The globe is our social circle

Kelli Rodda

Our lives have become this snarled amalgam of face-to-face, phone-to-phone and computer-to-computer communication. I’m old enough to remember working without cell phones, the Internet, email and social media (sometimes I miss those days). But these days I’m likely to spend more time connecting with people online than I do on the phone or in person. If that sounds like a complaint, it wasn’t intentional. After all, I now communicate with far more people in the course of a week than I did prior to social media. Through this virtual network, I can see plants at nurseries across the globe, tour public and private gardens galore, view sunsets a continent away, laugh at a joke, watch my friends’ children grow up, and share favorite recipes, songs, books and movies.

Your personal reasons for participating in social media are pretty obvious. But why is your business using social media? If it’s “because everyone else is,” or “because I want to sell my product,” then you need a real social media strategy. Check out the story on page 42 where we outline some dos and don’ts of social media (even for you long-time users), and present examples of green-industry companies with successful social media campaigns.

Do you think social media is only for the marketing department? Think again. Jeanne Rossomme, president of RoadMap Marketing, said Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ serve the same purpose as the phone, networking conferences or the front door of a prospective customer. Rossomme’s reasons to use social media for selling:

1. It beats cold calling. According to a recent study at Baylor University’s Center for Research, for every 330 cold calls, only one appointment resulted. Social media allows for a gradual, more comfortable warming than a cold call.

2. You will have an edge over your competitors. A Harvard Business School survey found only 12 percent of companies are including the sales team in social media planning.

3. You get to be a fly on the wall. Your customers, prospects and competitors use social media. And they talk about what they like and what is a huge hassle. That chatter is real information you can use.

4. You can influence early, rather than defend later, in the buying process. Buyers spend a lot of time researching and moving through the buying process before they engage vendors. Much of the buyer’s journey leverages social media. Social selling allows sales people to engage buyers much earlier in their journey.

Whether your marketing or sales team is using social media, all messages must stay true to your business philosophy. You can’t just sell. (The story on page 42 digs deeper into this issue.) You’ve got to interact, inspire, give and take.

Emily Sandford, a social media marketing expert (www.authenticallysocial.com), said don’t be a social media fire hydrant. “If all you do is spew, no one will listen to you.” Funny and insightful. “Don’t approach social media channels as another way for you to ‘advertise’ your business,” she said. “Look at it as an ideal way to connect with your prospects and customers. Listen to what they’re saying, and respond publicly.”

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, know you’re not alone. Our social media story will help you lose the anxiety and get you moving in the right direction.

P.S. Are you following us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NurseryManagement) and Twitter (@NurseryMag)? Don’t know what that means? Call me and I’ll help.