A couple of days ago, this random guy called my personal cell phone to pitch his services on how he would help me become known as a marketing expert. Do you get such calls, too?
He didn’t have a Facebook page himself. And when I asked him if he knew what we did, he didn’t know.
Most social media gurus hide behind websites that generate no traffic, landing pages that generate no leads, and email lists with no subscribers. But at least this guy had the courage to dial for dollars, so we’ll give him a star for effort.
Are you selling social media services?
Here are the most common mistakes:
• Expecting that you can make a few self-promotional posts and expect the leads to flow in.
You have to establish credibility over the long run, just like you would in person.
• Marketing on Facebook without already having a solid web presence and marketing automation in place.
Facebook marketing is just a social version of email marketing. You have to build a list and a steady stream of content nurturing. If your website and email don’t convert or drive traffic, your social won’t, either.
• Trying to be everything to everyone.
The world of online marketing is so big. Pick a niche. Maybe you are the social media expert for a cosmetic surgeon. Or you’ve got a lot of experience working with musicians. Or you’re a Facebook ads pro.
To try to cover everything, ironically, gets you less business, since you’re competing against the specialists in so many areas.
So here’s what you SHOULD do:
• Celebrate your clients’ successes!
Make it about them, not you. Tell their story with pictures and numbers, not generic “testimonials” or marketing fluff. Make it a “how to” of their journey, like I did with this fitness instructor here.
• Share your best tips freely. Sometimes the best things in life are free. Here is how I actually go about optimizing Facebook ads. Will I lose business from sharing our “secrets”?
No, since anyone who would implement this themselves wouldn’t be a good client (likely wouldn’t pay). And those who appreciate paying for service see that I know what I’m doing.
• Speak in a tone you’d use with friends and colleaguesDon’t be guilty of making breathless promises, like the shady charlatans of social. You’re a business professional, like a doctor in a lab coat, not a circus clown. You’re well-trained and don’t need to pander.
Would you trust a doctor that loudly proclaimed he was a medical guru?
But what if I’m not an established authority in a particular vertical?
Then get more clients in that area. Let’s say you have 3 clients in the outdoor sports category. Get more of them so you can get deeper.
But don’t choose your niche as geographic. In other words, don’t try to be the best Facebook marketer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You’re much stronger to choose the type of business you’re specializing in, lest you suffer from trying to become an expert in every type of business under the sun.
Network with the folks who are most successful. You might find that your “competitors” are actually friends. We refer a ton of business to folks that provide social analytics and Facebook ads. And they do the same for us. We know what we specialize in, so we’re happy to retweet and share their content.
Amplify what’s working and cut what’s not. Jack Welch talked incessantly about being #1 in a category or getting out. And being a number 2 is like taking a number 2. Run page post ads to make sure your great content is being seen. Got a bunch of auto dealerships as clients? When you talk about their success, run ads to target other dealerships who are not clients.
Implement these techniques and you’ll have a steady stream of traffic and leads coming your way. No need to cold call ever again.
