Social Media Overload! | TalentZoo.com

October 31, 2012

Social Media Overload!

By: Mark Hofmaier

Tweets, fan pages, LinkedIn, groups, Pinterest, Slideshare, blog, links, marketing tools, Google AdWords…phew. Anyone overwhelmed?

Hey, I’m just a service provider, you say. Just a simple consultant who helps small businesses or entrepreneurs perform better, make more money, reach more customers, improve their outreach and marketing efforts — do I need all this?

Well, true, (almost) no one uses the Yellow Pages anymore, and (almost) everyone looking for something goes online. So the simple answer is: in a word, yes, you do. BUT, the key is to use that which does what you want it to do; and the key to that is knowing what you want!

There is no shortage of marketing help out there, some of it free in the form of articles, blogs (yes), e-books, white papers (what the heck are those?), e-zines, and newsletters; and some of it in the hands of enterprising young companies that will write your articles, post your blogs, and utilize the social media FOR YOU at a cost, that must be weighed against its anticipated effectiveness in achieving your goals.

First: Determine who your target market is. Whom are you trying to reach? Who is your ideal customer?

Second: What are their needs? What service or product do you deliver that solves them?

Third: What content can you put forth, on a regular basis, that will interest, intrigue, and inform a potential customer to inspire or motivate him/her to reach out and contact you?

Look, absolutely, the market is glutted with information, re-cycled and original. What is unique about you, your product or service that can catch the imagination of even the most skeptical and savvy consumer? There's more than one of you out there, so what's going to make your reader and potential customer sit up and take notice?

Do you promote out-of-the-box thinking? What creative solutions to a consumer problem do you offer? Do you offer teleseminars or webinars for free that potential customers can participate in to get a better idea of what you do? Invent a situation — describe it in the most descriptive, articulate manner you can. Then offer a few hypothetical solutions to it. Take your reader on a journey; describe how they can solve a complex issue by utilizing the methods you put forth. Show them; demonstrate how by using your product or service they can find relief, alleviate the "pain" of what's prompting them to seek advice or training in the first place. Take a poll: invite your reader to take part in the active process of solution finding. Engage, give examples, describe short relevant scenarios, then give your answer(s).

And always, give a call to action. Let them know what to do next, how to do it, and by when. Also, using social media is a great way to facilitate a call-to-action. Events can be tweeted or posted in most media simply and in bullet pointed formats that tell immediately what the purpose of and call to action is of any event. Don't forget the power of video, too! If you can show it, rather than tell it, show it with pictures, or at least tell them "in person" — there's such a glut of information now that consumers are more likely to click a video blog than read one.

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About the Author
Mark Hofmaier

Mark Hofmaier is a certified professional business coach; his designated moniker is "Sales Performance Coach" — we're all in sales one way or another, and effective salespersons need good "presentation", or performance! He has a background as a retail sales trainer, and performer, on stage and doing voice-overs. Mark started as a corporate trainer teaching executives and upper level managers presentation and communication skills. He can be found at http://www.markhofmaier.com or on LinkedIn, f/b and Twitter.