Did You Forget to Make Your Ask on Social Media?

I always warn users of social media that it’s not about you, it’s about your community.

Always give more than you ask for.

And, when you have an ask of your community, be clear about the why and the how.

Many espouse this view of social selling.

They both share and create content.

They engage with their communities.

But, they forget to ask for anything! (Or, they’re too quiet about it!)

Let’s discuss this!

It’s OK to ask for something on social media.

After all, you’re putting time, effort, and money into creating your social media presence and are adding value to your community. (If you’re not doing the latter then contact me, we need to talk.)

The Call to Action (CTA) is your ask.

Your CTA should be clear, easy to understand and periodic, just not too often!

Or, a rule of thumb that many content creators use is for every four pieces of content posted, they have one ask.

Your CTA should tell your community what you want them to do.

Your CTA should let your community know what’s in it for them (the benefits). Including a special offer here is a great idea.

Your CTA should be simple and easy to follow.

The frequency of your CTA can be either periodic (based on a calendar or based on a rule of thumb as mentioned above) or around a major event like a book being published, a book signing, or a webinar/workshop.

I’m repeating this again for emphasis, your CTA should be simple and easy to follow.

You should employ a separate landing page on your blog or website for this purpose.

And, don’t forget to track your results!

It would be good to know for future use what worked or didn’t work!

A few don’ts about your CTA:

Don’t spam!

Don’t go to the well too often!

Don’t either confuse or turn off your community with your offer!

Don’t be irrelevant!

Don’t be perceived as a waste of time! (Even if your community doesn’t take you up on your ask, at least make sure they walk away feeling it was worthwhile for someone who needed it.)

Not asking on social media is almost as bad as asking too much.

My reasoning is neither approach earns you any money but at the least the former, if done properly, can leave with a solid reputation as a subject matter expert (SME).

Sometimes, we get so caught up in adding value to our community that we forget about ourselves.

Don’t let it happen to you!

That’s it for now!

Please check-out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program to get some more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself!

In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog!

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

And, remember!

I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.