5 Ways to Social Media Success
1) CHECK WHERE YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE
Before you jump to any social networks, communities or other tools, find out
WHERE your customers are. And the best way is to search them in the Internet,
check LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, Google and Yahoo Groups and find them one way or the other. And if you still have a good relationship with them, ASK.
2) SUBSCRIBE TO THE SOCIAL WEB
Once you know, subscribe to the sites and explore. Invest in your profile, put up a photo, let people know what you like and what not, show your inner self in a professional way. You can’t expect anybody to connect with a stranger. Once your profile is in good shape connect with your trusted friends, colleagues, partners, vendors, resellers and then of course customers you know. At that stage it’s just a connection.
3) UNDERSTAND YOUR NETWORK
Learn all about the people in your network learn what they do, what their interest is, what their skills are what their goal in life is – everything. You will build up a new asset of unparalleled value compared to what you have today – your rolodex or link list in LinkedIn or whatever. You will learn the people and their behavior their interests and their pain without asking a single question. At this point you haven’t contributed – you are just an observer.
4) CONTRIBUTE
Then let the socializing begin. The next step in your social media journey is to
begin contributing. DANGER!!! DO NOT SELL – CONTRIBUTE. As you now know
pretty much everything about the people you care, show them you care – don’t
fake it – care. Help them with their challenges, questions issues. As more as you
care they will start to care about you too. Some may not but that is perfectly
fine. Always keep in mind – to too many you are the “bad guy” you are here to
sell them, people don’t like to be sold. But keep going. The more you help, the
more you contribute the more you will become part of the new party.
5) PARTICIPATE
At some point in time your contribution and blog posts, your answers and other ways you contributed will turn into PARTICIPATION to your favor. Meaning people will return to your comments to your blog posts to your arguments and 
opinions. They may fire back or concur with what you have to say in any case they will respond. Then you are in a dialog you are part of the social web and have made more connections and more contribution than you ever could outside. When you read this today – you may wonder “and when can I start selling”. Read it when you reached that point and you will recognize that you actually stopped selling – but still win customers – even more than before. This leads actually back to a very old saying: “The most successful sales people never sold a thing” and that is still the essence of selling today – just with new tools, new ways, new methods.
To read more on this subject, get the entire white paper “10 reasons sales people need to care about social media” here.
With every good wish,
Follow Tim Moore for all the latest on social media topics here our blog and on Twitter, Unite with Tim and Ty on our social media think tank BrainStorm, or email Tim directly if you have any questions at tim@perspectiveim.com
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