowd that support you.
If you haven’t looked to social media because of the time commitment, look for ways that you can leverage tools to make it easier. Hootsuite is, in my humble opinion, the BEST free social networking tool out there. It lets you create and manage multiple accounts and will blast your one update to Facebook, Facebook Business Pages, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and others. Again, leverage your friends and family. Create something viral that will be easy for them to spread to others.
Social media can actually be fun! And the good news is that no matter what, your product or service has to be easier to sell than door-to-door knives!
Start Here
When you’re ready to dive into the social media world, know that you have our full support! Follow us on Twitter, Fan us on Facebook, and join our blog for more advice on how to make your website work for your business.
About the author: Jeune Ortiz is VP of Marketing and Creative Director at future-ink. With more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, Jeune brings extensive knowledge and creativity to each website and internet marketing solution to grow your business.
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