It’s Not Me, It’s You: Three Pillars of Social Media Marketing
“OMG if I use social media I can go to all these awesome sites and tell people about my product/service/website? And then they’ll buy my stuff? That’s so neat!”
That’s the initial thought process when someone considers social media marketing.
And it’s dead wrong.
People aren’t on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube to BUY YOUR STUFF. They might, as a byproduct of seeing you there – Twitter referrals consistently convert well for my products, for example. But heading out to a social media site to “get” people to BUY YOUR STUFF won’t work. Here’s why:
THREE PILLARS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
There are three “pillars” or methods one can use in their social media marketing attempts. The best strategy uses all three. The weakest and least affective uses the first only (and it’s, unfortunately, where most people get their feet wet, decide it doesn’t work and give up).
Pillar One: Broadcasting
When you’re broadcasting, you’re talking about yourself, your product, your service, your website. You’re using the social media sites as a way to transmit your (marketing) message to others.
Yes, it’s necessary. Customers, web site visitors, prospects have friended you on the various social networks and it’s another way in which you can (and should) update them when there’s something worth updating.
But it’s still just you yammering on about yourself.
And social media isn’t about the “me” (me talking about myself) it’s about the “you” (your customer, prospect, reader.)
And that’s where the next two pillars of social media marketing enter:
Pillar Two: Customer Support
No, not just helpdesk kind of stuff (although that can be a part of this pillar). But supporting the people who have friended you by providing tips, info or news related to your niche. If doesn’t always (and shouldn’t always) have to link back to your site, and it doesn’t always have to have a link at all. You’re a dog trainer? You’ll help folks out with training their dogs. A real estate agent? Tell folks the myths about buying foreclosures.
What’s relevant to the people who’ve friended you? Talk about it.
Having opened yourself up to your niche in this way, those who are following you will often ask questions which you should, of course, respond to (support them!).
Now you’re having a conversation. You’ve built a seedling of a relationship. When people say “social media is about relationships” that’s what they mean. Not you yelling from the rooftops about “ME ME ME!” (Pillar 1) but you SUPPORTING the people in your niche.
Do you think someone is more likely to visit your website, buy your product, etc. if they’ve had a little conversation with you before? Of course.
That’s why social media click-throughs convert well for me. I talk to people. I try to support my friends on the social media platforms, they know me a bit, many of us have had conversations.
But there’s another pillar that will bring the effectiveness of your social media marketing way up:
Pillar Three: Round Robin
You’re broadcasting. You’re supporting your followers by providing them interesting and relevant information and responding to their posts (and maybe even initiating conversations when you see people talking about your niche).
Now you take the “Me” out of the equation all together. You don’t exist. It’s your customers / web site visitors talking about you, your product or service to their friends and followers.
This is when social media marketing gets REALLY powerful, but it’s unlikely to happen if you don’t initiate the process with the first two pillars.
If you create a positive experience for your social media friends in Pillar 2, they naturally want to “give back” to you (this is the “Law of Reciprocity”). In Twitter, this can be in the form of a retweet or unsolicited mention of how great your product it. Or in blogging, it’s a link back from their site to yours to a great blog post you wrote.
And when it’s OTHER people talking to THEIR friends about how great you are, rather then you broadcasting to people who are already following you, the effect is MUCH bigger.
Someone posts that they really like my product, Crowd Mountain, to their friends. Their friends check it out. They’ve gotten a personal recommendation from someone they trust (not me, the seller) for the product. Are they now even more likely to buy? Of course! And that’s the REAL reason why social media converts so well for me – because it’s not about ME it’s about YOU.
It’s not because I’m so awesome and so is my product and I tell people that everyday, it’s because other people are telling that to their friends everyday for me, without my intervention or my solicitation.
You need to educate the people you’ve friended to make this happen. How? By doing yourself exactly what you want them to do. Retweet an interesting blog post one of your friends has posted. They’ll see that you did, your other followers will see that you did, and will follow your example. Like a product? For no reason at all, without an affiliate link, tell people about it in a blog post – they will follow your example and perhaps choose to recommend your product.
Model the behavior you would like to see, and if you’re being a leader in your marketplace by being informative, helpful, supportive and opinionated (Pillar Two) people will do as you do. Evangelize for folks you support, and people will evangelize for you.
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These are stages – it’s near impossible to get to pillar three without having mastered one and two. (Unless you’re Apple and already have had evangelists drooling over you). It’s an evolution from the least effective to the most effective, and you can learn as your grow.
Stop being a broadcast-only social media marketer (what’s social about that anyway?)! Move towards SUPPORTING your friends and followers, and then lead by example in teaching them how to evangelize for you.
CLICK HERE to Tweet this blog post.
(You can review it before you send it out).
Michelle,
This is a great post. I have found that if you give people free value and build relationships with them, they will buy from you more easily. However, if your intent is just to sell to them, they can smell you coming a mile away.
Reginald
http://www.reginaldcuffee.com
Michelle,
I had just sent you an email about Internet Marketer Magazine and I noticed a tweet about this post. I have to say this is great. There are so many people who really think “I can go to all these awesome sites and tell people about my product/service/website? And then they’ll buy my stuff?”
It amazes me. It’s like going to a party and yelling out to everyone “Hey check out my new ebook, it’s awesome, get it now!”
People will ignore and shun you if you do that. In fact I made a funny video making fun of these types of people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK_UOj7Gf1Y
Anyway, your approach on these 3 pillars is spot on, and I really hope people will take note.
I’ll be sending people here now, instead of to my video when I get socially spammed.
Stop Social Spam, follow the 3 Pillars!
Spot on again, Michelle…. There’s really not much I can add since you put it perfectly. Twitter, of late, is a prime example of people talking, bragging, and thinking only of themselves, as opposed to what their audience really wants. Those that refuse to heed the advice in this blog post will be the recipients of an intense backlash.
Michelle
Your post is right on the money. Thanks for those wonderful insights. You’re content is always top class and I’ve even recommended you several times in my book.
Marketers have been using a loud speaker to promote their stuff for years. It is when they hand that bull horn to their customers/friends/peers is when they actually get social media.
Sincerely
George Tran
Author of “The Social Marketing Manifesto”
Success Strategies for Small Businesses using Social Media
http://www.socialmarketingman.com
http://www.twitter.com/georgetran
Michelle, You never cease to amaze me. Another outstanding lesson in business humility. You are awesome and thank you for continuing to help us with your wisdom. If it hadn’t been for 30 Day Challenge & Internet Marketing This Week I would never have been privileged to have met you. Please keep up the good work. We appreciate it. I did retweet this.
Hi Michelle
One of the reasons I follow you on Twitter is because of the great information you give out. I must admit I am not one of the ‘numbers game’ people, I believe that will just build over time if people like what I put out there.
I have posted this and asked people to RT so I hope they do, so more people ‘get the idea’ of what social media is really about.
Best wishes
Anne
Spot on Michelle.
Hi Michelle
I have only just ‘found’ you via a blog post on the Noble Samurai site. I’ve enjoyed all your information to date, including this blog post. I have actually done a mini experiment and definitely found that ‘broadcasting’ just doesn’t get people involved in the same way as providing useful, relevant and insightful information. In terms of social media, the sooner people realise this, the better.
Thanks again for all the great info.
Samantha
Michelle, I’m loving the post. You know, I was never really into social media sites a while back, but then I started using them and I see the big difference is interaction and conversating on a live level. Especially on twitter, fast forward months later and social media is REALLY working for me, it’s viral and fun, it’s just the cool way of doing business, great post.
Terrance Charles
http://www.terrancecharles.com/blog
Hi Michelle,
An amazing post. You analize all the aspect of the issue very well.
I think you always go ahead of the others marketers. Thank you.
Best regards,
Jorge
Great post Michelle.
I just hope it isn’t too late for Twitter to survive over the devastation created by the noise of the Broadcast IMers. Several gurus still teach this as a method, and it’s sad.
I just wanted to mention a 4th category because it’s equally important and it seems to be getting more common.
Pillar 0) The LURKER AND WINDOW SHOPPER.
So many people seem to think that it is OK to just “lurk”. That followers 5000 people is enough (crazy). Or having 5000 people follow them, is enough (selfish). But then they say nothing and do nothing, until they want something. Then they’ll suddenly SPEW out multipe broadcasts. I presume they think balance is restored, because they were quiet for so long that they can now have a BROADCAST fit.
Hopefully it’s obvious that lurking in silence and then having a spewing fit, is not being social either…
In fact what happens is you go from obscurity to notoriaty and UNSUBSCRIPTION.
I see this happening more and more as people aimlessly follow to build numbers to sit on, for their ultimate “attack”.
My point is, don’t just build numbers. Don’t just lurk. If you’re not genuinely going to help that community, don’t bother being there.
Of course some gurus will say this is OK, to wait and spew, because you can always guild another identity and another 5000 followers. And STILL get your 5% conversion.
But sadly that is what is KILLING places like Twitter. Twitizens are becoming immune to noise, immune to following. Immune to DM. Infact they turn DM notifications off, it is so bad.
But underneath Tiwitter is actually great, for real relationships, so I hope it doesn’t die from this abuse.
THANK YOU for pointing out and leading and showing how Twitter is not some stalkers paradise.
There is a lot more I could say, like about numbers, and choosing your friends, but this is already too long.
Peace and light.
Peter
Hey Michelle,
I couldn’t agree more with the 3 Pillars. This is exactly
what’s not happening on Twitter. I’m really starting to
get disenchanted with Twitter because of the constant
“me, me, me” attitude.
There’s no faster way to get unfollowed by me than
to see 8 tweets on a single page by the same
person promoting themselves or their product.
Later,
Jeff Sargent
I agree, my karate instructor used to say, ‘It’s not about me! The more you give, the more you get!’
Marketing is no different, Ed Dale is a prime example of someone using the Three Pillars of Social Media Marketing successfully. Thanks for a great article Michelle.
Linden
A couple folks have voiced concern in comments about whether Twitter will survive the broadcast spam.
Here’s the thing. It’s not spam. A user DOES have the right to use the service as they choose (within Twitter TOS, of course) and they may choose to use it as a broadcast medium. If you then choose to follow them, that’s YOUR choice (just as it’s your choice to unfollow them).
“Spam” doesn’t exist on Twitter in that you only follow those people that you choose to follow and can unfollow them at any time. If you don’t care for someone’s message, unfollow, period.
Hi Michelle
I appreciate your spam response, and sure we can un-follow. In one sense of the word spam, no I guess we have a choice, unlike email which just arrives.
But spam is also “noise” and any unwanted communication.
Let me explain my ideal twitter usage. I have a small twitter account for people I closely connect with and I actually want to listen to closely. Physics dictates I can’t closely follow more than X people. Sure I can use tools to filter and search and backtrack, but with less than X, I can actually really follow my close network. This usage is literally communication. Truly social. For this I have DM notifications on, because nobody abuses it, with what I loosely call spam.
It does little for backlinks or conversion because there are so few on this list and they all know me.
Then lets pretend I have another twitter account which is to spread my reach and connects me with a larger network.
Because of the state of twitter now, such an account would have dm turned off, because people abuse it, with auto sign up pitches and even DM broadcasts. YES I un-follow those instantly. But the damage is done.
In the pre IM days, when someone followed me, I would check their profile out, follow their url, say hi and follow them back.
These days I get a plague of what I can only describe as spammers. They have no intention of a relationship. Only of a pitch fest. I call that spam.
It is so common now, that there is no benefit of the doubt tolerance. I am IMMUNE. I am already twitter blind and the good old twitter is already dead to me.
But I also have a message to share, so how does one play this game, but ethically?
Knowing 90% of it will be spam (or me me broadcasts of you prefer), on such an account, DM notify is turned off. I never even read DMs any more even locally. I do not attempt to read or follow any one, as 90% of it will be garbage. There is no real relationship here. No support. No help. No social community.
I could follow and ditch people who spam, but why bother for the remaining 10%? If they are in my close network, we have other ways.
But, like all the others, I “hope” that when I do broadcast, or help or share, tha SOME Of the mass will see it and respond. It is a numbers game now. Spam has made it unmanageable for me already.
I should probably just dump this big account, but even one genuine outcome is worth having. But because of the amount of spam, I can not manage it and I can not use it like my close account.
It is down to QUALITY not QUANTITY and down to relationship not noise.
You are a celebrity so it is different for you! You can expect people to follow you and not to follow them back. They will not expect you to read their posts, or respond. Occasionally your filter might pick something up and you do, but obviously you can’t really follow or respond to 8000 people, only ever dip in. It would be more than a full time job to do so.
So why have a big list?
Well because when you are a celebrity, you CAN broadcast, and as you are a celebrity, it is not spam, unless you are a MOUTHY celebrity (I mention no names).
Also I think you are mostly at stage 3 now, where you are really only providing a channel for other people to talk about you, on the Michelle Macpherson Twitter channel : and you just make guest appearances and grunts.
So we may have to agree to disagree what spam is and how twitter could and should be used. But I totally agree with you that twitter should be about relationships. IMHO only “close” relationships of X people, is actually manageable.
But IMHO it is better to have a real core of solid people, than thousands of people who don’t listen to anything but themselves. These people have been “trained” to abuse twitter and spam it.
Like it did with email, such spam, kills the attraction of what should be great micro communities.
If you are a celebrity then it is different. But few of us are worthy of that label. So we are left with the 5000 auto followers (many who use software automation) merely looking to make their numbers up for when they broadcast. they are not looking to listen, only to talk.
How is an “average” person supposed to manage and filter 5000 follow requests?
Yes we can un-follow as soon as we know, but by then the damage is done.
On this scale, and I am not exaggerating, you either follow everyone and join the noise pool, or you follow only people you get to know some other way.
So doesn’t it depend what use ONE has for twitter yourself? As a communication device for a close circle, or as a numbers network to get 2~8% clickthru, and a bit of backlinking.
But as a “system” where everyone is talking and no one is listening, what “social” use is that? No really?
It is a business trick, as taught badly by several gurus.
Don’t misunderstand. I love twitter! The old twitter, pre IM spam blitz as taught.
But is it any surprise I run it in 2 VERY different ways?!
We can skype or webinar about it if you want.
For a 140 character medium, it has endless possibilities
I know how I would solve the problem if I was Twitter and how I would monetise it too. Maybe I should tweet the MD…
Peace and light
Peter.
Michelle, I am a new reader to your blog, but I am so impressed with what I’ve read so far. This blog is so accurate in the need to take on a more selfless position when engaging in social media. Since the point of social media is building relationships with customers (who are people!), we should go about it the same way we build relationships in person. Focus on them, show that you care, don’t always try finding ways to talk about you or your product, but show genuine interest in them and add value to their lives. If you can build a solid relationship, you’ve also gained a customer for life.
I have read a lot of post on other blogs that say “I have been blogging for two months now and not making any money yet, what should I do?”
I say,” Become a person of value for others and with persistence you will succeed.” What can you do to help other people, without always thinking about the money. The money will follow if you do it right.
Great post Michelle,
I agree with some of the comments on the IM spam fest as well. As ever some ‘Guru’ trick guide comes out and everyone jumps on board. I’m on there as an IMer and tend to only follow other IMers. So, all I get is a vast wall of promotional stuff.
I stopped autofollowing months back and now never link back to anything about my own stuff in my daily tweets . My blog and lenses update automatically on there and that’s it.
The rest of the time I just rage about the system and make wild predictions about the world economy or put up links to YouTube rock vids. I get far more ‘hits’ to my site or blog from those.
I now only follow people if they appear interesting. No pic… I don’t even check ‘em out. No posts, forget it.
There are people who I follow (and follow me) who are still using Twitter in a purely social sense and they are about the only tweets I actually now read.
I still think Twitter can be a very powerful marketing tool if used properly. So, if you are in the Stock Trading niche (for example) you should be on there as a stock trader and only follow other like minded people.
Enjoy your mails! Keep up the great work.
Bang on the money. I guess once the dust settles companies might just get it – the way in which many companies are using Twitter and other Social networks is how many still use email marketing – cheaply and with little effect.
I agree with your article. Thank you for laying out it in a concise clear way. I have a site about personal development, brain entrainment, and hypnosis for positive change. My readers love the freebie’s I set up on my site. I want them to know I give it away to help them to succeed. The unique privilege of getting to help others is of vast value to me as a blogger and website developer, simply because my heart is in helping others. I haven’t hit break even on my investments yet but I am getting to fulfill a life dream of reaching many on a grand scale who may need my free stuff. So at the end of the day I have left the results up to creation. Having posts like this give clear cut directions to each of us when we are in the newbies stage of getting involved on social networks, and are confused about what is a right approach and what is a wrong approach to getting messages out to those who actually may have a need or desire for a particular type of product or service.
Nice post, thank you.
hey Michelle, great post as always.
unsure whether someone else already raised this point, but the auto-DMs on twitter as a pain in the ass, and I noticed that Michael S Copeland called for a stop to the Social Media Spam!
Well, on that fron Justin Brooke over at sitefliiing wrote a post on it and how to OPT-OUT of auto-dms from tweetlater.
.
anyways, thanks for a great post, and I thought this post from Justin might help some people claim back their twitter inboxes!
much love,
Tony Finbarr-Smith, UK
hey Michelle, great post as always.
unsure whether someone else already raised this point, but the auto-DMs on twitter as a pain in the ass, and I noticed that Michael S Copeland called for a stop to the Social Media Spam!
Well, on that fron Justin Brooke over at sitefliiing wrote a post on it and how to OPT-OUT of auto-dms from tweetlater.
.
anyways, thanks for a great post, and I thought this post from Justin might help some people claim back their twitter inboxes!
much love,
Tony Finbarr-Smith, UK
Thanks for getting this off my chest!
) Currently going through this at the moment with trying to change mindset as to not only why Social Media is an immensely important channel to use, but equally important to use it properly.
I refuse to be part of any Social Media campaign that would result in straying away from any of the 3 pillars you mentioned.
As always Michelle – great content!
Thanks!
hay!
Once again great content and yes building up relationship is the most important thing and it is required so that people can trust you.
Anyway everybody nice views.
Wow! really enjoyed the read, as well as, all the comments.
As a consumer, I agree with relationship building. Keeping the intended customers happy & feeding with knowledge is key to having them sing your praises.
I’m a new reader of your blog and found this article very inciteful. What you are saying is really “Provide value to your customers and they will reciprocate with purchases and referrals”. This is true wherever you do business on the internet or in the high street, in Twitter or in a blog (yours is a great example).