Recently I attended a virtual conference about social media. Five “experts” each discussed a different social media outlet and how they can help users connect with “followers” and “fans,” i.e., customers and potential customers.
Some of you may be thinking, “social media, so what? I’m a roofing contractor and social media doesn’t apply to me.” You may want to think again, because social media is here to stay! Social media is all about engaging with your customers and positioning yourself as an expert in your field so people look to YOU when they have questions. After reading this post I challenge you to do a search on YouTube or Twitter for Duro-Last Roofing or even roofing in general. I think you will be surprised at what you find and how many of your colleagues are using social media to talk about roofing, showcase projects, offer installation tips, and promote their businesses.
In this blog post and the next, I want to share some notes from two of the speakers that I felt were important to think about – not only with social media, but for marketing your business in general.
President of UnMarketing, Scott Stratten’s definition of unmarketing is doing what comes naturally, vs. being forced to do things that make you ill. What does this mean for your business? Staying true to beliefs. Focusing on the customers and prospects that matter and becoming the expert in your field. Here are my take-a-ways (Scott speaks in Twitter which means he uses 140 characters or less) that can be applied to any business:
- Everybody’s a marketer in your company, not just the marketing department.
- Know, Like, Trust. People do business with those that they know, like, and trust.
- People spread awesome.
- Social media doesn’t make something better, it just amplifies it.
- Choose one social media platform and build from that.
- Social media doesn’t change the fact that relationships take time.
- The worst thing a business can do is set up a social media account and not listen.
- People do business with people, not logos.
Building relationships (followers/fans) through social media is just like building traditional relationships with customers. It takes time for them to trust you. By engaging in social media such as Twitter you need to listen to what people are talking about and offer your expert advice on the subject. Engagement is vital for both social media and building relationships with your customers. After all, how many of your customers come from referrals?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject and invite you to share with us links to your blog, Facebook page, or Twitter handle.
In my next post, I will discuss Twitter’s importance for business.
