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I reckon the story for pretty much every single small business using social media goes like this.
You have an idea and tell your friends and family that you’re starting your own business. They tell you that if you want to make sales you need to be online and get on social media. What they mean is that they think you should be on a platform like Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.
And it sounds so easy. It’s free. You can do it yourself. All you need to do is put out some posts telling people about what you have to offer and the sales will start rolling in. It makes sense. You know that you have a great offer so if more people knew about it they’d leap at the chance to buy!
So you sign up for an account and start putting out posts. Every single one tells people to buy your product but you don’t seem to be making any extra sales. What’s gone wrong?
The rules of social media
If the above scenario describes you then you’re missing two key things:
1. People buy from people and
2. You need to be social on social media.
Let’s be clear showing that you’re a person on social media does not mean that you have to become an influencer or post intimate details of your daily life online. That said when you share your face and parts of your life online you are making your business more than a business. You’re showing that there’s a real person behind it with values who is doing more than wanting to get their hands on your money. But that’s not the whole meaning of ‘people buy from people’ and it ties in with the need to be sociable on social media.
Think about going on a date
Let’s have another story to show what I mean. You’re planning on going on a date and hoping that you’ll be able to get to know your date more intimately! So you pull up your car next to someone you’ve never met before and suggest they hop in. You then tell them to get their kit off and are surprised when they don’t!
Now, you’re not going to do that and none of your friends or family would suggest that you do. If you’re planning on going on a date, you’ll have connected with the person in advance. Maybe you work with them, or know from a social group or got chatting in a queue at the supermarket. They’re interested in getting to know you better. When you do go out you’ll have a two way conversation where you’ll address them by their name, compliment their appearance and ask about their day and their interests.
