I’ve recently had a revelation. For many years, I have worked to build up a significant online presence for my PPAI-award winning, content-driven program, FreePromoTips.com. Our industry database for our e-newsletter is 50,000 and we have a strong social media reach. I’ve shared about this before, but that isn’t the point of this commentary.
FreePromoTips has a nice Twitter following, but I’ve never really felt that my personal life was all that exciting. I didn’t see the need to have a personal Twitter account. What do I really have to share?
My feelings have changed however. Not just about Twitter, but about the value of online engagement in general. Jeff Solomon and FreePromoTips.com have things to share and are relevant industry voices. I have come to realize that Jeff Solomon as an individual also has value and things to share. That voice is different, but just as important. There are things I am passionate about just as there are things you are passionate about. In today’s online world, the opportunity to say what you want to say is there for you. We need to embrace social media personally, as an important platform for our own personal voice, which is also tied to our business voice.
I’ve realized that where I want to go personally and professionally goes beyond the promotional marketing industry. I’m working on building the SuccessFit brand. This is content on the topic of fitness as it relates to success in our personal and professional lives. The vision is based on my own personal journey. Fitness has a positive impact on people’s lives and I want to talk about it.
The Los Angeles Times recently published an article on wellness programs at high-end resorts. Health and wellness is a huge market. My team is working on a program that includes branded products and programs that go along with the SuccessFit concept.
A strong online presence gives everyone the ability to reach a huge audience. Some of this online interaction can be irrelevant and some isn’t. We just need to understand what’s real and what’s fake, and make sure we are embracing the correct thing and not wasting our valuable time.
To build the SuccessFit brand and the business component both in and outside of the promotional marketing industry, I am creating a strong online presence for SuccessFit. I’ll be talking about this through my personal and professional online presence.
The simple access we have—effectively, to the world—should open the eyes of everyone. And certainly every business that wants to connect with new clients should care about their online presence, professionally and personally.
In response to this subject, some suppliers and distributors I’ve talked to say something like, “I’ve tried social media and it didn’t work.” Of course it didn’t work. There is no immediate gratification in the huge, online social media world. Those who think that way don’t understand what it’s all about.
Social media and online interaction are ongoing conversations. The online sharing tool, Buffer published a great article on social media voice and tone. This paragraph spells it out perfectly:
“The analogy of social media being a giant cocktail party or barbecue is a fitting way to look at online voice. Dave Kerpen, CEO of Likeable Media, has a great way of putting it. ‘At a cocktail party, you wouldn’t walk up to someone and say, ‘Hey, I’m Dave. My stuff is 20 percent off.’ What you do is ask questions, tell stories, listen and relate to people.
“None of us want to be Dave, telling everyone about our low, low prices. Instead, it’s critical to find that unique voice that is evident in all your social media marketing.
“When you’re looking for voice, you’re looking for adjectives. Find the adjectives that best describe your brand, and you will have found your voice.”
Suppliers and distributors whose online voices are based on posting a steady steam of product specials will not fare well in the online community. Social media enables us to be aware of what’s happening with clients and prospective clients. There is a strategy to this and it takes time.
This is a changing marketplace. You can choose to market your business the same way you always have … or take advantage of the new marketing tools that are available to you. You have the ability to clearly define what you and your company represent. It’s completely up to you.
Jeff Solomon, MAS, is affiliated with a Top 10 distributor company and also publishes FreePromoTips.com, a popular industry resource. The PPAI-award winning FreePromoTips.com website and twice-a-month e-newsletters are packed with beneficial information. You can opt-in to receive these informative twice-a-month e-newsletters here! Check out what’s new in the GP2: Good Products-Good Prices section of the site. Take advantage of free end-user safe product videos you can share from their YourPromotionSolution.com website. You can stay connected to FreePromoTips on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or me personally on LinkedIn, my new personal Twitter and Instagram accounts.
