Don't use social media for promotion if you dislike communicating with others
Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, April 4, 2016
There is clearly an enormous amount of confusion about what social media actually is. A lot of people in business have heard about it and that it can be an effective promotional method. It is all the rage these days of course. So they're keen to get into it.
But a significant percentage of them tend to see it as just another advertising platform. Yes you can place ads on social media, and you should. But ultimately it's for developing relationships through conversation and sharing of content. As the name makes clear, it's social.
But the "sell, sell, sell!" mindset persists. So there are many people get into it who don't want to actually converse with anyone. They just want them to see their ads in the belief that some are sure to convert into sales.
I've had several conversations with people who called regarding the lessons I offer who had this view. And I tried to explain to them that you shouldn't see it this way. The main thing you want to do is engage with others. I just couldn't even start to communicate this concept to one guy, who was very impatient. His attitude was pretty much: I don't have time to talk to anyone! I just want sales!
I can certainly understand this impatience. And it would be lovely if you could just press a button and the customers come flooding in. But the reality is that people are on Facebook, Twitter etc to socialize. So, to promote something you've got to be mindful of this. You have to find a way to take part in those conversations in a way that doesn't annoy people. It usually takes a while for people to find how to do this. It's a bit different for everyone, after all.
Given that you will have to be in for the long haul, it's crucial that you must sincerely want to communicate and engage with others. If you don't then your activity will seem forced and fake. And you won't enjoy the process anyway. It will be a chore. As with all chores, odds are you'll want to put it off or avoid it entirely.
So my advice to anyone who wants to use social media to market something is this: If you don't want to communicate with other people it's not for you. Don't use it. You'll be wasting your time. Focus on other methods instead.
But a significant percentage of them tend to see it as just another advertising platform. Yes you can place ads on social media, and you should. But ultimately it's for developing relationships through conversation and sharing of content. As the name makes clear, it's social.
But the "sell, sell, sell!" mindset persists. So there are many people get into it who don't want to actually converse with anyone. They just want them to see their ads in the belief that some are sure to convert into sales.
I've had several conversations with people who called regarding the lessons I offer who had this view. And I tried to explain to them that you shouldn't see it this way. The main thing you want to do is engage with others. I just couldn't even start to communicate this concept to one guy, who was very impatient. His attitude was pretty much: I don't have time to talk to anyone! I just want sales!
I can certainly understand this impatience. And it would be lovely if you could just press a button and the customers come flooding in. But the reality is that people are on Facebook, Twitter etc to socialize. So, to promote something you've got to be mindful of this. You have to find a way to take part in those conversations in a way that doesn't annoy people. It usually takes a while for people to find how to do this. It's a bit different for everyone, after all.
Given that you will have to be in for the long haul, it's crucial that you must sincerely want to communicate and engage with others. If you don't then your activity will seem forced and fake. And you won't enjoy the process anyway. It will be a chore. As with all chores, odds are you'll want to put it off or avoid it entirely.
So my advice to anyone who wants to use social media to market something is this: If you don't want to communicate with other people it's not for you. Don't use it. You'll be wasting your time. Focus on other methods instead.
