With all the hype about social media it’s easy to think of it and use it as just another marketing tool.  Now before you remind me that it was me that suggested you add it to your marketing arsenal, let me explain.  Social conversations via social media are in fact an important part of your ongoing connection and relationship with your customers.  But they are in fact different from most of your other marketing in a couple of very important ways:

1. They are interactive – or at least should be.  It’s a conversation, not a presentation or declaration
2. They are dynamic and context rich – about what’s going on now, ever-changing and always fresh
3. They are exploratory and free flowing – you go in with a topic in mind perhaps, but you let the conversation guide you and you stay “open” to new ideas and new directions

If you do nothing more than begin to think of social media as a tool for helping you have a conversation with your customers, you’ll be off on the right path.  As you sit down to write, think about what you would say if you were actually having a two-way dialogue.  Imagine the other person or persons who will read what you write and what thoughts or questions might go through their mind.

Get “real” and stay there.  The more your conversation looks like marketing, the less effective it will be.  The single worst thing you can do is simply insert pieces of your marketing and advertising into a social media conversation. Remember this phrase – authentic conversations. That’s your aim when you sit down to make your way in the social world.  More on authentic conversing later.

– Pam Holloway

In the past few months, I’ve become obsessed with Social Media Marketing. It’s very much like direct marketing (direct mail), but very different, too. I squeezed my brain trying to pinpoint the essence of the difference. This is important because until you get a handle on the psychological differences, you can’t be effective.

Here’s what I’ve discovered:

1. SMM is a totally different philosophy. It focuses on building relationships, not just buyers. This relationship-building process turns out to be the same one we describe in two of our books: Axis of Influence and the 5 Levels of Rapport.

2. Unlike every other marketing medium, SMM is totally dependent on good, clear writing. No graphics, no photos, no colors. Just good writing.

Question: what do you see as the differences?

- Michael Lovas

How many times have you heard someone say, “Sell with benefits — not features!” Or, “Use emotion to sell — not facts.” Has anyone ever explained to you what benefits and emotion really mean? Probably not.

At the risk of sounding overly simple: every decision maker is a person – that’s the most common element in all of business. Everyone who buys your product is a human being – politician, hockey mom, human resources manager, homeowner, CEO, widow, Boy Scout or musician.

Instead of passing that off as merely obvious, use it to your advantage. You can appeal to any human being by presenting your product or service in terms that person relates to. What are those terms? They are the person’s values. In fact, think bigger – If you can discover what your target market values, you will be able to be far more effective reaching them and inspiring them to give you a try.

Psychologically, values are the umbrella under which you find specific business benefits. Those benefits are determined by emotional motivators. But the person will only take action if the motivators belong to that person and are phrased in his or ner psychological language. How do you know what that language is? That’s easy. Simply determine the person’s Personality Type.

For example:

Driver Personality Type values control and tradition.
Analytical Personality Type values relevant information and being the expert.
Expressive Personality Type values freedom and out-of-the-box action.
Amiable Personality Type values relationships and appropriate behavior.

Now, knowing those things, can’t you more easily see which Type will want your products or services? Then, merely use those words in your marketing. In fact, use those words in the headlines. The combination of values, emotion and benefits will directly affect your prospect by helping him like you. And once he likes you and what you are telling him, those values, emotion and benefits will help him take action on your behalf.

How could he not take action? You speak his language, understand what he wants, and you’re extending it to him. It’s not a sales pitch, it’s a great deal. You made this his lucky day!

When you apply this thinking to your drip marketing, or website or selling proposition, you set-up multiple opportunities for you to show or prove your value to your prospect or target market. In other words, you are serving as a magnet to attract them, rather than running after them. Which makes more sense to you?

In Closing. Personality Types are very simple to understand. You don’t need a degree in psychology to use this body of knowledge. In fact, you can learn all you need from our book Face Values. The bottom line is this: if you’re not building your business on effective psychology, you’re holding yourself back. Please, let us help you. Find us at: www.aboutpeople.com — Michael Lovas

The University of Missouri released a study called the “2006 Survey of the Elements of Communication That Affect Trust and Commitment in the Financial Planning Process.”

It suggests that planners and advisors who best understand the core values and interests of clients are more likely to lead them toward truly rewarding investments. Nearly 83 percent of clients and 84 percent of advisors agreed that they must understand a client’s values and priorities before they can give effective financial advice. (This is the idea that underlies the trend called “Life Planning.”)

Listen. In the course of a conversation, a person will express his values. Simply initiate a conversation about a specific topic, something of importance that the client wants to fund or save for. As he mentions values, just write them down.Why is this important to you Values are actually subconscious power sources. They serve to provide you with energy. So, you can think of values as the things in your mind that motivate your decisions and give you energy so you can perform the activities necessary to bring your values to life. Knowing this, doesn’t it make sense that you would need to learn what your best clients’ values are