Social Media Marketing Drivers

You have either knowingly or unknowingly grown your business thus far by focusing on a specific marketing driver. 

There are as many ways to market a business as their are business.  To show you how social media works to extend what is working for you now, lets take a look at two classic business growth drivers:  Production and Marketing.

If you have a good handle on what is working for you now, or shall I say what has worked well for you prior to this recessive economy, then you will be better equipped to use the social networks to remain aligned with your principal success factor – your primary driver, so that you can extend it.

Production Driven Businesses

Marketing is about differentiation.  If you have chosen to differentiate your business by your product or service, then your social media marketing should be aligned with that.  Production driven companies tend to let their work speak for itself. 

This could be a quality emphasis, an ability to get the job done quickly and efficiently, or even the ability to produce work at a competitive price.   This is what gets people talking about you and your business. 

Naturally, this means that photos and preferably videos are most appropriate vehicles for conveying a message that will hopefully go viral.  This is a method I use with my speaking.  My speech is my product and I want my prospects to see for themselves and make their own decisions.

This may be the most effective use of social media marketing.  Social media allows you to use this incredibly powerful, multi-media platform to bring your product and service to your prospects.   If you have the proof, then use it to differentiate yourself in markets where buyers need evidence to make the right decision.

Marketing Driven Businesses

When I owned my landscape contracting business, I was marketing driven.  Why?  Because I had spent 10 years in corporate sales and marketing.  It's what I knew best.  As I hired landscape architects more talented than myself, I was able to gradually merge those skills with a quality product.

Marketing driven companies tend to focus on the customer, and that's what we did.  My production manager Steve, who helped me build my business from the ground up, had a simple philosophy that we both shared: We will do what it takes to satisfy (and hopefully delight) our customers. 

It took Steve and I time to acquire the skills and knowledge that we needed to be successful in the green industry, and we both acquired the necessary credentials.  While that was happening, we relied on our people skills.  To translate this to the social networks, we would have been actively using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to engage with our customers. 

Are You People or Product Driven?

Let me be clear about one thing; these days you need the complete package.  Having a quality product at a competitive price is what it takes to stay in the game.  Nevertheless, we all have different skills that we can emphasize to carve out a niche. 

Production driven leaders tend to speak through their product.  That is why I would recommend lots of examples of that in your social media marketing.  Action videos of skilled technicians getting the job done is impressive evidence.  It gets the client saying, "Honey, if they can handle that job, ours will be a piece of cake!"

Marketing driven leaders speak.  They are customer focused.  They make promises that they back up.  As human beings, we all make mistakes, and I made plenty as a landscape contractor.  But my warranty work was iron-clad, and that is what brought in new customers – through the relationships we had developed with attentive customer  service.

Pick a Lane

You can see that there is a fine line between a production and marketing focus.  The truth is you need excellent production and marketing.  Nevertheless, you are probably better at one, and that is what should drive your social media marketing.  To quote my friend in the speaking industry, Jane Atkinson, you have to pick a lane. 

Whatever got you here is naturally going to get you there. 

That should drive your social media marketing.