Social networking and the dive industry – Do you get it yet?
The ‘hype” goes something like this:
Think of today’s social networking as word of mouth marketing on steroids
What if each diver you talked to had contact with 10 other people that weren’t divers but may be interested? What if those 10 people could see that you were talking to that diver about what a great weekend of diving they just had.
That’s what everyone is telling you, but you’re still not sure...
You finally give in and set up a twitter account, facebook page, myspace page, etc. At first it all seems both confusing and cool, but then after a day or two you dont see any results.
Then your “competitors” on the other side of the country (or world) want to become “friends” and you worry that the dive shop in Zimbabway is going to steal your advanced open water divers so you don’t allow them.
What’s wrong with this stuff? It’s not working...After about two weeks you abandon it as a waste of your time.
This accounts for a vast majority of corporate social networking pages I’m sure, and not just the dive industry.
Where did this go wrong?
In traditional media, you list your business in the yellow pages or pay someone to write copy, create a design, launch a magazine ad etc., all for a price. You know what the cost is up front. It’s in cash. Social Networking is said to be free, but make no mistake, it’s free as in the freedom to use it, but where you pay is in your time and effort. So in some ways it can be more expensive than traditional marketing.
You’re a small business owner running a local dive shop; you have staff issues, boats have to go out, gear displays need to be set, how do I have time to do this social netowrking stuff?
It’s a tradeoff, you save money but invest your time and effort into growing your online presence. Note I didn’t say grow your business online yet. You first need to grow your presence and reputation.
In its simplest, Social Networking is about having a two way conversation. You spent too much time selling and talking and not enough time listening and engaging in the conversation. In short, it’s not all about you anymore.
Another mistake that many small business owners make is to spread themselves to thin in the social networking arena. As I said above this is an investment of your time. You need to spend it wisely and pay attention to the networking channels of your choice.
I’d say start out with only one, maybe two channels and learn how they work, and become a part of the community first. People online can tell when you are being genuine. There’s lots of little do’s and don’ts for social netoworking. Get to know them.
“All this is nice but I need to sell scuba gear”
Everyone who participates in social networking expects to be sold to at some point. But the point is don’t over-do it. If all you’re doing is yelling at your customers, they’ll get turned off and not participate in the conversation. There’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to selling maybe 20%?
OK But; What social networking platform do I use?
Best advice is to go where your customers are. Actively seek them out. Facebook is probably the best first choice, but depending on your clientele, twitter may be a good start.
Ask your employees. If your dive shop employees are the same age as your customers, it’s a good bet that they will be using what’s popular. So the next time you catch someone on their mobile facebook application behind the sales counter when it’s not busy, instead of blowing your top at them, ask them to explain what they’re doing.
