One of the key benefits of social media that’s not talked about nearly enough is its ability to mitigate doubt and confusion among fence-sitters.
Yes, your prospective customers are confused and uncertain. After all, why would they even be coming to your Web site unless they had questions about your product or service? To be entertained? I think not.
During my 15 years of Web site strategy and usability work (before I got all social media on you) I very much tried to live by the two-click rule (discover the most common questions customers have about your business, and answer them on your site within two clicks or fewer).
How does zero clicks sound? Social media makes it possible. The key is to create meaningful content that answers those questions, and propagate that content throughout the social Web, making a visit to your site unnecessary.
Here’s how it works:
1. Question Detective
First, you have to identify which questions are most important to answer. I recommend starting with six, because it’s a meaningful amount of content and will address the tip of your question iceberg.
You can use a few methods to determine which questions to answer. You can survey your customers, although that’s not always the best approach because the questions are not fresh in their minds – they’ve already made their buying decision.
You can study your Web analytics, and see which pages get the most traffic, and what questions are likely to be in prospects’ minds when they are on those pages. Or, you could survey Web site visitors, gathering data in real-time.
I also like to look at search data, both the searches that people are conducting about your company on Google (use this free keyword tool), (insert Google keyword tool screen shot) and the searches conducted on your Web site (assuming you have a search function).
I would also make a point to solicit input from customer service and sales teams, as they have more day-to-day interaction with fence-sitters.
2. Answer Man
Once you’ve identified your top six questions, answer them.
Not in a “here’s our FAQ” way, but in a vigorous, social media way. I recommend answering each question with a dedicated blog post, and a video – at a minimum. For B2B companies, I suggest adding a short slide presentation that answers each question, and possibly a podcast that answers all six in aggregate.
Remember that video is 52 times more likely to show up on the first page of Google search results, so don’t skip that part.
You don’t need a film crew. You don’t need a makeup artist. You need an inexpensive HD camera (I prefer the Kodak ZI-8 over the FlipHD because it has an external microphone jack. How did I know that? Because Kodak is very adept at the precise strategy we’re discussing here).
You need some clue about lighting, somebody in your company that’s decent on camera, and a loose script. If possible, on-the-scene video showing demonstrations would be great. And if possible, I’d recommend having employees closest to the product (designers, engineers, product marketing, customer service) be the stars of the show, not executives or marketers. It’s just more authentic and believable that way.
3. Digital Dandelion
Take your written and video content, and spread it as widely as possible on the social Web. Post it to your Facebook page. Your LInkedin page. Your blog, naturally. Put it on YouTube of course. Even better, use TubeMogul to syndicate it to dozens of other video sites. Certainly, link to it from your corporate Web site, although the ideal scenario is that the content performs well enough in search results that potential customers can answer their questions before they ever get to your site.
4. Improve and Expand
Now that your content is posted to your various social outposts, invite your current customers to make it better. Talk it up on Facebook and the blog. Send it out to existing customers via email, so they can refer fence-sitters to it. Invite current customers to comment on your answers.
Each quarter, commit to answering a few more questions. Involve your customers, and ask them to create their own content that answers other questions (maybe a contest for the best ones).
Now use social listening tools to find blog posts, tweets, forum threads and other discussions about your brand and your products, and as appropriate direct fence-sitters to your new social media answers.
Now you’re combining content with marketing, social media with customer service. Now you’re using social media to its full advantage.
Give this a try will you? Then come on back and tell us your story in the comments.
(illustration by HiddenLoop)
RT @jaybaer: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ: One of the key benefits of social media that’s no… http://bit.ly/bADDeO #marketing
RT @jaybaer: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ: One of the key benefits of social media that’s no… http://bit.ly/bADDeO #marketing
RT @jaybaer: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ: One of the key benefits of social media that’s no… http://bit.ly/bADDeO #marketing
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ: One of the key benefits of social media that’s not talked about nearly e… http://bit.ly/9csm4g
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ: One of the key benefits of social media that’s not talked about nearly e… http://bit.ly/9csm4g
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ: One of the key benefits of social media that’s not talked about nearly e… http://bit.ly/cwYule
New @jaybaer 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/cwYule
RT @jaybaer 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/9Uw3uW #SMM
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RT @jaybaer 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/9Uw3uW #SMM
C&C Blog Post – 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/bo1T8M RT Please
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4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ – One of the key benefits of social media that’s not talked about ne… http://ow.ly/17kM8N
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RT @maddiegrant: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://j.mp/abJtGg
Certainly! Those who lack the knowledge of providing useful information or how/what to provide? Answering questions in your niche works very well! By contributing genuinely will make the users believe that you know what you are saying and can build credibility in your network!
Certainly! Those who lack the knowledge of providing useful information or how/what to provide? Answering questions in your niche works very well! By contributing genuinely will make the users believe that you know what you are saying and can build credibility in your network!
Certainly! Those who lack the knowledge of providing useful information or how/what to provide? Answering questions in your niche works very well! By contributing genuinely will make the users believe that you know what you are saying and can build credibility in your network!
Certainly! Those who lack the knowledge of providing useful information or how/what to provide? Answering questions in your niche works very well! By contributing genuinely will make the users believe that you know what you are saying and can build credibility in your network!
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
RT @erwinjansen: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://tinyurl.com/35dwu7m
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/978emd
RT @jaybaer: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/d58ItZ
RT @jaybaer: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/d58ItZ
RT @jaybaer: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/d58ItZ
RT @jaybaer: 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://bit.ly/d58ItZ
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ — http://bit.ly/aP2hC9
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ — http://bit.ly/aP2hC9
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ — http://bit.ly/aP2hC9
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ — http://bit.ly/aP2hC9
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ — http://bit.ly/aP2hC9
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ — http://bit.ly/aP2hC9
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ — http://bit.ly/aP2hC9
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ — http://bit.ly/aP2hC9
Honesty through transparency is the main key though > 4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ http://ow.ly/1JxAg
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ – http://bit.ly/cBEd5I
Jay,
I don't usually see the words “sales” & “social media” in the same sentence which surprises me because social media can be such an effective tool to increase sales (or as @ambercadabra simply puts it: “having people choose us instead of someone else.”)
Before starting my video/film production company, I was Director of Sales & Marketing for several catering and entertainment facilities in NY & Florida for over 10 years. Back in those days, face-to-face networking at business events was really the most effective way to make the connections needed to get a chance to propose your product/service to the right person and it sometimes took dozens of events before the opportunity presented itself. Today, that initial contact can be created over a few hours using social media. I can only imagine how the retired salespeople of 20-40 years ago feel seeing all the online tools & technology we have available to us today!
As for your post, I think you hit the nail on the head. Social media clearly has the ability to mitigate doubt and confusion among fence-sitters. This approach will certainly generate sizzle but will it sell the steak? I think there's a lot social media articles out there that cover two of the three sales steps (“prospecting” & “presenting” which = “engaging”) but not as much out there about “closing” the sale. Remember the cold call? Eighty percent of new sales are still made after the fifth contact. Is there no place for old-fashioned “selling” using social media? A future post perhaps?
PS – I would be remiss as a video producer, however, if I didn't state that when it comes to video (#2 Answer Man), you get what you pay (or don't pay) for. Nuff said on that
Outstanding Jay.
This real, it's happening now, and I'm hoping that more people catch on.
It's strange that this amazing opportunity has come for all of us (business people and entrepreneurs) to tell our stories and attract customers like never before, and many are simply unaware, afraid, or whatever, and they're missing a huge opportunity to help a LOT more people discover their solutions, and even thrive.
Consider the cost comparison of communicating the kind of messages, and the useful information that we can freely distribute now through the internet tools available versus the older media sources and their cost structures?
And yet, many people are still relying on the older stuff because it's familiar to them. Just plain scary ! It's like they don't believe it's happening !
It is a great time to be alive and spread the good news so that e can affect more people in a positive way and far too few are capitalizing on the potential.
Keep up the good work Jay, and thanks, for putting yourself out here to help.
Hopefully we can get more people to see what's available and guide them to distributing their specialized knowledge to a wider audience, and help them realize better profits.
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ | Blogging and Content Creation | Social Media Consulting – Convince & Convert http://bit.ly/9lhPCF
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ | Blogging and Content Creation | Social Media Consulting – Convince & Convert http://bit.ly/9lhPCF
4 Steps to Drive Sales with a Social FAQ | Blogging and Content Creation | Social Media Consulting – Convince & Convert http://bit.ly/9lhPCF