This step is going to inform the next four because it should be the way you manage your personal brand and reputation on social media. If you can do this, then the next four steps will be easier.
Your goal here is to give away the good stuff, the valuable information, the solutions to people's problems. This way, you can establish your expertise and knowledge, which ultimately helps you sell more products or services.
When you share your expertise, people will want to know more. They'll assume that you have a lot more great information in your brain, and they'll hire you or buy from you to get it. They'll pay for your products because you've demonstrated how those products can solve their problems. They'll pay for your services because they want you to work your magic for them.
How do you do share that information?
By having conversations and answering questions on social media. By sharing valuable information like blog articles or advice. By educating people through videos and podcasts.
Don't treat social media like a free advertising platform where you shout, "Buy my stuff! Buy my stuff!" That gets annoying fast and people will ignore you.
Just offer valuable information and let them see how your expertise can work for them.
My own short story
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, my company was the first to sell reflective insulation online to home owners. As part of my marketing efforts, I would hang out on the Usenet's alt.home.diy and alt.home.maintenance discussion groups. Every so often, people would ask questions like "How can I keep my attic cool? or "My house gets hot in the summer, what can I do?"
I would offer insulation advice, telling them about what reflective insulation could do and how it worked. Other times, I would answer questions about fiberglass and foam insulation, even though they were our competition.
I never mentioned my company or the fact that I sold reflective insulation, but I did leave my company website in the footer of every message. Occasionally, someone would wonder why I knew so much about insulation. They would visit my website, read about our products, and place an order.
They bought from me because I had proved my expertise by giving away the good stuff. They trusted me because I didn't try to sell to them. I didn't lead with a sales message, I only provided helpful information.
You can do this now just by answering questions and having conversations on your various social channels.
Watering holes are the places where people gather to discuss issues that affect them.
Facebook is a watering hole where people share personal updates and other people comment on them. LinkedIn is a watering hole where people discuss issues about work and their careers. There are watering holes for shared interests, work, or our personal lives.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, one of the most popular gathering places were forum discussion boards. And even though we have LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, these forum boards still thrive.
These are usually industry- or interest-specific gathering points where people talk about anything from cars and motorcycles, horses and farm animals, or software and technology. I've found forum discussions about console radios from the 1940s, woodworking, beer making, and even specialty steel manufacturers.
Some forums are more than 25 years old, but they still attract passionate participants of that particular field. So these even may be good places to find possible mentors and thought leaders for you to connect with.
LinkedIn Groups are another type of watering hole. You can join different groups related to your industry, field, or job. You can participate in the discussions or you can start your own discussions. Ask questions or post surveys to get people commenting on your messages.
And if there's not a group for your particular field or job, start one. You don't need anyone's permission. Just create a group, invite your industry contacts, and post interesting content that keeps people coming back and engaged.
3. Build Listening Posts
Listening posts are basically social listening tools that will monitor different social networks for a particular keyword, phrase, or hashtag.
So Twitter's or Instagram's hashtag monitoring is considered a listening post.
You can pay for this kind of monitoring, which is ideal if you work for a large company and receive hundreds or thousands of daily orders. Or if you only get a few sales per day or week, you can create free or low-priced listening posts with a little knowledge and creativity.
For example, set up a search column on Twitter's Tweetdeck for a particular hashtag or keyword about your industry. Then, when someone tweets that particular word, that tweet will show up in your column. It doesn't matter if you're following that person or not. If they tweet the word, you can respond to it.
If they ask a question, answer it. If they share an observation, respond to it. If they complain, help them solve it. The one thing you shouldn't do is sell to them. If they ask a question, don't point them to your catalog page. If they complain about a competitor, don't tell them how you could do it better.
You can also create your own listening posts by creating hashtag chats on Twitter.
Years ago, I used to participate in the weekly #blogchat on Twitter, and was even asked to be a guest "speaker" once. Everyone sat at their laptops Sundays at 7:00 PM, and a moderator would ask questions of the speaker.
Each question or answer had to use the #blogchat hashtag, and everyone would monitor the discussion on Tweetdeck or another tool called Twitterfall. As the moderator and speaker discussed the questions, other people would share their own answers or ask their own questions.
Just like a LinkedIn group, if a particular chat hashtag doesn't exist, you can start one. Create a term, set a time and date for the discussion, and invite all your contacts. It may start slowly at first, so stick with it for a few weeks and it should start to catch on.
4. Share Blog Articles on your Social Networks