| I was recently engaged with a company which | | | | selling you his/her wares sooner or later you |
| was getting ready to launch a branded social | | | | would simply stop answering the knock on the |
| network. They were all excited about brining in | | | | door. Door to door selling in neighborhoods has |
| the top names in their industry to join their | | | | been banned by many city ordnances. Then why |
| network and selling their goods. They were | | | | would we think it different in the virtual world? |
| getting ready to tell the top named people to join | | | | In the virtual world people tend to migrate to |
| the network and just cut and paste " stuff " | | | | others who have something in common or an |
| from these peoples own web sites and post the | | | | experience to share. People migrate to forums |
| information onto their newly formed network. I | | | | and networks that connect them to like minded |
| went and looked at a few of the web sites for | | | | people and issues. The postings in social networks |
| the proposed top names then I told the parties | | | | are more of a sharing experiences and giving |
| STOP THE PRESSES! Most of the "stuff" on the | | | | information method than it is about directly selling |
| proposed web pages was selling and selling hard! | | | | a product or service. The virtual world of social |
| The parties I was talking to were well established | | | | networking is much like the neighborhoods of the |
| successful adults in their own niche. | | | | physical world, "your home page, your brand, your |
| The problem however was they were trying to | | | | postings, pictures, videos and connections" |
| apply what made them successful in the physical | | | | represent your personal virtual real estate". |
| world to the virtual world of social networking, put | | | | If you want to build lasting, meaningful |
| simply it doesn't work! In the physical world of the | | | | relationships you don't approach the relationships |
| past individuals, organizations and institutions "sold" | | | | and others "real estate" in a constant selling mode |
| their products and services by using certain | | | | and if you do you will fail and hurt your personal |
| established methods of selling. The methods | | | | brand.In my physical neighborhood my neighbors |
| primarily were aimed at telling the market how | | | | get to know me and what I do for a living. My |
| good your product is, why its better than the | | | | neighbors may approach me with a questions |
| competition and marketing a value proposition that | | | | about something that I may be identified as |
| appealed to the needs of the masses. | | | | knowing something about. In turn I would share |
| The past methods of selling were aimed at using | | | | information which may help them find or learn |
| media to appeal to the emotions to a need aimed | | | | what it is they may be inquiring about. |
| at invoking a purchase or inquiry vs. the | | | | Subsequently if what I shared was helpful to |
| fundamentals of building relationships which is | | | | them it just increases my credibility with my |
| driven by the psychology of sharing and giving vs. | | | | neighbors and my brands worth. |
| selling and taking. | | | | In the virtual world relationship building works |
| Enter social networking as a new medium. What | | | | much in the same way. The method of selling |
| many adults don't understand about "social | | | | something is about reverse thinking. Give to the |
| networking" is the basics of building relationships | | | | community and you earn the right and the natural |
| on line and the methods of establishing credibility. | | | | human response from the community to get. A |
| Lets use a physical life example. You live in a | | | | huge shift in thinking for many adults who try and |
| neighborhood. If you had a neighbor who | | | | apply old rules to a new world. |
| constantly knocked on your door and tried to | | | | What say you? |