{"id":4598,"date":"2011-07-09T07:29:46","date_gmt":"2011-07-09T14:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/?p=4598"},"modified":"2011-07-09T07:29:46","modified_gmt":"2011-07-09T14:29:46","slug":"all-your-time-spent-on-social-networks-should-be-about-getting-a-new-fan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/all-your-time-spent-on-social-networks-should-be-about-getting-a-new-fan\/","title":{"rendered":"All Your Time Spent on Social Networks Should Be About Getting a New Fan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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So often we all get caught up in the “fun and excitement” of Facebook, Twitter or YouTube and we forget why we are there using these various websites. It is quite simple, all your time spent on the many social networks is for one thing… to get a new fan.<\/p>\n

All your work online should be about attempting to get a conversion. A conversion to a new email address, a Facebook like, a Twitter follower, a YouTube view, a download or the ultimate goal, a purchase!<\/p>\n

Plain and simple, the real reason to participate in any marketing activity, including Facebook and others, is to generate a customer.<\/p>\n

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That point of view gets overlooked in favor of the \u201csee how many fans you can get\u201d social media game. One of the things that has become painfully clear of late is that having lots of followers does not equate into having lots of business. I know plenty of well-known, heavy hitter social media types, the ones that show up on lots of tops of Twitter lists, that are broke.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not suggesting that having no followers is the way to go either, but turning followers into leads and converting those leads into profitable business is the real reason to spend time and money in any tactic.<\/p>\n

Again, I\u2019m not suggesting that this means you find a way to buy a few fans and then spam them into submission, but you must have a workable plan in place to move people from followers to prospects.<\/p>\n

For most businesses this means email. If you are not consistently putting out great content and offering that content for your followers to grab in exchange for their email address you are severely limiting your ability to make social media pay.<\/p>\n

You can do this in the form of an email newsletter, downloadable free ebook or even free online seminar or other event. The point is that if you can gain trust in your social media engagement, the kind that makes people confidently give you permission to email them, you\u2019ll make social media pay. If you don\u2019t, you won\u2019t, it\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve earned this kind of trust, you can begin to nurture this lead, educate and make offers in ways that simply don\u2019t have impact in most social media settings.<\/p>\n

Obviously, you can take this offline as well \u2013 drive folks to play a game of check-in, invite them to your in person event, or get them to enter to win a grand prize at your location \u2013 but the point still remains.<\/p>\n

Look at what your doing right now with your social media efforts and ask yourself this question \u2013 What could I do that would entice some percentage of my followers to willingly and joyfully give me their email address? \u2013 answer that and you\u2019ll turn your social media efforts into a powerful lead generation machine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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