TODAY’S REALITY: Do everything you can to use business social media to build brand, image, reputation, and perceived value with your customers and your business community.
YOUR CHALLENGE: Send messages that your customers perceive as valuable to them. Messages so valuable that they will tell others.
BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA REALITY: It’s not about tweeting; it’s about being re-tweeted. It’s not about finding someone on LinkedIn; it’s about them finding you, and wanting to connect. It’s not about searching out someone on Facebook; it’s about someone finding your business Facebook Page and “liking” it. It’s not about posting a video on YouTube; it’s about someone sending your video to someone else.
“But Jeffrey,” you whine, “How do I know what’s most important or most valuable to MY customers?”
THINK: What will help your customers produce more, profit more, understand what’s brand new in the market, improve morale, improve attitude, and/or improve their life. Then write about it, tweet about it, and post on Facebook about it.
MAJOR CLUE: Many people tweet or post something someone else said. WRONG. It’s not what somebody else says that is meaningful to your position as a person of value in business social media; it’s what you say, what you think, what you have experienced, and what you believe to be true.
MAJOR CLUE: Quote yourself, not Benjamin Franklin. It’s tempting to quote Benjamin Franklin, but it will not build your value in the eyes of your customer.
DO THIS: If you sell toilets, then you have to talk about plumbing. If you sell insurance, then you have to talk about protection, or peace of mind. If you sell clothing, then you have to talk about fit and fashion. If you sell automobiles, then you have to talk about vacations and auto safety. If you sell real estate, then you have to talk about building equity, home repair, and front yard safety.
