I talk to a lot of business owners every day. It’s my job. Fortunately, I really enjoy it. One of the things I have learned is that everyone has a wealth of knowledge about their particular industry — information that their clients/patients/customers could find useful. I spend a lot of time telling those business owners about the importance of sharing that information with prospective clients. In most industries, this is one of the best possible uses of social media — education. Since my days at Microsoft, I have been stressing the importance of blogging to business owners. “Why?” you ask? I’m glad you did. Being an expert… a trusted adviser… has a big influence on a customer’s decision to purchase. When offered a choice, who wouldn’t prefer to buy from “an expert”? Not sure I’m right? J.W. Dicks, a world-famous personal branding expert has the same opinion — people want to buy from an expert. Moreover, they’re willing to pay more for the privilege of doing so.
It sounds good, doesn’t it? “Become an expert in the eyes of potential clients and they will pay me more?” You’re ready to sign up now, right? The bad news is that it involves work. And, depending on your field of expertise, it may be a lot of work. Even J.W. Dicks, who has created multi-million dollar businesses centered around this concept, acknowledges that this is hard work. The good news is that social media makes this a lot easier!
Social media is a buzzword right now. It’s hard to operate on a daily basis without encountering the phrase. From Time magazine to Martha Stewart, everyone is discussing the merits, problems, and how-to’s around social media. Prospective clients express their trepidation around the entire concept of social media.
“What would I post on Facebook?”
“Why would people care?”
“We don’t want to offer sales nor coupons. Is Facebook good for anything else?”
I hear all of these questions on a regular basis. And, if you’ve been paying attention thus far, you can probably predict my answers — Facebook, like a blog, is perfect for conveying your expertise to your current and potential clients. What, as a business owner, would you give for the opportunity to present your expertise to several hundred customers every week? The good news is that it doesn’t have to cost you anything except some time. A little effort (and a lot of commitment — you don’t want to start this and let it go) can help get you started on the road to being seen as the expert you are.
And, because I want to show that I can practice what I preach, I’ll be posting here on a regular basis. I’ll be tagging the rest of this series as “Things I Take for Granted.” Let me know how you like them!
