It’s frustrating when you work so hard to write interesting blogs and updates to your social media sites and no one responds by “liking” your Facebook page or retweeting your posts.
The content that you thought should get a bunch of comments and “likes” land with a thud.
Possibly you expected the search engines to send you a bunch of traffic because you optimized the post with all the right key words and it’s a subject that’s been in the news.
So maybe you should ask yourself this question.
Do You Like Other People?
Be honest and ask yourself: “Have I thanked the people who have commented on my posts?” Only you know the answer to that question. How often do you “like” other people’s posts and retweet their content?
In other words, have you built relationships with other bloggers and influencers in your niche? Do you thank people who comment on your posts and respond to each one?
Surprisingly, many bloggers don’t respond to comments. Nor do they think to reciprocate by visiting someone who comments on their blog and leaving a comment on one of their posts.
Eventually, people who subscribe to your blog or visitors who have left comments that went unanswered will soon drop off your radar screen. They won’t “like” you or spread your content. If they’ve bought from you once, they are not likely to buy from you again.
Building Relationships
Danny Iny co-founder of Firepole Marketing, in his new Naked Marketing Manifesto, says, “… marketing is about creating long-term relationships that satisfy both parties over and over again.” He’s right, of course.
Every relationship begins with the first transaction. Let me give you two personal examples.
I recently received an email from a blogger who proposed a guest post for my site. He didn’t say what he would be writing about so I asked him to drop me another note with his ideas.
Instead, a few days later I received a poorly written complete blog post. He ended his cover note with these words, “Expect a response from you.” Huh! Is this how to start a relationship? I think you can guess how I answered.
Loving My Business Cards
Here is an example of how the company that printed my new business cards provided me with exemplary service. My designer recommended that I use printingforless.com. He had used them before and they do excellent work at reasonable prices.
printingforless.com customer service rep
The company is located in Montana and I had a couple of questions about uploading my file so I gave them a call. The phone rep couldn’t have been nicer. She took me through the process and assured me they had received my order.
The next day I received a phone call from the printing department to tell me that the colors I was seeing on my computer screen would not exactly match the cards. They are two different media.
Instead, my cards would print slightly darker and if that wasn’t acceptable I could ask my designer to lighten the color palette. I actually liked the idea of slightly darker cards and told him to go ahead.
Within a couple of days I received my business cards and couldn’t have been happier. The next day, I received a phone call from the company’s customer service rep. How did I like my cards? Was everything OK? That was impressive.
Then, the following week, I received a coffee mug in the mail with a thanks for my business. As you might expect, I’ve recommended the company to a number of colleagues.
Lessons Learned
My experience with the printing company was a tangible demonstration of the power of customer service and a “thank you.” We can all learn from it and apply it to our own businesses. Let’s examine why I had such a good experience:
- You can find what you need. The landing page of their website lists every conceivable printing job you might want to order, alphabetically, on the bottom of the page.
- You can call them. The phone number with an image of a friendly telephone rep is prominently displayed above the fold. The number is repeated in their rotating header. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is on many websites to find a number to call when you want to order something or have a complaint? Too many companies send you to their customer forum, which is like visiting a black hole.
- They discuss your needs. Printingforless.com didn’t simply print my cards, ship them, and then tell me it was my problem the cards printed darker. They called me to discuss what I really wanted.
- They follow up. Within a day of receiving my order, I received a call to be sure I was satisfied and to ask if I had any other printing needs. Good customer service combined with a gentle sales call.
- They say “thank you.” The customer service rep thanked me on the phone but then I received a tangible thank-you when the coffee mug arrived. All this for an order totaling under $100.
How to Be Liked
Danny Iny
The key to being liked is to give more than is expected of you. Another way of saying it is that you have to give to get. This leads to mutually beneficial relationships. As Danny Iny says in his Naked Marketing Manifesto, “Naked Marketing isn’t about one night stands.”
Steps you can take:
- Comment on other bloggers’ posts. Spread the content of your customers, prospects and influencers in your niche. Let them know you have, in case they’re too busy to notice.
- Invite guest posts. Ask your clients to write a post for your blog that will showcase them and their company.
- Make introductions. Connect your clients and friends to people they want to meet and don’t already know. Don’t expect anything in return, although it’s likely they will try to reciprocate.
- Provide extra service. When you’re finished with a client project, give them some extras. Send them tips from time to time to improve their business and don’t charge for it. It will make you feel good and you never know when they might have another project for you.
I began writing this post by giving reasons why it’s possible nobody likes you. It was a play on words, of course, referring to the Facebook “like” button.
The overarching point of this post is that you need to “like” people first. That is, you need to “pay it forward” by giving more than is expected of you – on social media, for friends, and serving clients.
It helps to build lasting relationships, but it’s also the polite thing to do.
What things do you do to be more “likeable”? Please share your stories in the comment box. Thank you.
