Author, speaker, marketer and business coach Iggy Pintado gave a wrapt audience the low down on how to leverage social media tools at the Small Business September forum, The Connected Business.
At the end they were ready to ditch their business cards and sign up for Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.
The main points he made were:
Check the statistics
- 70 per cent of Australians visited a social network in June
- 95 per cent of Australian SMEs have internet access
- 71 per cent of SMEs say websites have increased their business
- Google had 10.7 Australian visits in June
- of the 12 most visited Australian websites, 10 allow user interaction.
Look at the connection opportunities
- Connect to customers
- Connect to groups
- Available 24/7 — sell while you sleep
- Global coverage
- Stay competitive
The 4Ps of online networking
Purpose — decide what you’re trying to do before choosing social media tools. Is your purpose to service customers, build a brand or prospect for leads? For example Telstra is using Twitter to respond to customer problems.
Profile — be found, find others, go where other people gather. Frumpy Brit singer Susan Boyle has used her five minutes of fame to build a profile on Facebook that will help her sell the upcoming debut album.
Participation — it’s like being at a party, you have to introduce yourself and listen to others. You can ask a question on Twitter for example to do simple, free research and winnow the responders for follow-up business contact.
Persistence — as with losing wait or creating a new body through exercise, you have to persist. Iggy recommends a 30-minute social media workout each day to activate supporters and nurture communities within your customer base.