I first became aware of Viva Visibility Founder Nancy Marmalejo while researching great Twitter profiles for the Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action Guide. When I read her profile, I knew I wanted to meet her. Here are the words that invited my immediate interest:
- Nancy Marmolejo
- Branding and social media strategist
- Fun, friendly, smart as a whip, and prone to creative outbursts
I subsequently heard Nancy on a teleseminar with Publicity Hound Joan Stewart during which she spoke about whether your social media profile passed the 10-second test, and I was sold on her expertise and her engaging style.
So impressed with Nancy and the value her expertise can add to the Authentic Visibility conversation, I have declared this week “Viva Visibility Week” on the blog. Enjoy Nancy’s article, and stay tuned for additional posts throughout this week to give you even more insight into how to build a loyal following of ready-to-buy fans. I’ll be posting a one-hour interview with Nancy on Wednesday that you won’t want to miss.
Magnetize Your Social Media Marketing: How to Build a Loyal Following of Ready-to-Buy Fans
By Nancy Marmolejo
Social networking gives entrepreneurs the unprecedented opportunity to get in front of big audiences in relatively short amounts of time. With such easy access to prospects and leads, you must have a firm understanding of why you’re there and how you’ll accomplish your goals.
When you take time to focus on relationships, you’ll magnetize your marketing and create a loyal following of ready-to-buy fans!
Interestingly enough, many professionals haven’t clearly defined why they are getting on social networking sites. “Because everyone else is” isn’t a good enough reason. There’s nothing wrong with signing up on several sites and learning as you go along, but it’s more important than ever to understand your reasons for showing up. Here are a few examples of why professionals use social networking. Scan the list and use any and all of them to guide your actions:
- Connect with prospective clients
- Drive traffic to your website, blog, or articles
- Build a following
- Attract joint venture and strategic alliance partners
- Get known by the media
- Broaden your sphere of influence
Have a Plan to Accomplish Your Goals
Social networking success is built upon relationships. Just as in offline, face-to-face networking, relationship building takes time. You wouldn’t go to an in person networking event and ask someone for their business before you’ve said “Hello”. Unfortunately that happens every day on social networking sites. Just because someone has added you as a friend doesn’t mean she wants your sales pitch!
When you design your social networking strategy, first ask yourself this important question:
How can I provide value to my network and followers?
By focusing on adding value, you’ll filter out unnecessary actions, unwanted pitches, and off-topic tangents. You’ll lead with quality and people will look forward to the information you share.
As you add value and gain credibility, you’ll activate trust in your followers. Value, credibility, and trust are the main components that turn an observer to a follower, a follower to a fan, a fan to a lead, and a lead into a client.
One of the biggest mistakes professionals make in social networking is jumping too quickly to the sales part of the relationship before building a foundation of trust and credibility. By proving your worth with top notch information, you make it easy for others to perceive you in a favorable light.
Now Go Do It!
Remember: people buy from those they know, like, and trust. Use social networking to add value, build credibility and develop trust with your ideal contacts. We’re just starting to scratch the surface of social media’s potential- start off strong with a solid foundation and enjoy success for years to come.
Nancy Marmolejo simplifies social media for entrepreneurs and shows them how to turn their visibility into profitability using easy to use, proven methods. An expert in teaching how to create adoring fan bases, is frequently quoted in the media and online in the subject of social media lead generation. Read Nancy’s blog and get free downloads by visiting this link.
