Posts tagged Customer Engagement

Bestselling author Michael Port talks exclusively to OPEN Forum and reveals how it’s possible, even in this era of vanishing customers, to build a business that’s booked solid.

The Number-One Secret for Social Media Success by Dave Kerpen for OPEN Forum

For many business owners, the temptation is to use social networks to promote themselves and broadcast their messages. But if you stop thinking like a marketer and start thinking like a customer, you’ll understand that the secret to social media is in the “social” more than in the “media”—it’s in being human. That is, it’s in being the sort of person at a cocktail party who listens attentively, tells great stories, shows interest in others, and is authentic and honest. The secret is to simply be likeable.

Here are five ways business owners can be more likeable and ensure greater success using social media:

1. Listen first - and never stop listening.

2. Start with one social network.

3. Don’t tell your customers to like you and follow you, tell them why and how they should.

4. Share pictures and videos.

5. Spend at least 30 minutes a day on social media.

Read more on OPEN Forum

(via The Number-One Secret for Social Media Success | | The New OPEN ForumThe New OPEN Forum)

OPEN Forum: There was a moment as you [Michael Port] started your own business when you realized that clients wouldn’t just come to you—and that you had to be more proactive. What’s your top advice for anyone facing that same challenge?

Michael Port: “It’s never as simple as flicking a switch, or identifying a single thing you need to do to get more clients. I believe very strongly that no matter how proactive you are in your marketing activity, marketing alone will not get you clients.

I know it sounds like sacrilege, but it’s true. Marketing just builds awareness about your products and services. When your prospects have been made aware of what you have to offer, you’ll have an opportunity to showcase your credibility and earn their trust. Once trust is established, it’s appropriate to make sales offers that are proportionate to the amount of trust that’s been earned. You don’t do this by hard pitching, but by striking up relevant sales conversations with the right people.

That said, the simplest way you can be more proactive in creating awareness about your business is to cultivate your relationships thoughtfully and thoroughly. If you’re not a great user of social media, or if you don’t like speaking, writing or buying ads, then there’s little point in trying to be proactive in those areas. You need to choose strategies that you’ll actually enjoy doing.”

Read OPEN Forum’s full interview with Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid, on how to to build a business that’s booked solid.

“Gaga’s business of show business may be very different from the “average” business, but her focus on growing through devoted customer loyalty is a universal business objective. Most business people know that it’s far cheaper to keep a customer than to get new one. Gaga gets the math. It’s her overarching philosophy to focus on her core advocates, the super-fans, the “Little Monsters.” These advocates will ultimately be evangelists who bring in new customers on their own. This customer philosophy is one that businesses would do well to learn from Gaga.”

- Jackie Huba, author of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics

Read more on how to turn your customers into fanatic followers form the Lady Gaga playbook on OPEN Forum

What are the best times to tweet and post on Facebook? A new study from URL shortener Bit.ly shares some valuable insight on when you can get the most social media traction.

(via: The Best Times to Tweet and Post to Facebook)