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Think of it like you are selling your home
Let’s assume you subscribe to the theory that having a profile on a social media platform for your business is the same as owning real estate for the same purpose. Let’s then go a step further and draw a comparison between selling your property and selling your products/ services on social media. To successfully do either one of these the following three keys are important in both scenarios:
Maintenance
When selling your property the up-keep of the house/ building is naturally the first thing a potential buyer will notice, having a cracked tile in the bathroom for example might not seem like a problem to you but, it could be the very thing that turns a hot lead (potential buyer) into a cold one.
The same can be said about a social media profile/ page, if a potential customer visits your page and notices that your last update was in 2012 for example, alarm bells start ringing in their minds and questions like “Are they still in business?” start being asked. Another example is when the same potential customer visits your page for the first time, is interested in one of your products/ services, clicks on the link, only to find out that the link is broken or the page no longer exists. Once again alarm bells start ringing and your business’s reputation has taken an immediate knock.
Keeping things fresh on social media is a must, not only will it increase the chances of your posts being seen by your fans but it also gives the right impression to your potential customer.
Timing
Whether you are trying to sell your home or sell your product/ service online, timing is everything. You could have the best kept home/ social media profile around but, if you aren't attracting the buyers no one is going to buy, it’s that simple.
You wouldn't have an open day and invite potential buyers to your home during working hours would you? No, you would arrange the open day when you are sure that a lot of people would be able to view your property.
The same can be said about social media, choosing the best time to launch your blog, update your status or send out a new tweet is important in ensuring that your target audience will be around to consume your new content. Planning is key; if you do not you will be running the risk of your content becoming lost in the crowd.
Engagement
Picture this, you are at your open house day that you have arranged and there are a lot of people that have arrived. A few of these have noticed your well maintained home and have approached you to make an offer on buying it. But after all the effort you have gone through to get them there, when they walk up to you and introduce themselves… you turn your back and walk away.
Conversations or engagement is fundamental and the principal remains the same on social media, you have ensured that your page/ profiles are kept up-to-date and you have timed your posts to perfection. You have successfully attracted a lot of potential clients to your page and they have expressed their interest by commenting on your post/ tweet. But once again, after all the effort you have gone through to get them there, when they engage with you, you do nothing. In both scenarios you have lost a client have you not? We’ll say it again, engagement is fundamental.
As the person responsible for your company’s social media accounts you should always keep an eye out for activity on your platforms and if someone should comment, your priority should be to acknowledge the person and start a conversation. By doing this, you are showing the interested party that client relationships are important to you and so is customer service. If you do this, the likelihood of that person becoming a customer of yours has all of a sudden increased hasn't it?
By taking these three key principals which are used by estate agents to market and sell property and by applying them to your social media strategy you would have created an easy to follow, three step plan on how to go about turning your social media profiles into hot property!
