Are you ignoring the potential of social networking?
Case Study: A growing litigation finance company sales agent wished to expand her reach into her client base. She was making 100s of calls a week, mailing letters and brochures. She attended conferences. She needed to market with a personal touch.
We started her on the path. Facebook page first, Twitter second. Using Twitterfall (www.twitterfall.com) she started following the people in her universe. In every phone call she made she mentioned she was on twitter and facebook. In three weeks she went from zero to 225 followers, quality followers. She's converted conversations to sales. She's a "New Socialist."
Now, the reality...
Are you or your clients afraid of Social Networking for business? To some it's a security issue. To others, it's a legal minefield. For the IT department, it's a support issue. For the sales manager, it's too personal. But to the salesperson, it's nirvana.
We have to face it. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and the rest...you can't stop it. You can try, but this is the new marketing, the new socialism, and you either learn to control it or it your competition will.
Where to start....
1. Admit that your salespeople will text, Tweet, and Post.
2. Determine what's appropriate and what's not.
3. Follow their tweets and posts, coaching and praising.
4. Lead by announcing that your sales team is available via Social Networking.
Cautions:
The legal issues are still not well defined. Is a Tweet where a salesperson makes a statement to a client binding the company to deliver what's in the tweet?
Some ideas:
How about a corporate Twitter and Facebook client/server that runs through the firm's proxy? This way all outbound and incoming, direct messages could be monitored and intercepted if needed.
In Summary:
Don't go blindly into the social network, plan and act carefully.
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