Photo by nelsonrico via Flickr
Recently someone asked a great question on Facebook in response to my post about social media professionals.
The comment:
But what do we hire you for then? 🙂 I liked your article a lot- since coming to facebook I’ve added some business friends that are doing exactly what you write about. I don’t know how you’d measure the impact on their actual business but facebook definitely is allowing them an interesting new relationship with customers. See Jane Run posts about her runs, quotes, and poses great questions- she probably got 20+ responses to what’s your power song yeterday/ Mamamour gives you a running photo log of her handmade products as they are completed and mailed. I don’t know if this contact actually increases sales, but I think the connection definitely increases the perceived value of their products by making the companies “real.”
My point in writing the previous post was to highlight that businesses should not just jump on the social media bandwagon just to do something new. The point of using social media as a tool is to connect and converse with your clients and customers.
If business is all about cultivating quality relationships and “marketing” is the conversation that adds value to those relationships, then social media is simply a tool that allows easier conversations.
I help local businesses have better conversations
Using some very simple processes, I’m allowing the businesses the freedom to engage in real and genuine conversations. BUT, I don’t have the conversations for them. That’s a crucial difference.
So whether it’s a new website, integrating social media, setting up a mobile presence, or designing the entire conversation process, there are several ways I can help these business reach more people and connect more deeply. The actual conversations or connections need to be done by the owner.
But what about measurment
As for how it’s measured, that’s a great question that many businesses have a hard time with. This is why local business owners need to understand the conversation process.
If they initiate a conversation with a client, then what happens? What’s the goal of the conversation, of the relationship, for both parties? How does your conversation lead to the customer’s next interaction with your company? If any business owner doesn’t answer these, they will always have a difficult time tracking the effectiveness of their efforts.
Business is going back to the way it used to be
We are more connected, more concerned with relationships and being treated as people and not transactions. I help business owners come to terms with this and rediscover the joy of running and marketing their business.
