Three Things I Got Tired Of Hearing On Social Media
...and my take on them
Credit: me
When you're navigating the storms of social media as a freelancer (sorry, 'entrepreneur'), you'll get bombarded with (often contradictory) advice on how to run/grow your business.
Some of it sucks.
Some of it is great, but might not apply to your case.
As someone who's been pretty active on LinkedIn for almost 3 years now, I've heard more than enough from-the-soapbox advice from various self-appointed authorities, to last three lifetimes. So, in no particular order, here are three pieces of 'advice' I've chosen not to follow anymore.
(NOTE: I'm not a professional marketer or business coach, so these are just MY opinions, based on MY experience. Don't take them as gospel - this is a rant!)
1. "Don't sell!"
There's a big chunk of people out there who go on and on (and ON) about how overt selling on social media is 'sleazy/douchey/desperate'. Coincidentally, MOST of those people also sell some kind of 'proprietary' lead generation services. That promise to get people knocking on your door, credit card in hard, begging you to take their money. Hmmm!
There's another sizeable group of people that pontificate like that: people who are struggling in their business, and want everyone else to struggle as well. They can't make sales because they can't get over themselves and actually SELL, so they want everyone in the same boat.
My take: no, thanks. I run a business and not a charity, and I'm OK with that. Also - the best way to get anything is to ask, no? Date? Ask. Favor? Ask. A sale? ASK. I was making 0 sales before I started overtly selling in my posts ('this is my new thing / this is how much it costs / this is where ya pay, thx')
2. 'Give Value!'
Another big, BIG commandment of The Social Mediaz is that thou shalt always give value. The second verse of it is usually 'without expecting anything in return'. Just give, give, and give more freebies, the story goes, and...one day some of the freeloaders you've managed to gather with your endless freebies, might somehow...pay you. What for? Who knows. You've given them almost everything you know/have for free.
I tried that for a couple of YEARS, and you know what it got me? Likes and comments. Rarely ever CLIENTS. And I can't pay my rent in 'omg so helpful, thanx for sharing xx's or 'YAY - I always look forward to your posts!'s. Unfortunately, I pay it in Euros or Pound Sterling.
My take: you know from the first spoonfull (second, max) if you like the damn ice cream. Nobody needs to gobble down 17 lbs of ice cream to 'be sure' if they're 'ready' to become the ice cream parlor's paying customer. If anything, the ice cream parlor would be shooting itself in the foot by handing out free ice cream by the bucket, to any rando. No? Let alone week in, week out. So...why are we pretending it's different for service providers? You can tell whether I'm the real deal (and a good fit for YOU specifically) from the first couple of freebies (eg. free 'how-to' videos I've posted) and my track record. Beyond that point, endlessly providing 'free value' did nothing more than build me a loyal audience of freeloaders. Which is 100% my fault. And I've come to Zeus now and don't provide huge amounts of my knowledge and skill for free anymore. And it's had zero negative impact on my income.
3. 'Build Relationships!'
Rounding out the Terrible Triad of social media guilt-tripping: 'build relationships'. The story goes, potential clients really REALLY need to know things like:
...your biggest insecurities ('cause People Buy From People!’)
...whether you like tea or coffee for breakfast (Diet Coke, K?)
...when the last time you cried was (I chopped onions yesterday and cried my little hazel eyes out)
...whether you're a dog or cat person (like that's even a question. Dogs rule.)
...what your workspace/desk looks like (like a tornado hit it, most of the time - short attention span makes for chaos)
Excuse me while I vomit. I find all of that so...desperate? I'm searching for the right word here. Cringe? Both? Basically: I find it almost like emotional prostitution. Like I'm expected to whore myself out, in a desperate attempt to push some tearducts, wring some attention out of people, and hope they get so emotional that they can't help but buy from me. Even though I've proved nothing about my competence or experience by livestreaming my mental breakdown on LinkedIn. What? Is it just me?
My take: I happen to think a relationship of trust is a legit as any. Maybe I'm projecting here because I've certainly bought from people (yes, on social media - clutch yo pearls!) without any emotional incest having taken place. I had zero idea what their greatest fear was, or how many times they'd caught COVID, or whether their child is blind or not. We'd spent a whopping zero hours cry-hugging over our vulnerabilities or swapping recipes for pumpkin spice milkshakes. I just saw they could solve my problem (they had solid testimonials - not just 'omg I feel so positive after my session with Matt xx'), I could afford them, and they weren't complete dicks (to be fair, most people aren't). Voila. My money ---> their bank account.
Because I knew I could trust them to get the job done. No tears or endless 'relationship-building' needed. And I know I've sold the same way several times. Most of the clients who found me on LI hadn't been following me for ages, or spent any time crying arm-in-arm with me. They just saw my testimonials/MA/content, decided I looked legit enough to take a chance on, and boom.
There might be a second part to this as plenty on social media and business gets me ranting, but that's all for now. Any biggies I should consider including in the (almost inevitable) next installment?