When an enthusiastic amateur gives advice…
…stop listening
Covid, politics, economics, and of course social media. Everyone is an expert. Why on earth would you believe a doctor when Karen on Twitter (who’s experience is two YouTube videos and a mate from the local coffee shop) can tell you everything you need to know about Covid.
On social media, everyone is an expert.
"Without data you’re just another person with an opinion."
W. Edwards Deming
One of the things that I can tell you with some certainty is that we (like other companies that specialise in this area) have data to support the assertions that we make. That is REALLY important.
Knowing where you are likely to fall-down when you try to implement a social strategy is vital if you want me to help you overcome these hurdles.
The fact that you have a friend that posted something that got 1000 likes and landed them a piece of business is great…but it’s luck. Luck isn’t a good strategy. When you need is a process that is repeatable by both you and others in your team (so you can scale) and predictable so you know what you’re likely to get.
We have worked with dozens of companies and hundreds of individuals and some of the things that we see repeating every single time are these:
- Your personal brand is the cornerstone of your success and you MUST stand-out from the crowd if you want to be noticed and remembered. Saying “expert in sales implementation” is neither memorable nor interesting (and lots of other people will claim the same thing) whereas saying “I once mimed for the Dalai Lama” is. No, really someone did once mime for the Dalai Lama!
- You must publish unique content every day. You might think that your audience is looking forward to your twice a month posts is, at best, delusional…the only person who is waiting for you to post is your mum…and she isn’t going to buy from you. Any sense that you might become overexposed by publishing too often will evaporate when you are trying to create your own content rather than recycling someone else’s.
- Your audience is YOUR audience so they want to hear about you. The more personal you make the post the more engagement you will get. We have rarely seen an instance where this is this not the case. A post about what you do is an advert and nobody wants to read your product pitch. The knack is in blending a post about who you are with a post about what you do if you can get that right you’re half way there.
- You must create your won content. A blog, a video, a photo it must be you it MUST be authentic. LinkedIn (and every social site) is like a dating site…but of course on LinkedIn you’re looking for business rather than romance. However, the same rules apply you must look different, attractive, interesting and be courteous. If you listen more than you speak and ask interesting questions you’re probably on the right track.
You can rail against these things if you want because they are not what you want to hear or because your agency that produces content for you says that’s the best way to do it or because you’re maxed-out and hasn’t got the bandwidth to spend time on LinkedIn or because your nephew is a “social guru” and they do something different or…or…or…
We know from experience that a team of people who really commit to being social can generate a team average of £1m in pipeline and 250,000 content views per person. However, most teams won’t do this because they are, frankly, better at making excuses than they are at adhering to a proven programme.
To be really, and I mean REALLY successful at social media is constant hard work and it never lets up. Don’t think for a moment that you will be different and that you’ll find it easy because you won’t. If it was easy everyone would be doing it.
But of the idea of your sales team generating visibility that a marketing team would be proud of and a constant flow of leads, opportunities and deals…the strap in for the long-term because it’s the only sustainable way to
Oh, and by the way, Georgina is the one that mimed for the Dalai Lama …I bet you won’t forget her now!
I help organisations get the best value from their technical experts by implementing the S.P.A.C.E.C.R.A.F.T. communications system | Author – Speaker – Coach – Trainer |
3yExcellent post and article, Adam. Some great advice in there. Thanks.
“At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” CXAC (Cert) Customer Experience
3yNicely put Adam I think the "most teams won’t do this because they are, frankly, better at making excuses than they are at adhering to a proven programme". is a scary thought. Every day is a challenge right now. Businesses are under pressure. This method is proven. No quick fix. No plaster until back to norm. Those days are gone. Digital, social, strategic, effort, teamwork and consistency = relationships, and business with a number attached. 👌
At my core, I am a teacher. I'm great at the middle of conversations. I'm not as athletic as I remember being.
3y"[Y]our sales team generating visibility that a marketing team would be proud of and a constant flow of leads, opportunities and deals" I hear every #salesleader reading this saying, "Yes please!" Adam
Lifetime Listener | AI Implementation Expert | Fun Coach!
3yAh yes...all the advice is overwhelming Adam Gray, my favorites are the self proclaimed coaches with one year or two year experience who are now ready to coach seasoned business professionals... Results come from doing and generally a great deal of persistence!
Creating safe spaces to enable individuals and teams to learn, grow and develop. When not doing that cycling, reading and drinking wine...
3yThe part that really resonates with me in this piece Adam is repeatability, and as you say this comes from effort and habit. Thanks for sharing.