The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
The biggest problem I see with Social Media is that most try to do it alone. Let's face it: the Lone Ranger ain't very social. Yes, I have said this before (many times), but if you are the most strident voice for your product or service: you're doing it wrong. In fact, I bet that most of you are frustrated when it comes to seeing how your efforts seem to have little to no effect on your bottom line.
Many will bristle at the concept that they might be doing something wrong and that's OK. The statement is designed to raise your eyebrows a bit and I hope it worked. After all, you are more likely to seek out a doctor only when you detect a problem. If you have read this far and still haven't felt the need to throttle me, perhaps you are finally admitting that things aren't working out like you were hoping. Spending all that time posting on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and even ScubaBoard does not automatically turn into divers coming through your door. In fact, you might even be running a few of them off. Jinkies!
There are lots of things to do to get your Social Media presence up to snuff. Fortunately, none of them are hard individually, though they might seem to be a bit onerous collectively. My suggestion for your first task is as fun as it is easy: get social and stop trying to do it by yourself.
Let others paint your fence. Let's take a lesson from Huck Finn here. When he had a rather large onerous job to do, he got others to do it for him and they loved him for it! Lets consider how and why this works in social media.
Start by recruiting advocates. An advocate is anyone who likes you and is willing to share that. The best way to recruit them is by providing superior service and experiences. People love to share how much fun they are having because they want to be envied. Who can blame them? Your first job is to figure who these natural advocates are and engage them. Befriend them and encourage them to share their fun. After all, everyone expects you to love yourself: you're biased. However, the impression for most is that your advocates aren't so biased. They don't have a pecuniary interest in your business and that's what people really key off of.
Be Thankful. Be sure to thank them PUBLICLY when they do talk about you. Why? First, it's good manners as well as good service. Your graciousness should be second to none. Second, it gives your potential customers a link straight to YOU. Best of all, you aren't actively asking for people to come join you, so you aren't seen as a spammer. Clint has already shared the mechanism for finding out who is talking about you, but don't feel bashful in asking a potential advocate to notify you if they discuss their experience. How you do this can be a bit tricky if you appear to be doing it underhandedly. So be upfront and honest from the get-go. Ask them to help you out! They will feel almost like a part of your staff, and you don't even have to pay them.
Have Fun. You can also run a "best post" contest. Put it in your monthly newsletter or sign at the shop. Make sure that they know that they have to send you the link in order to participate. Prizes can be anything from a hat to a dive trip. Make it recurring and watch your legion of advocates grow! Again, don't forget to thank them publicly. That encourages them and others to share their experiences. I just can't stress this enough.
Anyone else have some ideas on how to get others to paint your fence? Please share!
Many will bristle at the concept that they might be doing something wrong and that's OK. The statement is designed to raise your eyebrows a bit and I hope it worked. After all, you are more likely to seek out a doctor only when you detect a problem. If you have read this far and still haven't felt the need to throttle me, perhaps you are finally admitting that things aren't working out like you were hoping. Spending all that time posting on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and even ScubaBoard does not automatically turn into divers coming through your door. In fact, you might even be running a few of them off. Jinkies!
There are lots of things to do to get your Social Media presence up to snuff. Fortunately, none of them are hard individually, though they might seem to be a bit onerous collectively. My suggestion for your first task is as fun as it is easy: get social and stop trying to do it by yourself.
Let others paint your fence. Let's take a lesson from Huck Finn here. When he had a rather large onerous job to do, he got others to do it for him and they loved him for it! Lets consider how and why this works in social media.
Start by recruiting advocates. An advocate is anyone who likes you and is willing to share that. The best way to recruit them is by providing superior service and experiences. People love to share how much fun they are having because they want to be envied. Who can blame them? Your first job is to figure who these natural advocates are and engage them. Befriend them and encourage them to share their fun. After all, everyone expects you to love yourself: you're biased. However, the impression for most is that your advocates aren't so biased. They don't have a pecuniary interest in your business and that's what people really key off of.
Be Thankful. Be sure to thank them PUBLICLY when they do talk about you. Why? First, it's good manners as well as good service. Your graciousness should be second to none. Second, it gives your potential customers a link straight to YOU. Best of all, you aren't actively asking for people to come join you, so you aren't seen as a spammer. Clint has already shared the mechanism for finding out who is talking about you, but don't feel bashful in asking a potential advocate to notify you if they discuss their experience. How you do this can be a bit tricky if you appear to be doing it underhandedly. So be upfront and honest from the get-go. Ask them to help you out! They will feel almost like a part of your staff, and you don't even have to pay them.
Have Fun. You can also run a "best post" contest. Put it in your monthly newsletter or sign at the shop. Make sure that they know that they have to send you the link in order to participate. Prizes can be anything from a hat to a dive trip. Make it recurring and watch your legion of advocates grow! Again, don't forget to thank them publicly. That encourages them and others to share their experiences. I just can't stress this enough.
Anyone else have some ideas on how to get others to paint your fence? Please share!
