As a small business owner it is your job to market your products and services to your ideal market, this is basic. One of the most effective ways to guide people through your marketing funnel is to educate. Anytime you can provide value to your target audience by educating them on what they can learn from you is building that all important relationship of authority, credibility and trust.
[Tweet “You can’t just sit on the sidelines, #marketing is a contact sport! “]
There is so much information we are inundated with everyday, so it is your job to stand out and be memorable. For example, you could be known in your niche for providing really great content that your audience always learns something that empowers them. You are consistent with this content that people know they can count on you to inform and educate them them. What this does in time is solidify a relationship. People will come to expect high quality information from you and thus you build that important trust factor making the decision to buy from you an easier one.
Online Engagement Tips
- Don’t simple click the ‘Like’ button under someone’s post, take time to write a thoughtful comment
- Listen carefully to what your target audience posts on social media and jump into the conversation with a helpful comment
- If you are networking online let’s say in a LinkedIn group, Facebook group or other online platform – make an effort to engage people int he group. Post a question that elicits people to reply and get a conversation going, take time to reply to other people’s post and don’t spam the group with self-promoting posts.
- Ask questions from peers or colleagues that can offer feedback or suggestions
In-person Engagement Tips
- Introduce yourself to someone you don’t already know
- Be interesting – learn to craft a 30 second intro that says more than you name and what you do. Tell people who you help and how – that is far more interesting than your name and title.
Example: “I’m Kim and I’m a realtor” – a more interesting intro could be “Hi I’m Kim and I help young professional millennials who want to live downtown find the best, hippest properties around.” - Ask how you could help or support someone new you’ve just met – perhaps let them know you have a great network of folks you could make an introduction.
I have attended several conferences lately and I observed how the attendees did not take advantage of mingling with the speakers/presenters or very many of the attendees. I think these are missed opportunities to learn. You can’t sit on the sidelines and hope to build your business. It takes effort, tenacity and the strategy and tactics to make it all happen.
It seems that everywhere I read about online engagement it is all about consistency. I like how you tied together in this post the personal/business branding that goes with this consistency. It is one of the easiest things to do, commenting, however, like you, I find that most people aren’t doing it on a consistent basis. I have shared this idea in many different places. There is a “fear” factor I think that comes into play with a strategy to consistently share and start a discussion.
Here are what I think are the two main fears. Let me know what you think too! The first fear is that you will have a spelling/grammar mistake or something. That can happen, however it isn’t the end of the world. The second thing is that someone “publicly” negates what you said in your comment – just for the sake of being a “troll”. I have seen this happen and it really left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt bad for the person that received it and angry at the person that just spewed such negativity. It made for a large debate, but not about the subject, so I don’t call that constructive engagement. Personally, I think you have to put your “courage” hat on and start engaging. What do you think?
Lisa, thanks for your comments. YES I do think you have to be willing to
put yourself out into discussions and remember engaging is simply like
having a conversation as if you were in the same room. Sure I think
some people may feel inadequate or skeptical of their contribution, but
everything we speak isn’t perfect – the idea really is to get involved
and be seen as someone who reads and cares enough to make a comment
& engage their fellow readers in what can be a great discussion.