By Hector Cisneros
Have you ever wondered what the relationship is between face to face networking (aka word of mouth marketing) and social media marketing? Have you noticed all the similarities between these seemingly very different marketing venues? I mean, come on, with word of mouth you’re having a one to one meeting at a coffee shop and with social networking you’re posting current events in your industry, right? How could these two very different venues have any similarities at all? Well, in this series I will cover over three dozen similarities that these marketing systems have in common. It is my hope that once you understand the commonality of these venues, you will start to use them synergistically to gain more followers, prospects and long term loyal customers. In part one of this series, I will cover how these two systems are two sides of the same coin. In part two I will cover how both use the “Secret of Giving” and in part three I will explain how both require proactive engagement for your ultimate success.
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Have you ever wondered what the relationship is between face to face networking (aka word of mouth marketing) and social media marketing? Have you noticed all the similarities between these seemingly very different marketing venues? I mean, come on, with word of mouth you’re having a one to one meeting at a coffee shop and with social networking you’re posting current events in your industry, right? How could these two very different venues have any similarities at all? Well, in this series I will cover over three dozen similarities that these marketing systems have in common. It is my hope that once you understand the commonality of these venues, you will start to use them synergistically to gain more followers, prospects and long term loyal customers. In part one of this series, I will cover how these two systems are two sides of the same coin. In part two I will cover how both use the “Secret of Giving” and in part three I will explain how both require proactive engagement for your ultimate success.
The following dozen bullet
points cover the best practices and secrets that show the direct overlap of
these two venues. Each one provides an explanation of why and how word of mouth
and social networking overlap. Some will be readily apparent, others may
require a different perspective so read each one a couple of times to see if
the light bulb goes on. If you disagree, you will always have a chance at the
end to vent your beliefs. So let’s get started.
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(2) All the rules that apply to Word of Mouth Marketing also
apply to Social Networking (a.k.a., social media marketing). I wrote a couple of articles
worth mentioning here. The first is the “Six Cardinal Rules of Social Media Success”
the second was “Seven Secrets of Social Media Magnets”.
Also the above two articles from item #1, also reinforces what I’m saying here.
They can be found on our blog at “WorkingTheWebtoWin.blogspot.com.”
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(4) No one ever joined a Networking group to be sold to. - They joined to connect with
others, build strategic partnerships, to get help, learn and to get referrals
from others. They often forget that to get
referrals, they need to give
referrals. Social networking is the same thing; except the message moves faster
and is potentially more viral. People joined to get connected, find useful
information, build relationships, and in some instances, to be entertained. Many
businesses join because they want to make sales, get referrals and connect with
other businesses. No business joined to be sold to either! Networking (face to
face or digital) is all about them; not you. They are your referral partners,
clients and prospects. Make them happy to earn your loyalty and trust. The same
is true of social networks. People joined for their own reasons, which has nothing
to do with your reasons.
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(6) For Networking, Influencers are the Key - If you’re posting to your
social nets, provide high quality content that your audience is interested in.
Minimize selling directly to your audience. Engage in fun, indirect selling by
running contests, getting your best customers to provide testimonials, and
engage influencers by helping them with their needs. Share the information that
influences provide. If you’re in a face to face meeting help them with what
they have going on. It won’t be long before they also come back to help you.
(7) Be proactive; help others first. - In both Word of Mouth
and Social Networking, help others first, if you want to be helped. If
you are waiting for others to bring you referrals, you’ll have a long
wait. Be proactive and extend a helping
hand. It doesn’t mean you have to buy their product or service, however, it
does mean that the help you provide them needs to be of “real perceived value”
in the eyes of the person being helped.
If you can provide referrals to a member first, it gets
the Law of Reciprocity in motion and then it’s just a matter of time before it
comes back to you. This is also true for social media. Help others learn the
ropes about using social media. Help them get connected to others. Show them
where free help videos are etc. They’ll become loyal followers, friends and
advocates for your business.
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(9) Networking is about building relationship not selling
products.
- A common myth of networking is that your primary goal of the meeting is to
sell to the businesses attending the meeting. The reality is you're there to
build trust, credibility, forge strong relationships and create strategic
partnerships. Once others trust you, they will buy from you if they need your
product or service. However, having said that, you also need to make it easy
for them to bring you prospects and to buy from you as well. Educating referral
partners and prospect is a skill that cannot be brushed aside.
(10) Prepare in advance who you’d like to network with - When attending a
networking meeting, it’s a good idea to have already decided who your target
market is. I like to target two or three specific categories of businesses when
attending any event. For example, my plan may include meeting a restaurant
owner, a retailer with two stores, and a multi-location chiropractor’s
practice. It makes it much easier to ask for a referral if you know who you’re
looking for. Notice I did not mention I was intending to sell to them. My goal
is to get introduced to them, engage them, and then set up a second meeting
where we can find out if we can mutually benefit each other.
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(12)
We have two ears and one mouth
– The
full use of these two to one ratios will directly affect your networking
success. That’s right “two ears and one mouth”. I first heard Steven Covey say this
in the 1980 I believe, yet most act as if the opposite were true.” Listening is
very important. Without good listening you will miss referral opportunities,
both for giving and receiving them. More importantly, you will miss
opportunities to help others – which in turn won’t come back to help you.
In this article I have provided 12 specific secrets and
best practices that show how word of mouth marketing and social networking and
just two sides of the same marketing coin. The 12 best practices list provides
the reader the top reason why these two venues are directly related. In essence,
it is my belief that word of mouth marketing and social networking are just
analog and digital version of networking. The main difference is the leverage,
additional tools and speed that the internet provides. This in turn amplifies
the word of mouth marketing message.
That’s my opinion. I look forward to hearing
yours.
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Hector
Cisneros is a partner, COO and Social Media Director for the
award-winning, Internet-based marketing
firm, Working the Web to Win, in Jacksonville, FL. You can connect
with him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube. He’s also the
co-host of BlogTalkRadio’s “Working the Web to Win,” where he and Working the Web to
Win’s co-founder, Carl Weiss, make working the web to win simple for every
business. He's a published author of three books, "60 Seconds to Success"(available
at Amazon and B&N), and "Internet
Marketing for the 21st Century," which you can get by filling
out the form above. He’s also the co-author of the new book, “Working The Web to Win,” which is now available on Amazon.com.
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