How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside Down
Shane Gibson APDF Webinar
How clients source partners has changed. Traditional sales and marketing was all about isolating the consumer/decision maker. Today, the consumer really owns the brand. “There are no marketing gurus; there are simply consumers with megaphones.” This social media dialogue creates the brand, versus us creating and pushing our brand out.
Want to get involved in social media? You need a solid goal to be where your customers are at and you need to take a proactive role in the development of your brand on-line. In order to profit from social media, you have to be highly proactive and position yourself as a thought leader. And, you need to listen.
Social media is more about listening and dialogue than it is about broadcasting.
LISTENING TOOLS
It’s just not about broadcasting. You have to listen. Listen about you, about your clients, about your potential clients, about your competitors. And, some of the best tools are free.
• http://Blogsearch.google.com
REVERSE DRIP
You need to take a new approach to business development. Once you secure a lead, follow-up with an e-mail, forward a white paper, invite them to function or event. Your main goal: add value every time. With social media, the future customer you don’t know sees what you are doing and how you are positioned. If you’re doing it right, your potential clients already know a lot about you and feel that they already have a relationship with you. This is a complete reverse in the marketing process. The potential client determines how they are going to find out about you. If you develop the right messages and channels, an environment and faith is already built, and you’re not starting at zero when you first meet your prospective client.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Remember that you don’t “own” your lists on Twitter, Linked-In and Facebook. Your home base still needs to be your Blog or your Website, so you can collect your potential list of clients. Then, use the rest of the tools. Determine the tools that are best for you and your firm based on your target market: blogging, podcasts, Twitter, Linked-In, Facebook, YouTube, Meetup. It’s also important to understand that there are different types of learners and there are varying levels of engagement. By using a mix, you will appeal to more.
Tomorrow: 12 Steps for your Social Media Launch Plan and 10 Twitter Tips from Shane’s APDF Webinar.
APDF Members can access Shane’s presentation in the Members Only Archived Presentation section.
Shane Gibson is a sales performance and marketing specialist, and co-author of Sociable!, a new book on profiting from social media. You can reach Shane’s resources through:
- www.SociableBook.com for events, book release information and free downloads
- www.ClosingBigger.net Shane Gibson’s social media and sales blog
Cathy Brownlee
Executive Director, APDF
Popularity: 97% [?]
nice ste