Social media marketing...get to know me before you pitch me
I received this friend request from a member of a social network site...
Hello Paul, ____________ here from _________,Va, and I would like to connect to you as a business connection. Also would you be open minded to hearing about a business if it could potentially add substantially to your income, without jeopardizing what you do now?
I've removed the person's name and location information as I'm not trying to make an example of him. I am using his request, however, for the purpose of teaching a lesson on social media marketing.
Proper social networking etiquette demands that relationships come first before anything else. Only after establishing a relationship does someone have the right to make a pitch. I call it "winning the right to be heard." This gentleman didn't take the time to do so and, as a result, I ignored his request.
The same protocol used to pitch bloggers can be applied to social networks. Get to know me, what I like/dislike, care about, don't care about, believe, feel and think. Talk to me. Build some rapport. Then, I'll be more open to listening.
Relationship marketing, if I may use that term, is not a fast track route to a quick sale, and obviously that's all he's interested in. Building trusted relationships take time, but offers immense lasting value. For, among numerous other byproducts, comes loyalty.
I've always believed people don't want to do business with businesses so much as they prefer to do business with people - those they know and trust. I don't know this fellow from Adam's house cat, so how can I trust his motive or know his offer is genuine? It may very well be, but I'll never get the chance to know because he didn't take the time to get to know me. Make sense?
That being said, it doesn't necessarily mean that rapport can't be established fairly quickly either. I'm not a hard sell, and even if I'm not personally interested, I might know people who would and be willing to pass along the information. (I did that just the other day in fact.)
But, again, thanks to this gentleman's impetuosity, he won't receive that benefit either.
So far as I'm concerned, rule #1 in social media marketing: Get to know me before you pitch me. Simple enough, yet seemingly very difficult for some to comprehend.
Ning: Paul Chaney
StumbleUpon: pchaney
I already know you, and I don't need to pitch you either ;)
I agree entirely. I've been dealing more and more in a PR function with old school public relations professionals and they really have an urge to fire off bad boiler plate proposals.
I generally use bad pick-up line examples with proposal pitchers and often relate to them how bad the line sounds. I am not a cheap date nor a one night stand.
Posted by: Barry Hurd | June 03, 2008 at 12:28 PM
'winning the right to be heard' - the way I say it is "if you want to be listened to, listen first"...kind of a flavor of life's golden rule applied to conversation marketing. It should be no different than real life where we listen then we may say something if appropriate.
Conversations creates affinities that turns into relationships (somebody else said that but I can't remember who).
Posted by: laurent | June 03, 2008 at 01:40 PM
I keep stressing the importance of this as well! Social media is BEST for relationship marketing. Build relationships!
Posted by: Shama Hyder | June 03, 2008 at 02:59 PM
With the availability of tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, I see no excuse for not establishing relationships with those you want to pitch. It seems a given, but, then again, I don't have a background in PR so I don't know how they've been schooled to think.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 03, 2008 at 03:42 PM
I totally agree. Do you have another article that tells people how to break the ice so that they can get to know you (or others on the Web)?
Posted by: oddpodz | June 05, 2008 at 03:48 PM
@oddpodz - While a number of my posts address this, I think it's just a matter of getting in there and getting your hands dirty. Start reaching out to those you wish to attract via social networks, Twitter and/or your own blog. Join the conversation that's already going on and see where it takes you.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 05, 2008 at 04:19 PM
Funny!
"Let's go out for coffee. When we do, let's discuss why it's in your best interest to marry me."
This approach might work for the desperate.
But for people with options, it's a major turn-off.
Posted by: Laura | June 09, 2008 at 05:21 PM