About the author and how to connect with Nick Strong
Use the following link to connect with Nick - . If after reading this article you would like to connect with Nick, you can do so via his LinkedIn account. Nick is a lead thinker in the area of franchising and social media. He will be pleased to assist you in your journey in franchising.
So how can social media be used to support what may be called traditional or channel marketing?
Following on from Part 1, lets explore some traditional forms for channel marketing and suggest how we might integrate social media use to drive improved results.
Action points when using direct mail lists
- From the mailing list itself, search and find people on the list in your chosen social media platform
- Invite the ones you find to connect and mention why that may be useful to them
- When they have connected send them a private “thank you” message
- Suggest that they follow your business page and say why it may be of use to them
- Share useful insight regularly to your social media business page(s)
- Send out your direct mail campaign(s)
- Follow up with phone calls and private messaging
In this way you engage multiple times and one activity supports the other. Through your social media posting you can go into granular depth about aspects of your product and service that will be too involved to cover in advertising. In this way you may build trust and knowledge about your brand and offerings in areas of values, pricing, quality etc. This helps to provide understanding and overcomes objections. By the time the call comes in the customer can be significantly progressed in their decision to buy from your business.
Action points from networking
When we network it’s common practise to exchange business cards. Make the most of these by bringing social media engagement into the follow up mix. We may:
- Attend networking events (online or face-to-face)
- Meet new and known contacts
- Exchange business cards
- Ask if they use social media for business and which platform they prefer
- Take your phone out and ask if you can connect there and then
- Search for the contact’s name and send your connection request
- Also mention your business page and that you will invite them to follow it and why it is useful for them based on what they have told you about their interests
- Ask for permission to add the contact to your direct mail list and say why that will be useful for them
- Include in direct mail campaigns where permission is granted
- Share useful insight regularly to your social media business page
- Send out your direct mail campaign
- Follow up with phone calls and private messaging in social media
By layering connection and communication with permission and clear understanding as to why you are doing this and the benefits to each person, you can significantly increase contact, trust and sales.
Complimenting Advertising
When you use advertising, online and print it’s worth remembering to:
- Include your social media profile and or business page
- Invite people to connect in the article and say what you’ll do for them when they do · Use a link shortener and click tracking service such as bit.ly as this will show you how many people used the link from the advert to connect with you
- Accept the connection requests as they come in and ask them about themselves. When you know more about them and their plans you can better offer your services or refer them on
- Send sales messages that are relevant and useful to the contact by direct messaging through the social media channel you are using to connect
Look out for part 3 to find out how social media can compliment your website, blog writing and enhance your whole business network.
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For your free demo please:
Email nick@socialhandler.online or call 023 8027 5710