Posts tagged Social Networking

Promoting Physical Jobs in a Virtual World

A friend of mine recently lamented over her husband’s challenges in marketing his new paint contracting business.  (This picture isn’t him, by the way.)  It caused me to think about my previous post entitled, “Crowdsourcing Your Next Creative Project.”  My self-imposed question is, “How can offline businesses benefit from the online space and the community that exists there?”  Let’s see if I can make some connections.

First, let’s look at a few of the topics already explored on the Ultimate Blogging Toolkit.    In Frequent vs. Relevant, I talk about post frequency to entice the search engine spiders into coming back more often.  In addition, I make the point about ensuring the subject matter relates to the readers.  How does that affect our painter?

What if our painter contacted the local elementary school’s parent group and volunteered to paint the wooden sign outside the school?  He could indicate his desire to assist the school, but acknowledge that he would also like to promote his business, and would appreciate a simple mention in the school newsletter.  It would be relevant since schools are not usually sitting on dump trucks of cash and a professional painter has his own equipment and probably some leftover paint that could be used.  Everyone seems to benefit.

That’s fine, you say.  It’s relevant.  But what about frequency?  Once the sign is painted, the following spring our painter may offer to re-stain the raised planter boxes the students use to grow vegetables in their Environmental Sciences class.  Again, by reaching out to the parent group and sharing with them just how much he enjoyed sprucing up the sign last year that he wanted to tackle another task.  Hopefully, another mention in the newsletter might occur.  Frequency doesn’t have to be daily – it can simply be again during the next painting season – to allow the school’s parents to see again that this person is taking yet another step in becoming a friend of the school.

The beginning of a “relationship.”

In Social Networking to Promote Your Blog? But Which Platform to Use?, I make the following point in my “moral to the story” statement:

“Be social, but be selective.  Decide on the sandbox in which you should play, take your time to develop the right relationships for the right reason, and enjoy the benefits.”

Our elementary school is just one example, but let’s build on that.  In business, the best way to develop a relationship is to first provide something for nothing.  This lets potential customers see the benefits of your service through information sharing or in this case, painting a school sign.  By showing that our painter’s heart is in the right place through occasional offers to assist, people begin to:

1. Think kindly toward our painter for helping their beloved school
2. Appreciate the benefits being provided, with no expectation of reward (aside from a simple mention in the newsletter, of course!)
3. Get to know our painter from repeated exposure
4. Begin to develop a relatoinship

So, when you need a garage painted, or a room freshened up, or an entire house painted, with whom do you like to talk to have the work done?  I would venture a guess that it would first be someone with whom you have a relationship.  It doesn’t have to be a brother-in-law (in fact, I might argue against that, but that’s a topic for another day), it simply needs to be someone with whom you are familiar and about which you have a neutral to positive feeling.

Can our painter push too hard?  Absolutely.  Too frequently, or too impersonal in the content, and the recipients will begin to tune out.  In “When is a comment SPAM?” I make an example of a few of the blog comments I’ve received (and deleted and will continue to delete!) where any sort of attempt at a relationship is non-existent.  Be relevant; be on topic; be appropriate. Again, reach out for the right reason.

These are just a few ideas, but you can see how the online world’s tenets carry over into the offline version.  So how might our painter start to also use the online world to help his offline pursuits?  Sure, there’s the static web site and possibly a blog.  Regular readers of the Ultimate Blogging Toolkit know that I like to share seemingly unrelated topics from around the Internet and attempt to tie them together to make a point.  This is no exception.

In “Crowdsourcing My Renovation – How Faceless Friends in Web Forums Helped Remodel This House,” a Canadian blog showcases a process whereby a homeowner faced with a renovation used Crowdsourcing to garner advice.  The advice sought ranged from paint colors on birch cabinets, to acrylic sink issues, to fireplaces on corner angles.  My point?  A presence and active involvement on the web can not only further the relationship cause, but it can also begin to position our painter as a trusted expert in his field.  Sharing perspectives and opinions, without expectation of direct remuneration, will not likely make someone run the other way.

Whether or not I’ve made the intended connections is entirely up to you.  More imporantly, what other creative ideas would you offer to our painter friend for kickstarting his painting business?  And remember, the ideas can either be of the online or offline nature.

Dave