Last time we looked at why Twitter wasn’t working for you in growing your woodworking business (it had something to do with fear), and why your current use of it won’t get you and your customers together in a blissful union.
This time, we’ll examine how using Twitter can actually get you in direct contact with the people who will either a.) buy your work, or b.) connect you to the people who will.
First a Little Good News/Bad News.
The bad news: If you’ve just joined Twitter in the last year, you are no longer at the forefront of the new media revolution.
Things change extremely fast in these parts, and since 2010 Twitter is considered mainstream social media. This means the incredible rags to riches stories you were reading a while back are becoming closer to impossible to achieve.
The early adopters a few years back had a great time watching things unfold in a big way for them because there was less people, less competition for attention, and less noise.
Now, it’s a crowded marketplace with unfathomable amounts of communication going on at once, so getting the kind of attention possible in the early days takes some real forethought. Julien puts it better than I can.
The good news: Twitter is still a place that makes it infinitely simple to connect to your ideal client, but these days, you need to have careful strategy, and a message that resonates with them so you stand out from the crowd. In other words, you’re gonna have to work at it. (I hear the groaning now)
**Disclaimer: I am not a social media expert. Those don’t exist. I’m an active participant who’s been learning through doing since I joined Twitter back in 2008. Everything you’re going to read are simply lesson learned from trial and error. Also, no matter what you do you’re going to screw it up at some point. Suck it up, learn a lesson, and change your approach. The more you allow that to happen the better off you’ll be.**
Go Find Them
Twitter makes it pretty easy for your customers to find you, but the best solution is to be proactive and go out and find them instead.
Twitter has search functions built right in that allow you to search for certain terms and even search by people’s descriptions of themselves. But that can be a little overwhelming when you see a bazillion people Tweeting the phrase “custom furniture” and realize that one in fifty thousand might qualify as a potential lead.
A better way, in my experience, has been to search for the things your ideal customer is into or would be involved in.
In order to do that, you need to have a very specific profile of who your ideal client is. Anyone in the Woodworking Can Pay Your Bills E-course can tell you how to do this.
Twitter chats are also a fantastic place to meet and greet about particular topics that your people are into. There’s a seemingly infinite number of chats going on all the time. To help you find the right ones your customers might be involved in, try searching Whatthehashtag.com.
Be Relevant
All that above, about going to them and finding where they are online? Yeah, none of that will matter one bit unless you’re showing up as a person that can be of great value to the ideal client and the people in their gang. What do I mean?
Let’s say your ideal client is into flower arranging. The last thing you want to do is waltz into a flower arranging Twitter chat and start trying to pick up clients. You’ll be booted, blocked, and reported as spam faster than your can say “daisy.”
Being relevant to your potential client isn’t about forcing yourself into the same hobbies or pretending to like the same cooking blogs. It’s about taking the time to find where your interests and values intersect.
Are you into green living? I bet your client is to. Do you enjoy sailing? Maybe they do as well. The key here is, again, taking the time to know your ideal client inside and out so you can “predict” where you two will naturally meet and exchange value in that area.
This means taking time to actually engage them too. You can’t just follow someone on Twitter and expect to have a conversation or that they will be so impressed they’ll make the first move in getting to know you.
If you’re not interacting with potential clients on Twitter regularly, then you are simply wasting your time and should consider abandoning social media altogether.
Beacuse if you’re not confident enough to approach a potential client, then chances are you aren’t ready to begin making a living for yourself through your passion for woodworking. Plain and simple.
Ask For the Sale
I would hope this one goes without saying. If you want to sell high end furniture then you have to make people aware that it’s available.
What this doesn’t mean: Spamming your followers by repeating the same message over and over again desperately trying to make a sale. People smell fear and desperation. That makes them run away. Don’t do it (P.S. I smelled of this too. It’s ok).
Chances are, your people won’t want to make a transaction with you from a random Tweet with a link in it.
In fact, all of the online furniture sales I made were from people having some form of conversation (either face to face or online), going to the site, taking time to get to know more about me, and then deciding that we were a good fit. And I’m gonna venture a guess and say that’s probably how it’s going to go for you.
It’s ok to Tweet links to your work and make people aware, but you need to be open to getting to know them and build a level of trust. Without that you’re just more noise trying to get their money.
Give them a chance to get to know you and to see if you are a good fit for them. Then, asking for the sale goes from being a gut wrenching thought to a natural flow in the process. Yes, it really can be that simple.
Especially when you consider that your high end transactions are going to happen off of Twitter. Email, phone, and face to face are where the magic happens. Twitter and other forms of social media are the lead-ins for you.
Like I said at the beginning, if you’re new to Twitter or you’ve been reluctantly dragging your feet out of uncertainty, then you’ve cost yourself some amazing opportunities to build your business rapidly.
But, since Twitter seems to be sticking around a while, now is the time to buckle down and formulate a deliberate strategy for finding, connecting, and growing your customer base. It’s more work than you thought at first, but it’s still easier than sitting your shop wondering what to do next, right?
Over to you, now. How’s your social media working for you? What fears or uncertainties are keeping you from making it happen? Let’s talk about it.
