Social Networking Sell Yourself Not Your Stuff

By Jackie Lee

I'm sure at some point there was a time and a place for the hard sell. I'm sure that just throwing your products and services out there right in front of everyone worked for some, at some point in time. This is not the time.

With the explosion of web 2.0, and using social networking to increase your traffic and sales the tables have turned. Now you have to sell yourself, not your stuff.

Social networking websites were made for just that, socializing and networking. They were introduced to give people a way to connect with other like-minded people. They are great for that purpose, and marketers, if they are smart, recognize the potential for almost limitless traffic. However, what savvy marketers realize is you have to go into social networking websites as a person not a business. People are there to meet and connect with other people, not be sold stuff.

That's not to say you can't make sales using social networking sites, on the contrary, it is an excellent way to market just about anything, and for free. The key to being successful in this endeavor is to just be yourself.

When you set up a page at anyone of the large social networks, whether it's Myspace, Facebook, or Powerful Intentions, you have to be a person. Let people know who you are, and what you are about. You will naturally attract people that you have things in common with. Once you have a common bond it is easy to get into conversation, and from that conversation may come friendship or even partnership.

I once wanted to know a little more about a person I had seen make a post on a forum. The person's answer was intelligent and she sounded like we may have had a lot in common. I went to her homepage and the only thing I saw, for a really long homepage was Company This and Company That. I did not learn one thing about the person. Even if I was looking for a company to join or a product to use, I can guarantee I wouldn't have gotten it from her. I have no idea who she is.

In this day in age, you can find out anything you want about a company or a product. That is what a company website is for. What I want to know is WHO do I want to partner with in this company. That's where your social networking pages are amazing. People can find out all about who you are. Most people that go online looking to join a company already know what company or what type of company they are looking for. What they are looking for is the right person to get involved with. If you don't tell them who you are, they won't know if you are just the person they have been looking for.

Of course you want people to know that you are in a company or you have a product or service to offer, that's part of who you are. Put an ad somewhere on your page that will send them to a website where they can find out more about that aspect of you. If they make the choice to click on your ad, they may find what you are doing to be a perfect match for them. Then they contact you and you've made the sale, or gotten your next rep, with no work on your part.

Allow people to get to know you, then allow them to make the choice if they want more information about what you are doing or selling. You will find if you can allow people to make their own decisions in this manner you will have only qualified, presold leads contacting you.

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