An interesting phenomenon has happened on Facebook and other social media sites. A raving fan online is someone who essentially is proud to give you a virtual thumbs-up. They like what you do. They support you. They advocate your business and/or brand and are proud to say they are a fan to others! Everyday people are developing a loyal following that is helping to market their business and brand worldwide; some even have raving fans. These marketers are doing a great job of initially introducing themselves – remember, this is a social platform, so instead of focusing only on selling, they are also introducing themselves and meeting others. They focus initially on adding friends and do so in an authentic, sincere way. Then, they make people feel good about connecting with them.
You might know the saying, “People won’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel.” The same is true when using social media. Whether you are writing a personal note when adding someone as a friend, writing on his wall, or responding to a note he sent to your inbox, try to keep a positive tone and keep the focus on your prospective customer. Again, you are building your business. Eventually, you will want to begin taking it to the next level, which involves really engaging your friends and uncovering their wants and needs. You can do this with phone calls, polls, online questions about what they’re looking for, and so on.
If you are adding many people locally, arrange to meet with a group of them. Get to know them; invite them to lunch or breakfast. You are now starting to take the networking to a different level. Another activity you can do is call five new Facebook friends on the phone each week. Get to know them and tell them you are glad you both connected. You will learn a lot about the person; he or she will feel good that you called, and you never know where the relationship will lead. This is a powerful strategy, but it takes work. Most successful people are not afraid of work, a why they are successful.
Another activity of successful social media marketers, which ultimately creates raving fans, is that they publicly (online) compliment others or they recommend others to their own network. Here’s the point: don’t simply make it about you. Help your friends grow their businesses. Share resources and publicly “shout out” online what great things your friends and colleagues are doing. This will go a long way with your friends. They will thank you and respect you for it.
Another strategy for creating raving fans is to feature perhaps a client or friend of the week on your Facebook profile page or fan page. People love to see their name in lights (whether they admit it or not). Also, as you venture into video, you will want to have your friends in some videos. That not only promotes your business, but theirs as well.
Loreli says
Couldn’t agree more! I’m a “raving fan” and have even called my social media management business Your Biggest Fan. I love your ideas about making phone contact or taking the initiative to provide network opportunities. Great suggestions that I hope to incorporate in my business strategy. Thanks so much!