The Power of Social Selling
In today’s connected world a single tweet can cost a billion dollars. By now you may have heard of an NBA General Manager’s tweet that caused Chinese businesses to withdraw its interest in the league. Truly it became a make or miss league.
Social selling has a similar effect, meaning the more visible you are, the more chances of people remembering about your products or service. As the saying goes, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”.
What to Post
As a Designer what better way to showcase your abilities but by posting your work or even other works that have inspired you. The “Power of Persuasion and Mind Manipulation” takes into effect when your social media audience keeps on seeing good things in your feeds and timelines. Be it images on Instagram or curated images with an inspirational message or caption on Linkedin.
Remember, you can be an outstanding designer but if nobody knows you, you have a lesser chance to succeed. Learn how to sell yourself and your profession so you can see your designs take off from concept to actual construction and a habitable environment.
“YOU CAN ONLY BE CALLED A DESIGNER IF YOU ARE
James Paul
ABLE TO SELL YOUR DESIGNS AND SEE IT THROUGH TO REALITY”
Most of us are glued to our mobile phones, tablets, laptops or PCs at an average of 5-6 hours a day being at work or at leisure. A quarter of that time is spent on browsing social media and if you keep on posting, chances are you will be frequently on other people’s timelines.
In most networking events that I have attended, most of the people I spoke with have noticed me or was told that I am familiar even though its the first time I have seen them in person. That is because, on Linkedin, I have more than 13.5K connections that are mostly related to my industry, so chances are they have seen me through their Linkedin feeds. That’s a good thing!
The Good & the Bad
Like any other habit, there is also a thing called “Social Media Fatigue”. Either you lose interest in posting at some point in time or your audience gets fed-up looking at your face or your post overtime. This is where the timing and quality of content matters.
When to Post
When I say post frequently doesn’t mean you will need to post 2-3 times a day without substance. I noticed that other wannabee influencer will post whatever they want to do or say several times a day and as a follower, I am tempted to remove them from my friends’ list just to get rid of their life stories in my timeline. I recommend that one should post at least 5-6 times a week (every other day) and maximize engagement by launching a post in the morning on Linkedin and after office hours on Facebook and Instagram. This way you are always seen on everyone’s feeds without facing the risk of overexposure.
Content is King
All of us differ in every way. Our likes, habits, friends, audience, etc. are all different. Therefore it is best to develop your own “Content Strategy” that suits your personality and circle of influence. There is no one size fits all strategy on content creation. learn how to experiment and the post that merits the most engagement are the ones that are effective to your viewers.
Be aware that different social media platforms have different target audiences. For this post’s sake, I highly recommend Linkedin for Professional networking. I have survived my company ARID Builders since 2011 because of it and the majority of my sales are acquired through the platform.
Lastly, as I mentioned in my opening paragraph a single tweet can cause billions of dollars in revenues, for us individuals a single rant or a series of bad posts can put our careers in jeopardy. It can ruin one’s professional credibility and reputation.
Look at Logan Paul, the American youtube sensation. He has been earning millions on the platform and has a multitude of followers. Nevertheless, a single Vlog of a man committing suicide in Japan created a backlash that made youtube suspend his ad-revenue account and caused him legal issues. This is just an example of how social media can raise you up so high and drop you from your peak in a day.
Lastly, blog readers nowaday’s had very short attention spans so I need to write this within five minutes read. I hope that my followers have gained some insights into social marketing.
If you want to learn more in-depth, we will be hosting a #TODtalk on social selling and personal branding entitle What Makes You Unique? on the 21st of November, from 7 pm to 9 pm @ SPACES, 140 Robinson Road.
You may also want to read this related Article; How important is Linkedin to Architects and Interior Designers
