As a business development consultant I am deeply concerned about the massive volume of people that believe that social media is the magic bullet that will help them to grow and retain clients. These are the very same folks that have no strategy and no measurement. What they saw was a “free” marketing tool and they decided to throw all of their marketing and sales efforts into the world of social media and hope for the best.
Well I’m hear to tell you that hope doesn’t pay the bills. Without strategy and without a plan for sales pull through, you have NOTHING.
I was happy to see this blog post from Ajax Union, a firm that IS doing it right, and this is a blog post that recently appeared on their site. These are great points and well worth reviewing.
When you use Twitter for business development, there are three things you want to build:
1. Online Reputation
2. Number of Followers
3. Meaningful Relationships with Customers
Here’s How!
Open Up: Why do people use Twitter? To give and to get. People come to Twitter to get the inside scoop, hear breaking news first, and stay in the know. Keep that in mind when tweeting. Share behind-the-scenes photos, tweet about your thoughts, and remember, a little humor is always a smart move.
Don’t Forget the “Get” in “to give and to get.” Don’t neglect your followers’ tweets because you are too busy tweeting yourself. Be sure to monitor any tweet that mentions your company, or even your industry. Do weekly searches to stay up on the chatter about your industry in the Twittersphere.
Ask. Twitter can be a great tool for getting feedback from customers, so don’t be afraid to ask questions. Can’t decide what color to order a new product in? Tweet to your followers and you’ll have your answer.
Tweet Back. If a follower asks you a questions or makes a comment that deserves an answer, be sure to reply.
Offer Incentives. You’ll gain more followers if customers have a good reason to follow you, like freebies, coupon codes or even a heads up about a sale.
Illustrate Your Expertise: Link to relevant articles and tweet facts-of-the-day to prove credibility to your followers.
Use Twitter as a Branding Tool. Develop a Twitter voice that reflects the image you want for your brand.
