It’s not unusual to receive a fair amount of marketing i.e. spam via social media, but there is an overabundance of it lately. Why do people still think it’s okay to hard sell through social networks?
Social media is about building relationships, growing the trust of an audience, giving them a reason to believe in a brand, developing an understanding of who they are, deciphering what kind of value they will appreciate and learning how to best serve them.
It is NOT about subjecting a new fan or follower to a multitude of reasons why they should buy a product or service without even taking the time to know who they are.
Let’s back up and think about this from a different perspective. Envision yourself going to buy a car. As soon as you pull up, you’re filled with anxiety. You are part excited about buying a new vehicle and part nervous about getting a good deal on that vehicle. How will you know what price is fair? Or if you can trust the salesman? It’s the same with social media.
There should be no difference between how people are treated online or in face-to-face interactions. Would you jump on a customer as soon as they walk in the door with a hard sell? Would you appreciate it if someone did that to you? Maybe that’s your approach, but it’s not the right approach if you truly care about giving the customer a valuable experience. And I think that’s where some folks get lost – they forget about the customer, and how they would want to be treated.
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It’s common courtesy to have respect for fans or followers as we would a real live person who is standing in front of us. Take the time to get to know them, ask them a few questions, find out what their pain is, seek a solution and then offer it.
Building a relationship is the most valuable thing we can do, especially when it comes to online interactions. The person on the other end may not be interested, but could be useful down the road.
It’s obvious when someone wants to sell me something or is interested in having me help them in some way. And as a salesperson, I enjoy sitting back and watching the pitch. But I do not entertain someone who throws it in my face without getting to know me, what I do or how they can be of service to me. Quite frankly, I think it’s rude and assuming. If someone takes the time to get to know me, I will do whatever I can to help them – even if I am not interested.
Hard selling is a waste of time on social media. If you want to sell your services or product, then have some respect, back up and build a relationship. Put yourself in the place of the customer and ask how you would want to be treated. We all deserve the same respect.