Why you need Social Media

January 19th, 2012 by

I wrote this article on my own blog and thought it was worth sharing here.  I get asked what the importance of social media is and why any time should be invested in it.  The article below addresses both of those questions.

Why do I need Social Media?

As Jeffery Gitomer says – social media is the new cold call!  We are all in business to make money and unless you have enough money to hire a sales person, you are in sales. We all know the traditional way of the cold call – door to door, business to business, pounding the pavement, dialing for dollars.

I have three questions for you:
  • How much time do you spend on doing that?
  • What is the effectiveness of your efforts?
  • Do you enjoy it?
First of all of you answered yes to the last question, I might just put you into my crazy pile. I have yet to meet a single person that actually enjoys walking door to door looking for business (when they finally get honest). If you’re in my crazy pile, it’s ok we all need a little crazy sometimes, and I commend you! You would be one of the few that enjoys the traditional cold call and that actually deserves some kudos.  For the rest of us though, hate is a pretty strong word but we might want to place cold calling into that category.  Social media takes the scary out of the cold call.  It gives our potential customers and vertical market partners the ability to find us and connect with us. It gives us the opportunity to get the message out about our business without spending thousands on radio and tv ads.

As Gitomer says people want to buy, but they hate being sold! This does not mean you get on the various sites and sit and wait. Social media is just that – social – so you have to work it. Post daily, provide valuable information, most of all engage your audience.

As I said this is the new cold call and it takes time to nurture and harness the power.  When you cold call you dont get a yes on the first call so why would you expect to immediate return with social media?  It takes time to grow, just as any other prospecting and sales method.

If all of this frightens you there are resources available through Garrison Marketing or throughout your community that can help you through the process.  My only suggestion is that while it may frighten you it is worth taking baby steps into the social media realm.  And remember there is no magic bullet when it comes to sales and marketing, and social media is not a replacement for the sales process!

The articles and comments posted on this site are not necessarily "officially endorsed opinions" of The East Portland Chamber of Commerce.

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