Social Media (Part Two)

I had an epiphany yesterday. I was at a meeting for my “regular” job, hosted by two people who sell self storage companies. They host meetings every few months for self storage business owners to help them run their businesses better, they have guest speakers about various subjects then at the end have a little bit about what they have sold lately. What they are doing is positioning themselves as experts in their field (self storage), providing value for their customers (the information provided in the meetings), and then presenting their sales pitch (we are good at selling self storage companies and we are here for you). Their sales pitch is subtle enough that it almost doesn’t seem like a sales pitch, but that is exactly what the whole meeting was about.

After the meeting I realized what these guys were doing is exactly what we as sellers are trying to do with social media. It is exactly the same concept I’ve been reading about over and over. Figure out who your target market is, offer them information that is relevant and helpful to them, and sell your product.

A lot of questions I see crafters asking concerns social media. It’s a bit of a mystery; people aren’t quite sure how to work it or what the end purpose is. Social media is what that meeting was; it’s a tool, nothing more. Ultimately what you want is for people to buy your product. Using social media can lead you to that goal, just like with any other tool you need to use it correctly.

I have a lot more to say on this subject so I am breaking up my blog posts into sections to make it more functional. This is part two, stay tuned for more.