Social media not just for kids and it’s not going away. Digital marketing is a way of life and I meet most of my clients online and strategic business partners. Nyala Phillip is one of those people. We are collaborating on her upcoming event.We met online and last year at Dr. George Fraser’s PowerNetworking conference.
Her tagline: Â “I help coaches find & market their unique message so they can create the life they deserve & the legacy they desire.” See? Isn’t she the bomb dot com!
We both know that navigating the social media jungle is necessary in today’s economy and we agree that it’s crucial for building your business. Â That’s why I asked her to share this article, here it is:
We all want to see our followers on social media grow in numbers. But numbers don’t necessarily mean you will get engagement. Having thousands of followers doesn’t mean you will get sales or customers.
 Don’t get caught up with getting over 100K followers, especially if you are a small business.
Relax. You don’t want to just get more followers; you want to get the RIGHT KIND of followers. This is the KEY to remember.
When you have quality followers you can start meaningful conversations that your followers care about, you become
– The go-to-person for them in your niche
– A trusted resource for doing business
– A huge referral
– A “friend” that can be trusted.
Tip: Never buy followers, however tempting this may be! You will get a ton of followers from distant countries that don’t care about your business and will never like, comment or share any of your updates! Trust me I’ve done this before . BIG FLOPÂ
On Facebook, your engagement score will drop and will take time to reverse the damage.  On Twitter and other social media channels, these “bought” followers will not give your business any added value or boost.
Remember, once you hit 1,000 fans, your fan growth will start to happen more organically, if you are having meaningful conversations with your followers.
This means:
– Post relevant, entertaining and meaningful content (include photos, images and video) two to five times each day and get involved in the conversations. Remember people only follow you if they like what they see.
– Be genuine, be human, be yourself. It’s easier to turn a follower into a buying customer when they truly trust and like you. Also, post pictures of the part of your life you are willing to share. People connect with you not your product.
– Take a look at your last 10 Social Media updates and ask yourself:
  – Would I engage with that post if I saw it in my news feed?
  – Did I ask for or encourage action (like, share, comment)?
  – If there’s a photo, would you want to share it if you saw it in your News Feed?
  – Does this post truly add value to my audience?
  – Does this post educate, entertain or empower?
If a business is truly succeeding on Facebook (i.e. lots of engagement, shares, sales), it’s rarely because of luck. It’s because they’ve been in the trenches for months (sometimes years!) strategically targeting their audience:
  – Creating content that engages with their targeted audience
  – Testing different tactics to drive follower engagement
  – Researching the demographics of their followers
They find success when they have the RIGHT KIND OF FANS.
That’s the power of social media marketing.  It allows companies to get quality followers by:
  – Targeting a SPECIFIC audience
  – Building an OWNED following
  – REACHING OUT and engaging directly with customers
This is why social media marketing cannot be matched by other mediums like PPC, SEO and online advertising. It produces incredible short and long term value for businesses. It isn’t just child’s play — it’s big business! You see immediate results when used correctly.
If you are going to be in business. MAKE IT BIG. It’s not about increasing the follower counter with huge numbers that will not impact your business. Be sure to attract quality followers and build relationships. Join me and Nyala at Market Your Message LIVE in Philly!
