Guest Blog from Michael Lovas, President of About People

Once upon a time, every marketing message was a pitch – a one-way transmission of a marketing or sales message. Fast forward to 2003 – Myspace.com was launched, then in 2004 came Facebook and LinkedIn.  As we move into the future, more and more social media outlets are being developed.

Why is that important?  Because those sites gave Every Person the ability to publish their own opinions, and those opinions rival “approved” marketing messages in their ability to influence potential buyers.  (So says the Edelman Trust Barometer.)  In other words, social media allows opposing views of those one-way marketing messages.

Today, your home office might release a video or an annual report, and within hours, it could be analyzed, criticized and corrected by thousands of people.  It appears that Every Person has a story to tell or an opinion
about a business experience.  The question for you is – what story would they tell about you?

Let’s look at HOW you can make social media work in your marketing.  Hold on, this might be a wild ride for you.

Key One -
Create an opportunity for a conversation.  If you are not “courting” two-way conversations, you might as well be speaking Latin – communicating in an ancient language.  That’s a fast track to losing any credibility you might have.

Social media opened the door to social media marketing.  It does not replace more traditional forms of marketing.  It is a vital component of your over-all “message strategy.”  If you can’t use it effectively, you pose a threat to your own business.

What does bad social media marketing look like?  It’s a statement or question that is seen as a manipulation, such as:

“If you want to learn how to save 30% on your health insurance, give me a call.”
“How Would You Like To Get Top 10 Google Rankings?”

Recognize that type of question?  Doesn’t it sound like the old style hard-sell? What might effective social media marketing look like?  Look at the next Key.

Key Two -
Ask questions.  In order to make social media marketing work for you, invite people to discuss or share information and opinion.  The simple way to do that is to ask questions.  This allows you to show that you share a
value, and it also gets the other people engaged with you.

For example:

“Can anyone tell me the truth about why health insurance rates are so high?”
“What’s the number one thing that people value?”

I moderate a LinkedIn group called the Psychological Marketing Network. I often title my discussions with questions.  For example:

“Is listening a psychological skill?”
“Behavioral Economics – can you actually use it in your business?”

In the subsequent discussions, I will display that I know what I’m talking about, but I won’t dominate the conversation.  Instead, I want other people (as many as possible) to get involved.  The more people who contribute, the more follow the thread.  That means more people are reading my comments. And, that’s one way I demonstrate my relevance to them.  How do I know what topics to raise?  Look at the next Key.

Key Three -
The best most effective questions tap into the person’s or the group’s psychology.  Consider why anyone would voluntarily get involved in a conversation with you.  It’s because you connected with one of that person’s values.

This is a quick and overly simple description of how to use social media in your marketing.  Let Maribeth know what questions you can think of about how to make social media marketing work for you.

Summary: Key one is to create an opportunity for a conversation. Key two is to ask questions, rather than make statements.  Key three is to base your questions on a value that connects you to the group.