THE 15 MINUTE MARKETER: “The 7 Building Blocks That Make Social Networking Work”
by Nancy Gerber
We all know (or need to!) that marketing is really
just another word for community building. Once you get
very clear on who’s in your tribe (your target
market), the critical first step to growing a group of
loyal followers who buy from and recommend you is to
find them and get their attention.
The current hot zone for finding and attracting
customers is Social Networking. For some entrepreneurs
(including baby boomer me), this represents another
new skill set we need to learn, and an additional and
potentially time-sucking activity to add into our mix.
We know it’s important, and see the great results
others are getting. Yet, we continue either to put it
off or do it halfheartedly because we’re just not
clear about how to approach it in a way that will
maximize our efforts most efficiently.
In a recent conversation with my long-time friend, PR
expert Debra Dixon (www.lightofgoldpr.com), I learned
that there are seven essential building blocks to
getting started in and getting the most leverage out
of the Social Networking universe. Paying attention
to these basics will insure a tangible and satisfying
ROI (return on investment) for our efforts.
1. Have your on-line foundation in place before you
begin. At minimum, you need to have a web site – or
at least a page – as a home base to which you can send
folks who respond to your Social Networking
activities. Make sure you offer them a free taste of
you and your work so you can capture their contact
information. If you have several sites or different
types of products or services, decide on your
priority. PICK ONE and focus your efforts there.
2. Be deliberate and realistic about how much time you
can and will spend on-line in Social Networking
activities. Decide on a schedule that is do-able and
fits your calendar, and stick to it. Consistency is
more important than frequency. Debbie suggests about
an hour minimum per week per site once you have
completed the set up activities. That can easily be
split up into smaller segments if you work better that
way.
3. Get up and running on and maximize one Social
Networking site before moving on to the next. Use
your first site to create templates (see below).
4. Create a Master file / template of your profile
information from your first Social Networking site in
a Word document so your brand will be consistent and
congruent on all of your sites. Use the same photos,
language, logos, etc. as a foundation. Cut and paste,
and then tweak as appropriate for each additional
site.
5. Think of groups on Social Networking sites in the
same way as you do in-person networking groups. Find
relevant groups to connect with – a maximum of 2 to 3.
Be an active participant; join the conversation and be
willing to give as well as receive. Include links to
your blog, web site, etc. as appropriate. Within 4-6
weeks you’ll be able to tell if your investment of
time and effort is yielding results.
6. Schedule separate follow up time weekly for the
contacts you make while on-line. If you have a follow
up system already in place, adapt it for this purpose.
If not — create one. No sense getting all of this set
up and rolling if you don’t have a plan in place for
staying connected and adding interested people into
your marketing funnel.
7. It’s not necessary to upgrade from free to fee for
enhancements unless you’re spending most of your time
on one site only or on that site much more often. It’s
hard to justify paying when there are so many Social
Networking sites that are free.
Now it’s up to you. Where are you right now? Which
building blocks need attention? Which days and times
every week will you dedicate to this vital marketing
activity? What’s your first – or next – Social
Networking site that you’ll be working on? How will
you hold yourself accountable for keeping these
commitments?
Copyright 2009 by Nancy Birnbaum-Gerber
