“Connecting” on Social Media – a huuuuge deal these days. I mean, this seems to be what social media is all about. Or is it? Don’t worry, this is NOT one of those posts about the use of social media vs actually meeting people in. real. life! No, I really want to talk about connecting on social media. Or maybe I should say: …how to NOT “connect”.
I do like to network on Facebook, LinkedIn etc., I do.
For example, I do like to connect with fellow professionals to exchange ideas, get inspired, ask for and give advice… and all that jazz. (I also get the occasional client from networking on social media, but more about that later.)
So when I see a post in one of my Facebook groups that goes like this…
“Hey, who of you is a coach? I’d like to connect!”
…I tend to throw my proverbial hat into the proverbial ring. In other words, I comment stating that I am a coach indeed, and this is what I do and so on…
…only to find that they’ve send me a message in my inbox. About their services.
The other method is sending me a request to “friend” me or connect with me (on LinkedIn) and, upon my accepting that request, sending me a message. In my inbox. About their services. A friggin’ sales pitch!
It’s quickly becoming one of my pet peeves to be enticed to “connect” just to be collected as a lead, i.e. recipient of a copy-and-paste sales pitch.
And you know what I want to do then, right away?
NOT! BUY!!
Seriously – who thinks that this is actually a successful approach to marketing and sales? As a prospective customer/client, all this does is annoy me. So why would I want to buy from them or hire them?
When I get a client from Facebook or elsewhere, this is not how it happened. You build a relationship with your audience. You post useful content. You answer questions. You provide information and value.
You. Don’t. SPAM. Them!
(This little piece of wisdom is not even originating from me, but rather something that many seasoned social media marketers are going to tell you. Yes, among other places, on Facebook.)
The whole spamming thing becomes especially ironic when those people spamming you turn out to be marketing coaches and self-proclaimed experts in lead generation.
I have started using the following copy-and-paste reply:
“Dear […], as a fellow coach, please don’t take this the wrong way: I love actually “connecting” with people, but this is just another sales pitch, which I get in masses. If this strategy works with other people, good for you, but I am not the right lead for you, sorry.”
For future purposes, I might actually send them a link to this blog post. Might save a lot of time!
🙂
P.S.: Yes, this probably reads like a slightly bitchy rant, but there’s actually a little piece of advice, deeeeply hidden among the bitchin’… and now I shall revert to my usual sweet, docile… *coughs* …self. 😉
susa(nne) wagner 