Remember when you had a boy or girlfriend break up with you and they said, it’s not you, it’s me, well… this is NOT what this is about, because it probably WAS you! LOL Anyways….
Without customers, you just have a hobby
This is about business and in business you have to cater to your customers. Keep this in mind, this isn’t about EVERYONE – but your target market. Also, it isn’t about your business because you may have a fabulous business but if you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business, you have a hobby.
Yea, I don’t drink coffee, but THEY do
I had posted a picture about coffee on my social media and a fellow entrepreneur responded – “Yup. I can always count on you for the coffee quotes. We understand each other.” My response to her was, this is the funny part – I don’t even drink coffee. Yes, I do believe we understand each other and we have connected personally but it went deeper than that. Stay with me here because I have learned with my business it isn’t about what I like.
It’s about what THEY like
What a huge light bulb moment this should be because it’s about what my consumers or followers, in this case, my community likes. It’s not about me, not about my business, it isn’t about what I like to do, to eat or drink, but it’s what THEY like!
Don’t forget though, you need to show personality, your human side (just in case there are any aliens out there) and that can be about what you like to do, your trials and tribulations (not your dirty laundry) but when trying to engage with your community and customers, keep in mind what THEY might like. How can they engage with me about my dog, my kids or my favorite things – by sharing theirs, right?
“I don’t like Facebook”
I’ve come across plenty of business owners who say they aren’t on Facebook, Twitter or whatever because they are technology challenged or don’t like it. Seriously buddy, it isn’t about what you like, it’s your followers, so get over that! If they don’t find you on social, they will find your competitor. Where did that light bulb go? I don’t care if you don’t like it… you want to be found, you need to be there. Sure, you don’t have to be on EVERY social media, but you should be somewhere.
And on that part about being tech challenge, who says that YOU, Mr/Mrs. Business owner has to do the work? That’s what outsourcing is for. Now, you can get back in your bubble and stay off social media, but happy knowing that your business is being accounted for on social media and someone is listening for your brand online.
What are they saying about you?
Whether you are doing your posting or someone is doing it for you, you need to know what is being said about you, your business and your brand on social – or reviews. Troll the social media sites and review sites to see what folks are saying about you. Don’t forget to thank them for the feedback and solve the issues if there are any… but this is getting off topic, however, you get the idea. They (your consumers) will talk about you on social, if you are there or not, don’t you think it is important to be there now?
Bottom line
If you can’t be consistent on social media, get someone who can do it for you or at least get a profile so you can see what is being said about you, IMO. But ideally, you should have a voice for your brand and be on social media unless you are happy not having your business grow. Keep in mind that it isn’t about you, but it’s about your consumers and your target market and to seek out what interests them in order to encourage them to engage with you. BTW, coffee is loved by most, so that’s an easy one to use. You are welcome!
Should you want some help with your social media, contact me and I can help your business by posting for you or teach you how to better serve your brand on social media.
Thanks for reading… share what the best types of posts get engagement for you and your business in the comment boxes below!
~Kristen
Great example of following your target market, Kristen. Although I’m pretty sure YOU are the alien, not liking coffee. Sheesh… 😉 Your point about your competitors being on social media is right on the money as well. Being tech challenged is no excuse. Humor is the biggest one for me. People say they can always rely on me to put a smile on their face.
Thanks Jackie.. I may not always be good at knowing my target, but I definitely get the point about it’s importance, about making sure to draw them in with what’s important to them and being on social media. I love humor too! Thanks!
I love your statement about people who say they don’t like Facebook. I’ll use that! Of course it’s about them, not you and you need to go where they hangout. Great post, Kristen.
Yes, feel free to use that. They don’t have to like it… and it’s not about them, it’s about their customers. LOL thanks!
There are some who don’t like social media but it’s a great to engage and have prospective customers learn about you, Sometimes it takes stepping out of your comfort zone (if you aren’t great with that stuff) or doing something you normally wouldn’t do. Lots of people don’t have a Facebook page because they don’t want people knowing their personal life but the amount of contacts and possibly business you could get is endless. Sometimes you have to do the unexpected to get what you want.
So true Mike, it IS a great opportunity to engage with your clients and prospects. Yea, that’s the funny thing… they don’t have to air their dirty laundry on FB… and don’t even have to make it public, or heck, do anything on there… to create a biz page. It is a huge benefit.. step out of the comfort zone, like you said. Thanks Mike
Thanks for the insight, Kristen! I, too, don’t drink coffee, but find I can share about how I’m so glad I quit before Starbucks was invented! Anyway, I’m finding that people like my inspirational posts and the posts on how to be healthier.
You are welcome Carol. yea, I can’t believe folks pay 5-10 bucks for ONE cup of joe! Crazy.. but hey, their money, right? LOL Yes, folks LOVE inspiration… and I love your healthy stuff too!
Gee, I thought only my mature friends didn;t like being on Facebook. There are some types of businesses that stay with more traditional means of finding customers. At a recent craft fair, many of my neighbors did not have FBpages. They relied on live shows. Told them it was lots of fun and another opportunity to be creatively expressed.
Nope.. not just your “mature” friends Roz! More traditional is another way of saying… they don’t know how or don’t want to be bothered with it. I mean, sure, they can sit at an expo for 8 hours and see 100 folks… you can boost a post and see 1000 for $5 in a day and be outside all day in the sun… seriously? What’s the question? lol
One thing I am still noticing is some of these folks, like your craft fair table neighbors, they still use their personal FB pages because they get more action… tsk tsk.
Love this! You hit the nail on the head here! The coffee example was perfect for this. 🙂 I too have had clients tell me they don’t want to use social media because they don’t care what their clients had for breakfast or that they just took the dog for a walk. I usually point out that their clients are someone else’s prospects and if they aren’t going to meet them where they are – on social media – that they should count on that their competition will be MORE than happy to be there to engage with their clients!
Thanks Lori and you got it… it’s not about what we want, but what they want to see and yea, it can be cumbersome seeing what people eat, but scroll through it!
I just had this conversation with my husband as we are starting to create some new marketing strategies for his mortgage company. He tends to be old school and it is easy for him to say it has worked well for him through the years but as things start to move faster and faster with each year that goes by he is realizing that he may just have to embrace a little more change 🙂
Wow… yes, very true Beth… we need to keep up with the times!
I love this article!!!!! Happy I could be a little inspiration. You know something, I DO love coffee, but I decided to slowly incorporate that into my branding, too 🙂 Mainly on Pinterest as a resource for people with similar attitudes.
This point is a must “it isn’t about what you like, it’s your followers, so get over that”. Small business owners can’t afford to NOT be present on social sites. We all go to google to search for specific restaurants or stores. The sites that come up are what we use to evaluate whether or not we want to take our money there. It’s a must-do in today’s marketing world.
Yes you are Holly… a great little inspiration! 🙂 yea, they really can’t afford to turn away from Social these days, but the catch, they really need to commit to it completely too!
You are so right, Kristen!
Yes, there is an element of playing to your strengths and preferences in business. Obviously, if you hate big crowds, noisy environments and lack of structure, a “mega mixer” chamber party probably isn’t the best fit for your networking efforts.
However, you make a good point of fishing where the fish are. if your clients are on Facebook and you simply refuse to use it — for whatever reason — you are truly leaving money on the table. As you say — find someone to help you do it!
Right Cathy, and the cool thing with social.. is you can be social with whomever you want… you can seek out your target market versus sitting in a fish bowl with all different kinds… find YOUR guppy!
Great tips, I have to admit, I’m not very busy doing reputation management. I do make it a point to respond to comments and stay engaged as quickly as possible.
That’s great that you make the point to engage to all posts/comments. Great job Stacey!
Great post! And so very true, it has to be all about them! My most engaged FB post was about the weather. I created a cartoon that said, Noses are red, Fingers are blue, I’m tired of winter, How about you? Thanks for the great reminder.
Thanks Heather! Awww, that’s great and I did see that. I’m tired of winter too! LOL
I think that is the hardest thing for business owners to figure out is that it is NOT about them. If they don’t go where their potential clients are, they are missing the boat. If you don’t like a platform, suck it up buttercup and learn to like it LOL! Posting on social media is a whole lot easier when you make it fun and not a chore. Thanks for driving the point home of who it is really about: not you!
It is the hardest thing to not fling their sales pitch at them all the time… but also to realize that they need to do certain things to be successful…. and well, it doesn’t have to be done, by them. Thanks!
What you say is sooo true. It is sometimes easy to get caught up in what we want or what we like that we forget that at the end of the day – it’s not about us!! Thank you so much for the reminder.
Thanks Stacey… you are quite welcome! 😉