The Future of Social Media for Service Professionals
A popular question is “What is the future of social media?” Today I like to address the future of social media for service professionals.
So here is my prediction for social media. It’s more than a prediction; it’s what I am coaching other social media companies.
One thing is for sure. Social media is constantly changing and evolving. It’s almost a full time job just to keep up! It’s an honor when social media experts bring me in to discuss their strategies to create results.
Ever since the internet, and now social media, have been introduced in our life it has completely changed several industries. Blockbuster is one. Travel is another. The video and travel industries forever!
Now I’m hearing from consumers that they are unsure of what Real Estate Professional or Mortgage Professional to utilize with the internet here. Does this mean the future of service professionals will be extinct? Nobody knows for sure. There are some factors to look at that we do know for sure.
We are human beings with a curious need. Almost daily we hop on Google or our favorite social media and start looking people up. Your online image is important! What does it say about you?
After watching a documentary about people who live to be around 100 years old by Longevity Wellness (highly recommend this series) it stated one of the secrets was to belong to a community. When you have a community of people to be a part of, a person’s life is enriched! This is one of the reasons I developed a WOW Power Players community. We are all here to WOW people in our communities, grow our businesses and have a WOW life ourselves! This is positively impacting communities and lives.
With these two factors, I predict there is going to be a combination of human interaction and the internet. Yes, there will be some who do not want to interact with any humans and do it all online. I like to focus on people who value the benefits of online AND human relationships.
A question I have for you is what value do you offer and deliver to people? Is this clearly seen or known online? Why would someone want to work with you over a competitor?
So often I hear generic answers. Let’s evaluate real estate professionals. Over the years I’ve heard the same response “I truly care for people. I like to help them sell their home and buy one, blah, blah, blah”
My question for you is what value do you have to offer? Each consumer wants to know instantly what is in it for me! When I work with people and companies it’s fun to really dive in and reveal your value. Once I was applauded at an event, and was the only one, when each person had the opportunity to share about themselves in under thirty seconds. This is something I coach and guide others on and LOVE it.
Yes, being real and caring is important. Saying it is one thing. Showing it is another. This does not mean you have to take phone calls at midnight. I am against that. If someone gets upset that I do not take their call at midnight then I’m not a right fit for them. What I do enjoy is receiving a call at midnight just to tell me they referred my name on to their friends. It was a great voicemail that got me to say WOW!
Another common question is what social media channel(s) should I be on?
Let me ask you this. What is your niche? What does your ideal client look like? Where do they hang out at? I’m not every single social media channel. There are some where my ideal client is not at.
Facebook Messenger, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are some of the most popular for service professionals.
Do you foresee a future of people addicted to social media? I do predict the addiction will be on the rise. My agency is on a mission to stop this! Here are some tips:
- Have a clear purpose.
- Create a plan.
- Schedule time on social media.
- Set a timer.
- Get out there and enjoy personal interaction as well!
What tips do you have?
One of my books at www.9weeksoff.com expands more on some of these tips. Quit wasting time! I also have a book and planner that addresses the hot topic of wasting time called Create The Perfect Day. If you are not aware of, really start being aware of your time. Thirty seconds a day. One hour a day. It all adds up!
Let’s go on an eye opening journey together on this.
One hour a day, over one year, is three hundred sixty five hours. Divide that by a traditional forty hour work week and you are at nine weeks. If you can save one hour a day, you are gifting yourself nine weeks! POWERFUL!
And then I hear many people are sick of the opt-in here, let me email you and ask you to buy, buy, buy. What about you?
Thank you Facebook for realizing you want to bring back the relationship. Yes ads are good. Think about what value you can give! Not just sell,sell, sell. Keep giving and know that the right people will come. Does this mean give away all your goodies? No way! It is like going on a date and showing it all the first time. Ick! Build trust and a relationship.
Communication is vital for service professionals. Does this mean every single day you are posting? Absolutely not! Every channel has their own purpose and plan at my agency.
Who agrees with me on this:
- Let’s get back to caring for people
- Take an interest
- Deliver value!
Now that you know your value, how will you communicate it? Is it optimizing the latest Facebook ads in doing so that creates conversation and relationships? After many interviews with Facebook ad companies, and many charging $3,000 to $10,000 a month, they have no idea about what it is became eye opening.
Several companies I’ve worked with didn’t have a specific purpose. They just hop on, run ads and go crazy. In the end, you waste time and money.
Recently I had a woman come to me about hiring me as a business and marketing coach. Discovered she talked with a company, looking at a large investment. No issue whatsoever with that, just produce results. None of them had case studies nor any guarantees! So I went on a journey of interviewing top social media companies to refer my clients to (remember I only consult, coach and connect) and I ended up knowing more than they did! So I said ok, go ahead and give me a proposal for these companies. At least offer that. Complete silence. I share this to protect many of my friends. Either hire me or an agency who actually knows what they talking about. They can guide you on whom the experts are.
No more: let’s run thousands of ads, close people and not even care. Yes, I fell for a coach that I met through social media. Paid over 20k. Got NADA! Just when I thought that was bad, my new coach said she paid over 40k. So it always could be worse! What did I learn from that? I now know what to ask and look for. Recently had a client who said finally after a few decades of hiring people you are the FIRST to actually deliver value. She posted on Facebook how it was the best hour of her life. Made my heart warm, and also sad at the same time to know she was messed over.
The point of this is to be careful and also take a leap of faith! There are experts out there to get you where you want to be.
Thank you to every person who takes the time to comment on my posts and connect personally. It’s a passion of mine to know how I can be of support to my social media connections. When you ask how to be of support to me it WOW’s me!
What are your predictions about social media for service professionals?