Content Crooner

photo credit: Orin Zebest

As demonstrated throughout history, the greater degree that a community exists, the more commerce takes place. Imagine a group of cavemen…excuse us, cavepeople. They usually lived in smaller groups and typically shared tools and materials with no real commerce taking place because survival was at a premium and everyone needed to work together. As society evolved, groups eventually joined together, forming larger and larger communities. This created an awareness of different skill sets among people and so trading, bartering and eventually commerce came to be.

The interesting thing is that cavepeople were able to survive and live full lives (perhaps a bit shorter) just like we’re able to today, but they did it with much, much less. So we can see that as we’ve become more social beings, the more we perceive and desire the existence of a higher quality of life. Harness this desire by using social media to build a community of loyal clients and prospective buyers by engaging your audience and encouraging interaction. An active buyer is always best!

Use Social Media Tools to Strike Fear in the Hearts of Mankind

Well, we’re not suggesting that you preach that the end is nigh in order to get your prospects to max out their credit cards thinking that the world will end before they get their monthly bill. We are suggesting that you address genuine concerns, one of the premier, classic reasons why people purchase a product or service, in your blogs, Twitter, Google Buzz and other social media tools. It’s okay to use fear to your advantage as long as you provide a genuine solution for an existing fear—don’t create rumors in an attempt to dupe the public into buying.

Here’s an example of what we mean (Yup, these are probably slightly longer than the text fields in some social media tools, but you can simply post two in a row.):

Your social media post:

• “Did you know that today’s fruits and vegetables now contain a slight fraction of the nutrients that they used to, leading to higher disease rates and more mental and physical disorders?”

Prospect’s response to your post:

• “I’m already eating the daily recommended amount of fruits and veggies—I can’t force myself to eat any more—what do I do to avoid serious health risks?”

Your follow-up response:

• “I feel your pain. I used to try and cram in 12 different fruits into a smoothie just to get the bare minimum of nutrients. Now I’ve been using Supplement X to fill the nutrient gap…feeling great!”

Winning formula: Play on an existing concern, wait for a reaction, swoop in as the hero with a legitimate solution and eliminate their fear.

Create an Idea Exchange to Create Sales

Use your social media tools to get others to talk about your product or service. It’s one thing for prospects to be talked at, being force fed the features and benefits of your offer. It’s quite another thing to hear about your features and benefits from a fellow consumer. There’s a real feeling of camaraderie when it comes to looking out for each other on the Web, helping one another find the best deals while avoiding scams. Your offer gains immense credibility when it’s discussed by a third party. It’s similar to a testimonial, but maintains even more believability because it’s not posted in an artificial and staged manner as most testimonials are. This is a living, breathing account of how your offer can improve people’s lives.

Use a very honest and transparent approach, asking your social media followers about unique ways they’ve used your product to better their lives. (People love an opportunity to get in the spotlight by sharing something that only they thought of.) You might also ask them about funny anecdotes that might have sprung up while using your product. The point is to get people talking, laughing, crying…encourage emotion among your community.

A common fear of business owners is that they don’t want to make their product or service open to public conversation. However, if you maintain integrity and wholeheartedly believe in your offer then you should have no fear of submitting it to the wolves. Provide the best quality and you’ll come out as the resilient Mowgli (You know, the little guy raised by wolves in The Jungle Book) instead of wolf food.

To your success,

Andrew Rossillo

Andrew Rossillo is Content Crooner’s Marketing Blogger and Staff Writer. He’s ready to put his years of copywriting and online marketing experience to work for your business—he’ll help you get noticed!