How To Gain Social Media Success

Stand Out From The Crowd

There’s a lot of noise out there. Even when you have an amazing message to share with the world, it can be difficult to make sure it’s heard. When everyone is yelling through a microphone, it’s hard to even hear the messages you want to receive.

So, is there a way you can set yourself apart from the noise? The simple answer is yes. By isolating your target audience, you can make sure that your unique voice is heard.

You may not like the advice but the best thing you can do is to stop broadcasting. Everyone is broadcasting and unless you have a million followers, and I mean a literal million, you will never be able to broadcast louder than the crowd.

The only way you can make sure your message is received is to have real one-on-one conversations. What most people miss is that social media sites are more one-to-one platforms than they are broadcast platforms.

But, how can that be when you see someone like Gary Vaynerchuk post on Instagram and suddenly get a thousand likes? He’s the perfect example that overnight successes take years to achieve.

When Gary V started out, he was putting in the hustle to have conversations with people. He had his channel about wine but those videos were jumping off points for conversations with his viewers. These conversations are what lead to his massive success with creating a loyal following.

Actually, he continues that same strategy to this day. Anyone can reach out to Gary V by text through his public cell number. Go ahead, send a text to 212–931–5731 and see what his response is like. Even if you don’t think it’s him, which I think it is, you can have a full conversation.

It Doesn’t Work Anymore

For the longest time in internet marketing, the focus was always on conversions. What percentage of our website traffic converts to leads? Out of those leads, how many convert to sales. Even Google fell prey to this mindset when they tweaked the shade of their logo to see which one produced more conversions.

I remember talking to clients in the past about the strategies we were developing for them. I always explained that their website is like a 24/7 salesperson. We would create their customer avatar, a generic representation of what their perfect customer looked like. Then, we created content as if we were speaking to them directly. In fact, I used to say we wanted readers to feel like we were talking to them specifically.

It’s a good thought. And, for the most part, it worked. But, what could be even better than making people feel like they were having a conversation? Actually HAVING a conversation.

Talk!

At this point, you might think that’s a crazy idea. How do you justify spending that much time reaching out to potential customers? After all, almost everyone has experience accepting a new connection on LinkedIn and immediately receiving a message about how they can “help.” So why bother with such a useless tactic?

The difference is we’re not sending individual sales pitches to our followers or connections. We want to engage in actual conversation with them. And how do you do that? Just as if we were meeting them in person, we start by asking questions. Questions around what they’re interested in.

Asking people about things that interest them is incredibly effective. Here’s what happens when striking up a genuine conversation with someone. They become engaged. They start caring about what you think and become receptive to your ideas.

Further, you begin to learn about them personally. What motivates them? What fears or obstacles do they face? In what ways can you help them?

Does this take extra time? Absolutely. Is it worth it? I guarantee it.

Work Smart AND Harder

We become so focused on results that we end up passing over dollars to grab pennies. Would you rather have 100 customers who each pay you a dollar or would you rather have 1 customer paying you $100?

You get the same value from each scenario but, which customer base do you think is easier to manage? The one with 100 customers or the one with 1? Being in customer service, I can tell you I want the smaller one.

Here’s what I want you to try. Take a break from trying to turn 1,000 website views to 100 leads, to 10 customers. Think about five to ten people that you would love to be your customer. Then, reach out and talk to them about their favorite topic. Themselves.

Keegan Divant

Millennials are changing the way we work and companies that embrace them will outperform their competition.