A mother’s advice shapes the lives of their children. One piece of advice that most mothers share is “Don’t Talk to Strangers”. Being raised in New York City, my own mother told me countless times to never, ever talk to strangers.
Marketing has always been about reaching out to new prospects using a variety of vehicles but in today’s digitally driven world, marketing is about creating conversations.
Conversations in our digital often world happen real-time and very often with complete strangers.
So mom’s advice that you should never talk to strangers simply does not work in today’s digital marketing environment. As a matter of fact, moms should be dispensing advice to the contrary for creating a digital marketing plan.
Talk to all the strangers that want to talk to you!
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many other platforms are designed specifically to facilitate communication with total strangers. These strangers could be your prospect or your next client.
I am not suggesting that you engage in endless rambling conversations about the weather. Nor I am suggesting that you engage with people that are not legitimate business prospects.
I am suggesting that you develop a plan to manage your conversations.
The digital landscape is crowded and noisy. To have a meaningful, effective conversations requires that you create a specific plan. Be sure that your plan defines your target audience, the products and services you wish to promote, the content that you plan to deliver including messaging and images, as well as the follow-up sequence.
If someone expresses interest in your products or services, they will likely ask questions that are familiar to you. One easy way to respond quickly and consistently is to create a list of FAQs for your business and keep it handy. You could also create a specific web page of FAQs so you can easily direct prospects to the right information. Use chatbots when possible to automate responses.
Create meaningful conversations that benefit your prospects. If someone expresses an interest in product A, don’t send them information about products A though Z. Focus on their needs and interests. Most of today’s email marketing and CRM systems will help you identify and track someone’s interest and deliver content that is appropriate to them.
Follow-up with prospects to keep the conversation going. Use emails and private messages to stay front of mind with your prospects.
And finally, don’t forget to pick up the phone and have a real conversation with your prospects. Human conversation is still a very effective means of engaging with prospects. I very much enjoy speaking to people.
The vast majority of my mother’s advice has served me well throughout my life, but her one piece of advice that I should “Never, ever talk to strangers does not work in digital marketing.”
Happy Mother’s Day!
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