Okay fair warning, this is a tiny little example of social media engagement resulting in an actual sale. And I mean tiny. It was done on a whim, has very light engagement, and only $3 profit was made in this example. BUT – I think it’s worth talking about because the strategy would be the same for a much bigger client.

Let me set the stage.

I like dutch oven cooking. It’s one of my favorite hobbies. To that end, I FOLLOW a dutch oven cooking page on facebook. I post pictures of my cooking and when I see receipes and dishes that I like, I comment. In other words, I ENGAGE with the other users. I am a part of the community.

I have also dabbled a little with creating t-shirts, and one of those t-shirts is a dutch oven themed shirt. It’s available on Zazzle and I make about $3 when someone buys one.

Thinking that my fellow dutch oven enthusiasts might like my t-shirt, I posted a link to it one day when I posted several pictures. Notice, I didn’t just find a group of people who might be interested in my product and then try to sell it to them. I was a part of the group, following, liking, commenting, posting, engaging…before I ever posted my link.

So when I did, it worked. I sold a t-shirt.

Is that worth hooting and hollering about? You might be saying, “Dude, it’s three dollars. Big deal.” And you’re right. But this isn’t about three dollars. This is about truly being a part of a community before trying to sell to them. Honestly, posting the link to my t-shirt wasn’t my goal when I joined the group or participated with the other users. Posting the t-shirt was more of an afterthought.

You can take this micro-example and apply it to your social media efforts. Find out where your prospects are online, where they hang out, what they like, and join them. Participate in the conversation. Offer valuable content and engage. Then, when the time is right, when you feel you have something truly valuable without coming across as too commercial, offer it to your group. See what happens. If they see you as a member of the group, chances are your offer will come across as sincere and you’ll have the best chance to sell your product or service to your new friends.

DON’T find the groups and online communities where your prospects are hanging out and bombard them with your sales message. Please don’t do that. Businesses who offer nothing of value and constantly broadcast their sales message are giving social media a bad name.

Thanks for reading

David McBee