While making money off social media or ramping up your ROI from social media isn’t exactly as direct as the title suggests, there’s a lot that happens on social media and businesses have a direct, vested interest in what social media can do for them.
Social media isn’t exactly a bustling marketplace. It’s not like you can just saunter in and sell. You can’t promote. You can’t pitch. The last thing you would do on social media is to beat your chest and try to make money off it. Yet, it’s a medium like no other. It’s the Holy Grail for marketing. It’s almost everything a business can ask for. So, how exactly do you improve your business earnings off social media?
Here are a few ways:
Brand = Profits
The more your brand grows in strength, the more profitable a business is. Instead of getting deep down into branding 101, let’s just define a brand as a promise made to customers to match a set level of expectations on quality, speed of delivery, customer service, and on the whole “feeling” of interacting or transacting with a brand.
Apple designs its products in a particular way. Car brands like Toyota are known for reliability. Volvo is known for safe automobiles. Rolls Royce is all about luxury. When you wear a Rolex, you are someone. See how brands play?
Now, most of the companies or brands mentioned above are huge. They have loads of money to build on their brand power. What should a small business with barely any cash do? Get on social media, that’s what.
As a small business, you could do what large brands do. You could interact with your customers, prospects, and the rest of the world. You will be able to get “personal” with thousands of customers at once. You’d learn to make them trust, like, and associate with your brand.
Social media is free (except for your time spent). Build your brand and everything else will follow.
Serve Better to Sell More
The more you serve – and as you learn to get better at it – the more you’ll sell. Now, that “selling” might or might not happen on social media itself. You’ll, however, be able to “serve” well on social media. Aim to please. Launch your paranoid service culture on social media and scoot to solve problems instantly. Customer sends in a tweet about an issue, resolve it. A prospect asks a question on Facebook, answer it quickly.
Why bother, you ask? The world is watching you. Live.
They’ll determine whether they’d do business with you or not based on these public interactions, conversations, and your responses.
You are being watched. That’s a good thing for small businesses, which had to otherwise pay for eyeballs in the “not so distant past.” So, go ahead and differentiate yourself. Take a leaf out of the the Art of Small Business blog and work like no other.
Build Relationships
Every thing in business is about relationships. In the normal course of things, our relationships and the general strength of our network extends to people we know, people we work with, and a few other people those people know. Social media wedges itself in and even individuals have the kind of leverage that was hitherto impossible to have.
Businesses also have the same leverage. Social media just made the world a much smaller place. Anyone, from anywhere, can connect with anyone. There are no limits to how big or effective your network can be.
Now, it’s the people we do business with. It’s people who finally whip out their wallets to pay for our products and services. Thanks to social media, we just have a lot of people available to make that happen.
Open Gates for Communication
You could mention @handle of any great brand on Twitter and they’ll respond. You’d be able to connect with absolutely anyone today on any of the social networks. Businesses now have an open gate for communicating and to allow others to communicate, thanks to social media. Businesses are more open to conversations. Communication leads to trust. Customers buy only when they trust businesses.
Your Name is Out in the Open
How exciting would it be for a business when the name of one of its brands, products, or services are mentioned at a water cooler discussion?
Social media is a huge water cooler and the name of your business is out in the open. People share their thoughts, opinions, and sometimes frustrations with each other on social media. For once, this isn’t a paid gig for any of the members on a social media network. You didn’t pay them to talk. Word of mouth just got itself a super dose of steroids. Manage these conversations. See why your name popped up. Step in and help when needed.
Play Nice and Laugh your Way to the Bank
Your business goes about sharing great information, getting into conversations when needed, relating to others, amplifying emotions, and building relationships, it’s just a nice thing to do. When you do, however, you are creating little bridges of opportunity. The fact that you are share content, connect, engage, and respond are all great things to do for your customers, prospects, vendors, and employees. Playing nice like that has its benefits. You’d end up high on the trust radar. You’d get popular. Everyone likes to do business with popular brands. You make money as you grow and then you can get that 2021 Accord.
It’s All about Social Proof
Starting from your content to your actual products and services, social media gives you social proof. As more people talk about your brand, products, and services, you’ll see a community forming around it all. The stronger this community is, the more social proof you get. It doesn’t just have to be about communities though. Mere mentions on social media will do. As mentions pop up, and as people begin to take note, you’ll are building up social power. As Socialnomics by Erik Qualman tells you, don’t forget to hoard up on social media power.
The people talk about your business, the more you’ll do business. Period.
How is social media working for your business? Do you do what you have to do on social media? Do you think social media can actually have an impact on your bottom-line? Is social media the indirect path to business profits? Throw your ideas at us. We’d love to hear from you.
About the Author:
Jeff Davis is living in California and currently associated with Quick Laptop Cash – A place for selling a laptop online. He has been into this field since last 6 years and responsible for troubleshoot issues; interact to discuss projects, technology solutions. When he is not working, he enjoys hanging out with his beautiful wife.
