In the last article on Facebook we looked at the 7 Fatal Sins that will Kill your Facebook Marketing Strategy. In this article I am going to talk about things that You need to focus on to build out a super successful network of people who listen to and respect you. Following is my list of 7 Must Do’s to Maximize your Facebook Marketing experience… use them and prosper!
1. Relationship first / Business Second – Get this one wrong and you will never build significant influence and your time will be better spent somewhere else.. Your primary goal on Facebook MUST be to build relationships and to build rapport with your new friends. So how do you do this… Simple… Comment on their stuff… interact with them.. get to know them read their profile etc… Show genuine interest
2. Concentrate on Quality not Quantity – many folks get on Facebook and try to add as many people as possible.. instead slow down and be sure to build rapport with your new friends.. a smaller more connected group will outperform & more importantly out value a larger less connected following. Please do not underestimate or try to circumvent this part of the process. A good idea is to start with a very small Core group of people that are Influencers in your niche, build a relationship with them first and then build out from there.
3. Protect your Reputation at all Costs – Your most valuable asset in Social Media is your Reputation… Make sure you rise up as the go to person in your industry or niche. 67% of people will consult with social media sites for recommendations BEFORE they buy anything. so you want to build the reputation of someone that people trust and go to for advice. Don’t give into the allure of spamming for a quick buck not only doesn’t it work but you will kill your reputation and a bad reputation is very very hard to turn around. (All though not at all impossible)
4. Be Authentic – Be a real person.. it is OK to be vulnerable and to show your shortcomings… this tells people that you are truthful and genuine.. People will be able to connect with you at a deeper level and the trust will build exponentially. In other words you do not need to be nor should you be Perfect. Be yourself… like attracts like. Believe in YOU.
5. Transparency is Paramount – There is nowhere to hide online anymore so don’t try to… If you don’t like a product or service don’t Promote it just to make a quick buck.. it will come back to haunt you. you will slowly lose your influence and your social power will disappear. You will find less and less response and interaction as people realize that you are not always sharing the full story. In-transparency.. (if there is such a word..lol) will lead to mis-trust.
6. Follow Through – When you set out to do something follow through with it… If you make a statement make sure you see it through.. people are watching you. The great thing is 9 out of 10 people will never see anything through so you jump above 90% by just seeing your task through to the end. It is very important in the eyes of your followers. Be a man or woman of your word.
7. Be Interested not Interesting – The most important person in the world to your follower is YOUR FOLLOWER! so what does that mean.. be interested in them… listen more and preach less.. People are most interested in themselves so indulge a little. Ask people Where are you from / What do you do / Who do you know. This will expose commonalities, connections and similar interests. Think of benefits for THEM in your communication.
The following 7 items will ensure you build significant influence. By taking the time to do things right you will be enriching the lives of others and in doing so enriching your own. This represents the Mindset you need to have and the top 7 things to DO on Facebook to build a mutually beneficial relationship with your expanding Facebook Network. In future articles I will get in to the details of exactly what you can do to market yourself on Facebook. Just keep in mind that the preceding points should govern everything else you do.
