By Steve Phillip managing director, Linked2Success
Many businesses have moved no further forward than Stone Age man when it comes to how they market their services. It’s not the tool that will make the difference, it’s how you apply that tool that will ultimately count.
after tweet, post after post, blog after blog - we all attempt to grab attention from the masses, hoping against hope that this will be the week where our words of wisdom will hit the stratosphere with an unprecedented level of engagement.
But how often do you engage and comment on other people’s posts and if you do, is the proportion of your engagement with others even remotely close to the level of information you post yourself?
Are you someone who secretly checks your smart phone and laptop device daily - or even by the minute - as you keep score of the views, likes, comments and shares, which you measure your social media success against?
Let’s examine a traditional business model. For many years I worked as a manager in the automotive industry. Our main method of reaching new customers was by advertising in the local newspapers. We’d craft a carefully worded advert, including images of the cars for sale and pay hundreds of pounds to have our advert land on the coffee tables and work stations of people who lived and worked in the area. We knew full well that most of those who bought that newspaper would have zero interest in our advert and many would not even be contemplating purchasing a car. Yet still we carried on because we didn’t know a better way.
Broadcasting raises your profile
Posting content on social media is called ‘broadcasting’. Broadcasting has its place and it will keep you in the public eye, but it’s not until you start to have conversations that you will truly begin to see results.
A few weeks ago, someone who attended one of my training workshops four years ago commented on one of my blogs. I thanked her and remarked on how long it had been since we had last met.
This conversation led to her explaining about some changes occurring in her company, which led to a conference call this week with her MD and a proposal for my services being requested. Just one of many examples, where conversation has led to business - the original post simply opened the door.
LinkedIn groups are an ideal place for you to have conversations with professionals who need your payroll services. Just search for them using key words that relate to your clients services.
Be aware that LinkedIn has just announced some significant changes to the way in which groups are managed. Although some aspects of these changes have not been altogether accepted by LinkedIn members, they are aimed at increasing the level of discussion taking place in groups.
The introduction too of the new LinkedIn group app for mobile is also going to make engagement with groups in discussions much easier.
No one likes the serial networker, who barges into your group, only to proceed to tell you about how great their services are.
My mother always said: “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason”. If you listen more and then engage rather than simply shouting your message from the roof tops, perhaps in doing so, others will listen to you more attentively and then you might see your views, likes, comments and shares increase, but more importantly, you might just receive more enquiries for the services you provide.
Steve Phillip is managing director of Linked2Success Limited. Since 2009, he has helped hundreds of professionals around the UK and in Europe, such as FedEx, The EDHEC Business School and many universities and professional service businesses to raise their online profiles and generate hundreds of new client opportunities, using tools such as LinkedIn and other social media.
By Steve Phillip managing director, Linked2Success
Many businesses have moved no further forward than Stone Age man when it comes to how they market their services. It’s not the tool that will make the difference, it’s how you apply that tool that will ultimately count.
after tweet, post after post, blog after blog - we all attempt to grab attention from the masses, hoping against hope that this will be the week where our words of wisdom will hit the stratosphere with an unprecedented level of engagement.
But how often do you engage and comment on other people’s posts and if you do, is the proportion of your engagement with others even remotely close to the level of information you post yourself?
Are you someone who secretly checks your smart phone and laptop device daily - or even by the minute - as you keep score of the views, likes, comments and shares, which you measure your social media success against?
Let’s examine a traditional business model. For many years I worked as a manager in the automotive industry. Our main method of reaching new customers was by advertising in the local newspapers. We’d craft a carefully worded advert, including images of the cars for sale and pay hundreds of pounds to have our advert land on the coffee tables and work stations of people who lived and worked in the area. We knew full well that most of those who bought that newspaper would have zero interest in our advert and many would not even be contemplating purchasing a car. Yet still we carried on because we didn’t know a better way.
Broadcasting raises your profile
Posting content on social media is called ‘broadcasting’. Broadcasting has its place and it will keep you in the public eye, but it’s not until you start to have conversations that you will truly begin to see results.
A few weeks ago, someone who attended one of my training workshops four years ago commented on one of my blogs. I thanked her and remarked on how long it had been since we had last met.
This conversation led to her explaining about some changes occurring in her company, which led to a conference call this week with her MD and a proposal for my services being requested. Just one of many examples, where conversation has led to business - the original post simply opened the door.
LinkedIn groups are an ideal place for you to have conversations with professionals who need your payroll services. Just search for them using key words that relate to your clients services.
Be aware that LinkedIn has just announced some significant changes to the way in which groups are managed. Although some aspects of these changes have not been altogether accepted by LinkedIn members, they are aimed at increasing the level of discussion taking place in groups.
The introduction too of the new LinkedIn group app for mobile is also going to make engagement with groups in discussions much easier.
No one likes the serial networker, who barges into your group, only to proceed to tell you about how great their services are.
My mother always said: “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason”. If you listen more and then engage rather than simply shouting your message from the roof tops, perhaps in doing so, others will listen to you more attentively and then you might see your views, likes, comments and shares increase, but more importantly, you might just receive more enquiries for the services you provide.
Steve Phillip is managing director of Linked2Success Limited. Since 2009, he has helped hundreds of professionals around the UK and in Europe, such as FedEx, The EDHEC Business School and many universities and professional service businesses to raise their online profiles and generate hundreds of new client opportunities, using tools such as LinkedIn and other social media.
