…or so some might have you think.
I say, ignore the voices shouting from the peanut gallery that “selling has no place in Social Media.”
Social Media is about more than just unity, flowers and “the conversation.”
LOOK! A UNICORN!
The fallacy of free
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE free information, I LOVE free access to these networks and I LOVE the freedom to build new relationships, often without a care for the eventual ROI of that connection. But just because free has been a big part of the Social Media landscape it doesn’t mean that everything should be free of charge. People have gotten too used to the idea of free and have forgotten that companies still need to make money and parents need to feed their children. They’ve also forgotten that they should be willing to pay for something that adds value to their business or lives.
Selling is fine in Social Media, you just have to understand what you are doing.
Sell Information
Chris Brogan
There was outrage when Chris Brogan starting selling blog topics for $9.97/month. The critics exclaimed that it is a sham to sell blog topics. It’s inauthentic! It’s poppycock! Has he gone insane or jumped the shark?!
Similarly there was outrage when Chris Brogan offered a $47 webinar on Google+ just mere weeks after it launched. They cried, “how could he possibly know enough about G+ already to justify this!”
Do these critics honestly believe that the information doesn’t carry value to someone? Do people think that he shouldn’t accept money from those willing to buy what he is offering? Or is it more likely that they are upset they didn’t think of and execute these ideas first?
If you truly believe in the idea of a free market then Brogan wouldn’t make a dime if his product weren’t worth it and he certainly wouldn’t continue making money. Information still has value, even in the world of Wikipedia, blogging and free news.
Jason Falls / Social Media Explorer
Jason Falls, author, speaker, blogger, consultant and much more, assembled a team for Social Media Explorer to create a new offering called Exploring Social Media. Exploring Social Media is a constantly growing knowledge base authored and curated by some exceptionally bright and insightful people in Social Media. It is not a scam to offer something of value for money. In fact, Exploring Social Media will likely SAVE people money versus some alternatives.
Sell Product
Brian Clark – Copyblogger Media
I’ve learned about several amazing products via Brian Clark (@copyblogger). I found out about the Thesis WordPress theme, then the ScribeSEO plugin (affiliate link) and also the Genesis WordPress Framework. Each of these products is fantastic and I didn’t mind hearing about them through Brian because I trust his opinions and advice due to years of reading his blog, twitter, etc.
Dell
Dell created a Twitter account for their outlet…it makes money. They are very up front about why they created it. Some people follow it, some people buy products.
Groupon, Living Social, Amazon, Woot, etc.
Each of these companies sell products. They do it through Twitter, they do it through Facebook and I’m sure it doesn’t stop there.
Sell Service
This is what I do.
I populate this blog with helpful tips, tricks and ways to think about things.
I use Twitter to build relationships with people who will either purchase my time to help their company or refer me to others.
I use Facebook to be helpful to my social network.
I use Linkedin to network with other professionals.
I use all of these tools to build trust with my audience and sell my company’s services because I know that not everyone has the time to understand social media or how to utilize it for business. If you are one of those people that need help, please check out my company True Voice Media.
Not every one of my readers or network contacts are prospects but those that are will hopefully consider working with me in the future.
Selling is fine, just don’t be a dick
No one wants the hard sell in social media.
“What’s it gonna take to get you into this new Twitter account today?”
It starts with building trust, respecting your audience and, most importantly, having a strategy for turning your audience into customers. The first two are important but without revenue, you’re just a friendly person.
Social Media selling isn’t wrong, it just requires a softer approach. We all need to promote ourselves and it’s perfectly acceptable to do. Social Media is as much about moving products and selling services as it is all of the fun, social, warm and fuzzy stuff. Just make sure your selling isn’t at the expense of your audience’s time and intelligence.