Social Networking Customer Acquisition 101
Spend Your Time Building Connections not Pushing Your Product
This is the most common mistake in social networking that almost 99% of all members of social networkers make daily. Never ever mention your product in your first email or comment.
This is the basic process that has a 10 fold greater success rate than anything else:
1) Send them a message or post a comment on their wall asking a question about their business.
2) Send out a friend request to each person that responds to your comment or message. 99 out of 100 friend requests will be accepted, and these are members that are actively checking their messages.
3) Respond to each message with a personal message and try to work in mentioning your business while writing about theirs. Once again, 99 out of 100 people will naturally take a look at your website as a courtesy and to see if you might be a potential customer for them. Now you have successfully added friends that will open your friend wide emails, and you have guaranteed that each member will visit your profile and website. Along the way, you will also find other members' products and services that will benefit you and your business. That is how networking creates customers.
Key points to remember:
+Do not blindly send out 100 friend requests every other day. If you are reaching your limit in requests, then you are wasting your time. Only send a friend request if someone has sent you a message, posted a comment on your wall, or posted a comment on a blog.
Take Care of Your Friends List
1) Do not abuse the “send message to all friends.” There is a reason why there is a limit to how many friends that you can send a message to at once. It makes it difficult to spam. Spamming on social networks does not make money period.
2) You should send only one message a month to your friends list. Make it a nice short to the point message that has some tie in to the network that you are on. Once a month messaging works. Anything more than once does not. Spend your time building your friend list, and then give them one phenomenal message a month.
3) If you are going to start a group or host an event, then the same rules apply. Once a month and focus your energy and efforts around one group or event.
Key points to remember:
+If you have more than one site that you are promoting, then you have one too many. Having 10 Ning sites, that you invite every friend to, just increases your chance of failing by 10 times. Do one thing with excellence, and you will be a success. Spread yourself too thin, and you will be lost in mediocrity.
The Right Way to Use Blogs to Get Customers
1) You should write blogs that ask questions that appeal to everyone on the site. All you have to do is put the question in the title, and then write a really good answer from yourself. These are the blogs that you want to use in site wide messages and in welcome comments to new members.
2) The goal of your blog should always be to generate comments. People that post comments are action takers and 8 times more likely to buy your product or service. Respond to each comment mentioning what you do while asking about their business, and then send a friend request the next day.
3) You should have a one really great blog that explains who you are and what your product or service does. You only give out this blog to the people that show an interest. This is the blog that you can use to close customers.
Key points to remember:
+Do not waste your time posting, sharing, or pushing blogs that are advertisements for your services. It does not work. You are wasting your time and destroying potential connections.
The Bottom Line
Social networking is different from every other marketing medium on the internet. What works elsewhere does not work in this realm, and it will not work here.
Each network is like the goose that lays the golden egg once a day. There is only one way to get the golden egg, and if you do it any other way then you kill the goose.
This is the only proven methodolgy to get a steady flow of customers via social networking:
1) Engage the member by asking them a question.
2) If they respond, then send a friend request.
3) Reply to the comment or message and politely work in what you do while tying it in to their business.
4) If they show interest, then close with a blog post that explains what you do with a link to your website and a phone number.
5) If there is no initial interest, then continue to send them one quality message a month to entice interest.
It took me two years before I learned the process, and gave in to the fact that this is the only way that works.
This is the most common mistake in social networking that almost 99% of all members of social networkers make daily. Never ever mention your product in your first email or comment.
This is the basic process that has a 10 fold greater success rate than anything else:
1) Send them a message or post a comment on their wall asking a question about their business.
2) Send out a friend request to each person that responds to your comment or message. 99 out of 100 friend requests will be accepted, and these are members that are actively checking their messages.
3) Respond to each message with a personal message and try to work in mentioning your business while writing about theirs. Once again, 99 out of 100 people will naturally take a look at your website as a courtesy and to see if you might be a potential customer for them. Now you have successfully added friends that will open your friend wide emails, and you have guaranteed that each member will visit your profile and website. Along the way, you will also find other members' products and services that will benefit you and your business. That is how networking creates customers.
Key points to remember:
+Do not blindly send out 100 friend requests every other day. If you are reaching your limit in requests, then you are wasting your time. Only send a friend request if someone has sent you a message, posted a comment on your wall, or posted a comment on a blog.
Take Care of Your Friends List
1) Do not abuse the “send message to all friends.” There is a reason why there is a limit to how many friends that you can send a message to at once. It makes it difficult to spam. Spamming on social networks does not make money period.
2) You should send only one message a month to your friends list. Make it a nice short to the point message that has some tie in to the network that you are on. Once a month messaging works. Anything more than once does not. Spend your time building your friend list, and then give them one phenomenal message a month.
3) If you are going to start a group or host an event, then the same rules apply. Once a month and focus your energy and efforts around one group or event.
Key points to remember:
+If you have more than one site that you are promoting, then you have one too many. Having 10 Ning sites, that you invite every friend to, just increases your chance of failing by 10 times. Do one thing with excellence, and you will be a success. Spread yourself too thin, and you will be lost in mediocrity.
The Right Way to Use Blogs to Get Customers
1) You should write blogs that ask questions that appeal to everyone on the site. All you have to do is put the question in the title, and then write a really good answer from yourself. These are the blogs that you want to use in site wide messages and in welcome comments to new members.
2) The goal of your blog should always be to generate comments. People that post comments are action takers and 8 times more likely to buy your product or service. Respond to each comment mentioning what you do while asking about their business, and then send a friend request the next day.
3) You should have a one really great blog that explains who you are and what your product or service does. You only give out this blog to the people that show an interest. This is the blog that you can use to close customers.
Key points to remember:
+Do not waste your time posting, sharing, or pushing blogs that are advertisements for your services. It does not work. You are wasting your time and destroying potential connections.
The Bottom Line
Social networking is different from every other marketing medium on the internet. What works elsewhere does not work in this realm, and it will not work here.
Each network is like the goose that lays the golden egg once a day. There is only one way to get the golden egg, and if you do it any other way then you kill the goose.
This is the only proven methodolgy to get a steady flow of customers via social networking:
1) Engage the member by asking them a question.
2) If they respond, then send a friend request.
3) Reply to the comment or message and politely work in what you do while tying it in to their business.
4) If they show interest, then close with a blog post that explains what you do with a link to your website and a phone number.
5) If there is no initial interest, then continue to send them one quality message a month to entice interest.
It took me two years before I learned the process, and gave in to the fact that this is the only way that works.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna Wisdish on -
Thanks, this is helpful guidance and it's great to see from the above comments that so many others agree.
I form a much more positive initial impression of someone if they've taken the trouble to read my profile before they send their opening message to me. For example, if they refer to a particular mutual interest or a relevant aspect of their/my business that has prompted them to want to contact me.
I'm then more likely to remember who they are and what they do, and go on to network with them to build a relationship. Ultimately, this means I'll be more likely to use their services or recommend them to others.
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Ferenschak on
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Thanks for posting this. It has great advice. We all make the same mistake of jumping in and promoting our biz without getting to know people (I know I have).
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Permalink Reply by Kays A Gift of Heart on -
Thank you for this Blog, It is a good sourse of information for all of of us. Friends need to be treated with the highest of respect.I am one who gets busy with life . Your friends are inportant . Thank you !!! Have a Great Week-end
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Permalink Reply by Gordon Martin on -
This makes a lot of sense, I am new here, so it is quality articles like this that is very much appreciated.
Warmest Regards,
Gordon
http://www.premierlearningteam.com
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Permalink Reply by solcarina on -
Thank You so much for your informative information.
Sending love and light,
Solcarina
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Permalink Reply by LaToya S on
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Hello there, I really like this article because this is something I need to take notice of. I have been a little pushy on advertisements and I just realized after reading this piece, I have done social networking sites wrong. Now this time I know what to do and how to do it and I have been a little messy on my marketing schedule I put together on myself. When you are doing other things other than the things above, you are wasting time where you could be doing other methods to promote your biz. I truly agree with everything on this blog. Thanks for those tips.
~ La La
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Permalink Reply by Robert Del Nero on -
In a way I kinda agree that social networking should be about making friends and relationships.
But, in most cases, especially with business networking, as the Startupbiz, one normally gets the impression that this is the place to advertise to all because the catch ad pretty much says it all like... advertise your business free!
When these types of subject lines wind up in the email in boxes of millions, what do we really think is going to happen? I think you really do get what you ask for. Education is the key factor here. Establish your rules to participate in a discussion and make it clear to all about spamming.
I really do like the community here. There is a lot of advertising going on... but it is a business site.
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Permalink Reply by Carmelyn Calvert on
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Thank You Sonny!! The first response that hits the nail on the head!! Enough said!! By the way what is your business??
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Permalink Reply by Sunil Kumar Kwatra on
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A brilliant piece. For the first time in last 6 months,
I seem to have finally hit just the writeup that
promises to touch the cord of every new entrant
networker. Just the right mix of plain wording,
free of any numbo-jumbo, and a sincerity of approach
on the part of the COO will go a long way to
ensuring success for every budding entrepreneur.
Thanks and regards.
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Permalink Reply by Elaine Drennan on
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This type of post reassures me that I am in the right place!
I think it's because people want to see results FAST that they hit you with their products straight away.
But that's missing the whole point to "social" networking - we need to socialise!
I suppose its the equivalent of rushing through a garden never taking time to smell the roses...We can say we've been there, done that...but what enjoyment or benefit did we get out of it?
We need to SLOW DOWN and remember that every member of sta.rtup.biz is a HUMAN BEING - not just someone we can squeeze a bit of money out of...
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Permalink Reply by Steven Raymer on
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I appreciate your time. It has been a slow process for me.
Good luck, Steve Raymer
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Permalink Reply by Soriya Conliffe on -
Thank you for the advice, it is nice when someone can share the knowledge. So what exactly do you do?
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