Without social media, there would be no Christmas. The sun would not light the earth, and the worms would not dig in the soil.
It's true, business has been done for millenia without even so much as an iphone, let alone all these new-fangled social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and Blogger. It will not be the end of the world if you aren't using these channels to promote your business. But, for the return on investment, I'm going to strongly suggest you consider trying it out.
What is really important to understand is that people like doing business with people they know, like and feel a sense of shared values or affinities with. Business has always been done that way because humans have always operated this way.
What's unique about business in the past 2, or even 50 years, is how much information can be communicated, quickly, to and from any point in the world. We live in HIGH-TECH times, and it's made the pace of life and work just about maddening.
What people crave at any age, not just Millenials and Gen Y on their wacky cell phones, is a sense of connection. We call it High-TOUCH, to balance the High-Tech.
While it's easy to do business with someone we can see and touch and vibe with, it's not as easy to do business with someone 300 or 3000 miles away. However, with social media, I can learn a lot about a person before doing business with them, and this my friend, is why it's so important that you have a social media profile.
Even if you're a local professional and your clients live right up the street, unless they have a good feeling for you, they may not even come down to the office to meet with you in person. Your website may have a picture or two of you, mostly it's full of clip art, and phony models impersonating satisfaction with some semblance of your service work.
What people want to see is YOU! They want to know if you are a cool person, with a face and a name and a personality. Maybe a family, certainly some hobbies and a stance on issues or interests you are passionate about sharing.
You like Italian food? What about water-skiiing with your family on the weekend. How was that trip to Paris? The tabloid and gossip industry is a multi-billion dollar business.
People are curious, they want to know. Give yourself authentically to your prospects and clients on your profiles, and they will do business with you because they see you are like them. So they will like you, and they will like doing business with you.
That's how we work. That's how to work it with social media.
It's pretty simple once you get set up. It's the setting up that can be a challenge.
Let me know if you need any help ;-]
Cheers,
Craig
PS - If you know you need a social media presence and a strategy for attracting clients, then send me an email, or connect with me through the social media profiles I've listed below. We've got entire done for you packages that include a comprehensive strategy session, integration with your blog and CRM lead capture form, and a host of other neat tricks that would take you hours and hours to figure out on your own. Contact me today!
Craig Filek
Your Social Media Maverick
Read Blog: Social Media Maverick Blog
Email Me: CraigFilek(at)gmail
Facebook Me: http://profile.to/craigfilek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CraigFilek
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/craigfilek
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