Welcome to the final part of this social media marketing series.
Now I know you are having a good time. You have a fish on your hook and he is heading for your boat! The question is… Are you prepared to receive it? You are not just hoping he will jump into your boat are you? Surely you will have a net or a gun… Depending on the fish of course… You may look a bit silly shooting at a big mouth bass. But you get my point. You need to have the support ready to bring the fish on board.
The same goes for the process of dealing with a hooked customer. He has trusted you enough to take your bait and head for your website. What will he find? I like to use the example of do not surprise me. Every time I click on a link, I have an expectation of what will show on the next page. It does not matter if this is a link from a social marketing piece, a search engine, or an internal link on a website. I take the bait and click the link. I am expecting to not be disappointed. Now here is the challenging part. You only have about 5 seconds to make sure I see what I am expecting. That is it! If I sense anything that kills the trust you have started to build I am out of here. I hope you enjoyed hooking me because you will never catch me.
People, you have to insure that every page on your web site has a purpose. I should see what I am expecting and have a clear path to the next hook. It is kind of a rinse and repeat thing. You have me in your web site, the first page I land on should encourage me that you are truly offering what the bait led me to believe. It should have a clear path to the next link “call to action button”. This should lead me down a simple yet complete process right up to the time that I am converted to a sale. Now you have caught me. Again, I want to stress I am not fish that has been forced…. We just use that as an example to help you understand how simple this is. I am a customer that has enjoyed, and more importantly understood, every step that I have taken to get me here. I truly trust and respect you now more than ever. If you accomplish this you are truly a successful fisherman.
Back to our Realtor example…. I was so pleased by the advice the article freely gave. I have decided to take a look at the free offer to come and advise me on changes I could make to my property that would make my appraisal better. I have started to trust you. However, I am still wary of a trap. Everything looks good… But If I land on a page trying to sell me real estate I am truly going to be annoyed. You have spent a good amount of time building my trust. You can lose every bit of it in less than 5 seconds. Be careful. I am interested in how you can help me increase my appraisal. Stick to that point.
Your landing page should assure me that the offer is legit. It could contain some reference letters from others that have taken you up on your generous offer. I am needing just a little more confidence that this is not a trick. Give it to me and give me a clear path to set up an appointment. Notice, I did not say contact you. This is something that should be easily available on any web page but not in an obtrusive way. I am already leery that you are just trying to get my information to put me on a mail list. I am here to set up an appointment for your free evaluation. Make sure that is what you give me. Just give me a simple form where I can choose a date and time that works best for me. You can request contact information just make sure I know that it is there to be used only to assist in setting up the evaluation I am seeking. Make every effort you can to make sure it looks legit. No gimmicks, just a business offering and the assistance I was promised.
I as the customer am caught. I am happy about it and looking forward to meeting you to discuss my appraisal. Now deliver. Help me get a better appraisal. 2 months later when I am looking for a realtor… Who do you think I am going to contact first?
That is how social marketing works. It is very powerful if you keep in mind that you are on a journey that will build trust with your potential customers. Show them what they want and offer them something of value. In return for this they will give you their trust. That is what will truly make your campaign a success!
