I was walking home from dropping the children at school one morning last week when I saw my builder’s van drive past. This made me think about the fact that I have been vaguely thinking for ages that I should get in touch with him.
In the 15 minutes between then and getting home, I had come up with a whole list of things we needed doing; the dodgy chimney breast to be sorted before next winter’s high winds, a quote for rendering the house I had been wondering about, would he replace fascia boards and could I book him in to sand our floor next time we are away?
Quite a list, and one that will bring him in some good money, and yet he had not done anything to sell to me, no sales call, no special offer. Had I not been reminded that morning, by seeing his van drive past, the list I gave him would have remained jobs still to be done in my head.
To me, this sums up the benefits of social media to a small business. Many businesses do not have a van that drives around their target area, they are home based, or certainly a fixed location. They may meet people at networking, but that is for a few hours a month and adverts cost money, and are clearly selling something.
Social media is a Godsend for these businesses, where they can give out tips, things they know because they are brilliant at what they do, and they can interact with people. Sharing a comment or two with someone you meet once a month at networking, via Twitter or Facebook, will keep you in their mind, whether it is a task or product they need from you, or they hear a friend or acquaintance talking about something they think you could help with.
We all know that we feel better about doing business with someone we feel we know. Enable your customers, and potential customers, to develop this sense of knowing by developing your brand on social media. The clue is in the title – ‘social’ media isn’t about listing what work you do, but allowing customers to develop a relationship with you and getting to know you and what you stand for.
Here at Pink Spaghetti we share lots of hints and tips on maximising the power of social media and indeed manage social media interactions and campaigns for many of our clients.
Give us a call, send us a Tweet, post on our Facebook page or find us on LinkedIn…we’re very sociable you know!
twitter.com/pink_spaghetti
facebook.com/pinkspaghetti
linkedin.com/pinkspaghetti
