Facebook/Twitter Links

[FIRSTCLASS]

Now that I have a FB page and Twitter account I'm getting antsy to start putting them to work. I've noticed that the more active businesses type a little one sentence blurb and then post a link to an article that talks about something relative to their business. This is the approach I'd like to take to get my feet wet.

Following twitter for a bit now one person stands out to me, Chad Ochocinco. Like him or not the guy knows how to use social media to his benefit. He's active and has more to say than just "hey world, Im waking up now". He also posts/retweets a lot of links to interesting stories that people have sent to him. This gets him good exposure and gets the originator a story sent to 1,000,000 followers.

What about setting up a thread where we could all share articles/pictures/stories about our industry? That way we can all stay active and in front of our "fans" with solid reading material.

There are many stories out there that most of us will never hear about. Thats the great thing with social media, everyone shares information, constantly, at an exponential rate. It's really amazing the reach we could have if we all band together.

[Greg Di]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

It's a slippery slope.

You can tweet all day long (and some contractors do which amazes me) and have 2000 followers, but if those tweets aren't converting to leads, it's pointless.

You need to have a strategy and stick to it for Twitter or FB to work for you.

A good resource is www.darrenslaughter.com. Read his blog. Dare I say he would be a good person for you to hire to get your program off the ground the right way. It would be money very well spent IMO.

[FIRSTCLASS]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

Thank for the link. Seems like he has some interesting stuff to say.

I wouldn't say I'm in any hurry to get off the ground I'm simply saying that to stay in front of past and potential customers it would be nice to have a fairly consistent stream of relevant info to share with them. If we can expedite the process of sharing information with our fans by incorporatng it with something we like to do (JLC) I think we can all win.

Think about it, you're mindlessly trolling along here reading misc posts here and there, click on a link to an interesting story and think "Hey I bet someone else would be interested in this". Open up FB, type a sentence, post a link, done. 30 secnds max. Now thats efficiency.

In response to your first sentence I wouldnt say its pointless. Maybe that contractor enjoys tweeting? How can you really gauge how many leads you are getting from Twitter? My strategy for these new outlets is simply get me in front of many new faces and be seen/known as a construction expert and it doesnt have to be immediate, I want it known that if you want something done professionally, call Matt. I don't think you can say for certain if or if not the ROI is immediate but I think long term the more current clients you get that "fan" you on FB, maybe discuss their project online during of immediately after, the more opportunity it bring to set you up as THE professional in your particular industry.

[FIRSTCLASS]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

Some beautiful decks BTW Greg. Nice work

[Allan Edwards]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

I have this theory that when using social media, the more spontaneous and natural it is the better. If you truly enjoy it and participate because you like it, or you have something semi-interesting to say, or you comment on something interesting or funny someone else says, the more you will participate and stick with it. If you have to force yourself to use it, then you probably won’t stay with it long term.

While a little self promotion is ok, I think too much will turn people off. I would recommend starting off slowly, spend 10-15 minutes a day and approach it “socially” rather than as a 100% hard core marketing tool for your business.

[Greg Di]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

That's a good approach Allen.

I follow a couple of contractor friends on twitter who must post 50 times a day, no joke. That's overkill bordering on becoming counterproductive.

[David Meiland]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

friends on twitter who must post 50 times a day.

That seems like an insane waste of time. I'd get thru half a day before I unsubscribed. Don't they have anything better to do?

"Just rolled up to the Smith job. Sparky's here to install those lights...."

"Nice lights, they show the waves in the drywall real well...."

"Went out to the truck and got my new Festool Kapex!!"

"Why does Sparky have a nicer truck than me? I'm the GC"

"Leftover ham for lunch. Damn"

"Took the Coke from Sparky's lunch while he was in the can. Played dumb"

"Just farted"

"Farted again, yuck"

"I think Mrs Smith knows I farted"

"My drill came unplugged, had to plug it in again"

"Outbid on eBay, I really wanted that golf club"

"Buy It Now on a different club to make myself feel better"

"I kinda stink, I need a shower"

"Sparky's got stupid music on the radio"

"Mrs Smith is making spaghetti for dinner, wonder if I can accidentally "stay" for some"



Uhhhhh.... OK!! My day went pretty good too!

[DarrenSlaughter]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

Hey Greg, thanks for the love! Get me over that stuff!

-Darren

[James Eggert]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

"That's overkill bordering on becoming counterproductive. "

It's the same thing with everyone on the job HAS TO answer their &*&^%cell phone. It has lowered productivity in my mind!

[DarrenSlaughter]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

Greg, this one is for you!

Twitter & Facebook have a place. If for nothing else than to listen. Listen to your friends, listen to your clients or customers, listen to what is going on around you. You don't have to sit there and watch the Twitter stream and lose consciousness, there is a smarter way.

Here is a step by step way for you to spend 5 minutes a night tracking what is going on in your marketplace everyday.

What you will need:

1. A twitter account
2. An RSS reader such as Google Reader or the one in Microsoft Outlook
3. A list of your primary jobs; Greg does decks, so let's use decks.
4. A list of all the areas you work in. Counties, cities, towns and areas.
5. A list of zip codes you work in
6. Your top 5 competitors

The process:

1. Sign in to Twitter (log in under the old version, it is easier to do what I am going to tell you)
2. In the sidebar, search for all of your primary job types and areas, counties, cities, towns or areas. So for Greg, he would do bergen decks, bergen deck builders, north jersey deck companies, etc.
3. For each search, hit the little magnifying glass. Even if your results show zero, I want you to scroll down to the bottom of the sidebar where it says "RSS for this search query".
4. Click that - The RSS reader of your choice should open and you now have a little bird out there listening all day, everyday for the time when someone mentions that search string we entered.
5. You can get even more granular results if you put brackets around your search such as "bergen decks", which will only look for search strings with that exact phrase.
6. Spend 1 hour doing this for everything that relates to you, your company, your competition, your market, your product, your service your whatever you want.
7. Make sure you click the "RSS for this search query" for each, and you will now begin to start getting messages in your RSS feed for you to take 5 minutes a day to review.
8. The ones that really make sense for you to jump into the fray and comment or offer an opinion or suggestion is how you build brand equity and clients online.
9. Now just check your RSS reader every night to see if there is anything worth your time and there you have it, an easy-peasy way for you to get started in social media marketing!


And if you need proof-

That is how Greg found me in the first place. Secondly, my RSS reader told me someone mentioned my name on JLC and within an hour I was here saying thank you to Greg for the kind words. Think that won't mean something to Greg, who is my customer?

On a side note, you can do the same thing with Google Alerts, but it is a bit different. And finally, a note on Facebook. I don't use Facebook for anything other than a fan page because I am waiting to see the value for what I do (small contractor marketing) to push the trigger on that platform.

That doesn't mean I don't use it, but I am in a different boat. I am a marketing guy, so I NEED to be everywhere, if for no other reason than how can I help you guys.

I DO think there is value in you guys adopting the check-in sites: Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook Places. So start doing your homework on those services now before the great check-in land rush that I am sure will occur later this year!

And finally...this time I mean it. What would the ROI be if you got a client or customer this way, like a billion percent? It will cost you an hour of your time and the upside to your business is huge.

So, I hope that helped, and Greg, this is in lieu of the video!

-Darren

[FIRSTCLASS]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

Darren, Cant quite figure the RSS seach thing out. Maybe Im running the newer version but I cant find the "RSS for this search query".

[FIRSTCLASS]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

I just had a discussion w my lead earlier this week about the phone thing. He was on the phone leaning against his truck yukking it up w a friend while I was cleaning up.

The end result was an agreement that immediate family and girlfriends are ok to answer but you must keep working.

I discourage my apprentice from even carrying a phone on the job. I see no reason for it.

Main thing is following the rules myself. Most calls during the day are business related, but entertaining nonetheless. I have become friends w most of my suppliers so our conversations are very light and fun. The guys see me enjoying myself while on the phone and presume Im talking to friends. But I always keep working. Cant set a rule Im not willing to follow myself.

[DarrenSlaughter]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

Darren, Cant quite figure the RSS seach thing out. Maybe Im running the newer version but I cant find the "RSS for this search query".

You can do it two ways...switch to the old version (I still use that one, haven't migrated over yet)

or go to:

http://search.twitter.com/

and do everything as explained above. Once you perform your search, you will see to top right of the results an RSS logo and the "Feed for this Query" text. click that, and all is good!

[FIRSTCLASS]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

Allan,

Agree that it has to be "social" and it will work for you more if you enjoy it. Thats the intention of my original post, even if you dont like FB you definitely like JLC or you wouldnt be here so why not combine the two.

Now if I could just find something interesting to post!

I did just link my Service Magic profile page w a comment of " I'd like to thank our latest client for the fantastic review they gave us. Thank you so very much." Hopefully both fans check it out LOL!

[FIRSTCLASS]

Re: Facebook/Twitter Links

Good deal Darren. Thanks. How much do I owe you? :)