The mistake we are focusing on today is forgetting about developing a list.
On this series of posts I am identifying social media mistakes business owners make and I am offering a recommended fix. I am not going to link to each of the previous posts here at the top because there are too many to keep neat. Scroll to the bottom to check other posts.
Mistake - You think social media replaces email.
If you are putting all your eggs in the Facebook or Twitter basket, stop it. Stop it right now. It does not happen very often, but your account could be closed for a transgression you did not even know you were making and the 500, 1500, 5000 followers you had are magically gone. You may have a great connection with some of your social media friends, but if you do not have any way to contact them outside of that venue you could be left high and dry.
If you have not already, start your email/mailing list today and start sending regular updates. Regular does not mean every day; it does not need to mean every week. Once a month is often enough to keep you in their thoughts and keep your list fairly clean (and, if you do it right, generate some sales). You control your list and, as long as you are backing it up frequently, if your email provider goes out of business unexpectedly you can get a new email provider and be contacting your list right away.
For your casual social media friends occasional requests to opt in to your email list are fine. Message your deeper contacts to get their information so you have alternate ways to contact them. If they do not want to give you information, they are not as invested in the relationship as you are. These deeper contacts are not necessarily going to be added to your general email marketing accounts. Perhaps they will be placed in your personal contacts.
Contrary to popular belief, people are still more likely to open and buy from an email request than a social media request. You may be initiating a fair amount of business via social media. I can still attribute more revenue in from Facebook (which I do not even like) than my email list, however my list is tiny and new. My open rates have actually started to rise as my list grows which is more than I can say about my Facebook post reach.
Social media is a great way to connect with new contacts, and email is a powerful tool to deepen that connection and stay connected with your customers who avoid social media. You need both to build your business.
If you already have an email list be sure to occasionally (at least weekly) ask your social media followers to sign up for it. If you need to start your list now, MailChimp has a free option you can start with to get your feet wet.
Come back again next time. I will have another mistake; and another solution.
Until next time...
Have a great day,
Susanne
It is time to find your voice. Learn how you can effectively integrate a social media campaign into your marketing plan. Sign up for Stop the Social Media Madness online training today.
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 1
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 2
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 3
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 4
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 5
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 6
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 7
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 8
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 9
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 10
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 11
On this series of posts I am identifying social media mistakes business owners make and I am offering a recommended fix. I am not going to link to each of the previous posts here at the top because there are too many to keep neat. Scroll to the bottom to check other posts.
Mistake - You think social media replaces email.
If you are putting all your eggs in the Facebook or Twitter basket, stop it. Stop it right now. It does not happen very often, but your account could be closed for a transgression you did not even know you were making and the 500, 1500, 5000 followers you had are magically gone. You may have a great connection with some of your social media friends, but if you do not have any way to contact them outside of that venue you could be left high and dry.
If you have not already, start your email/mailing list today and start sending regular updates. Regular does not mean every day; it does not need to mean every week. Once a month is often enough to keep you in their thoughts and keep your list fairly clean (and, if you do it right, generate some sales). You control your list and, as long as you are backing it up frequently, if your email provider goes out of business unexpectedly you can get a new email provider and be contacting your list right away.
For your casual social media friends occasional requests to opt in to your email list are fine. Message your deeper contacts to get their information so you have alternate ways to contact them. If they do not want to give you information, they are not as invested in the relationship as you are. These deeper contacts are not necessarily going to be added to your general email marketing accounts. Perhaps they will be placed in your personal contacts.
Contrary to popular belief, people are still more likely to open and buy from an email request than a social media request. You may be initiating a fair amount of business via social media. I can still attribute more revenue in from Facebook (which I do not even like) than my email list, however my list is tiny and new. My open rates have actually started to rise as my list grows which is more than I can say about my Facebook post reach.
Social media is a great way to connect with new contacts, and email is a powerful tool to deepen that connection and stay connected with your customers who avoid social media. You need both to build your business.
If you already have an email list be sure to occasionally (at least weekly) ask your social media followers to sign up for it. If you need to start your list now, MailChimp has a free option you can start with to get your feet wet.
Come back again next time. I will have another mistake; and another solution.
Until next time...
Have a great day,
Susanne
It is time to find your voice. Learn how you can effectively integrate a social media campaign into your marketing plan. Sign up for Stop the Social Media Madness online training today.
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 1
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 2
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 3
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 4
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 5
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 6
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 7
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 8
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 9
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 10
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 11
RSS Feed
