Treat others as you expect to be treated yourself
It’s one of those pieces of parental advice that always stuck with me
So often with businesses the very thing that they’re looking for could actually come into their life by actually doing the very thing themselves
You might have heard it at BNI as “Givers Gain”, you might have read The Secret and realise that the energy you put out there comes back to you – but how many actually put those principles into action
These are 5 Things That People Expect Others To Do, But Don’t Actually Do Themselves
FOLLOW
This is something I hear in 50% of social media training sessions
“I’m struggling to grow followers on social media, I’ve got a handful of followers but it’s stagnant and hasn’t grown”
And you look and they’re only following 25 people
If you imagine a follow is essentially a tap on the shoulder. It says “Look I’m interested in what you have to say”
When you show interest in people authentically, people tend to show interest in you back and reciprocate with a follow back
Now there are people who will automate the process and that’s easy to spot in a moment, so i’d advise sticking to the very simple rules for following someone
Rule No.1 Is the person you’re following interesting
Rule No.2 Can that person help you?
Rule No.3 Are they someone you can add value to – always add value 1st and sell later
ENGAGE
68% of our tweets are replies or retweets
And our other social networks are the same – we’re engagement 1st
Think about that for a while and think how that compares to your activity online
Social Media by its very nature is a social platform so it makes sense to be social and actually talk to people
How do you expect people to engage with your posts when every posts is a sales message or link to your website and you never actually chat to anyone else
Hello opens up a lot of doors. Showing an interest in others opens even more
If you’d never chatted to anyone in real life you wouldn’t have a job, a family or any friends
What makes social media any different for business?
REVIEWS
If you have a great experience with a local business
Leave a review or testimonial
It’s as simple as that
A business thrives on the feedback of customers
And yet it’s another thing that people expect others to do, but don’t do themselves
The reason a small business in Altrincham such as ours outperforms bigger city centre businesses is that we have 340+ reviews compared to their 10-15 reviews
Reviews Matter. Review Others. Gain Reviews yourself
REFERRALS
I mentioned BNI above and I’m aware that some people absolutely hate BNI – so don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest you have to wake up at 5am to have a breakfast networking meeting at 6.30am
But referrals are important
When you run a business you happen to know lots of other types of businesses
Chances are at the very least you know a graphic designer, web designer, printer, accountant, solictor.
In your home life you might have used a Plumber, Electrician, Window Company, Gardener or Decorator
And you’re reading this blog so you know a really good social media company
Think about when was the last time you recommended someone in your network – was it today? Last week? Last month? Never?
As I said you don’t have to do it at networking meetings. It might be a recommendation request on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn for a service provider
Refer without expecting anything back. But be safe in the knowledge it will come back in the long term
SHOPPING LOCAL / SMALL
It’s false economy when you buy from Vistaprint or fiver.com
A little bit of me dies inside when I see a local business share motivational “Shop Local” messages on social media and I know they’ve bought from the cheapest possible online services over shopping local
A little bit of me dies inside when I see local businesses only attend free educational seminars, but never once book on to a paid workshop and not only support their business, but another local business
If you want local businesses to buy from you, be prepared to shop local yourself
Be part of the community that supports a new business launch
And truly care about all things local
NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
Or
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
