This week I would like to encourage you to think about building a list which you can use for marketing purposes, or just so that you have a way of contacting important people under your control.
You will have noticed a couple of weeks ago that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp all suffered an “Outage” and consequently there was a lot of “outrage” – ha ha.
You may have only been slightly inconvenienced – if at all – you may even have experienced some feelings of schadenfreude if you are not reliant on any of these platforms for your business?
But – many businesses now only have Facebook pages, not full websites. Many also communicate with leads and prospects on Instagram and/or use one or both of these for advertising in order to grow their businesses. Some might even use the whatsapp messaging service for something other than organising their next ride?!
For some businesses then, a six hour outage might have been quite an issue.
However, even if you don’t use the mighty Facebook empire for your business, chances are you are a tad over reliant on other tech solutions.
How many of us – particularly now since the start of the pandemic – have built up a significant network on LinkedIN? And hands up if you have NO IDEA how to contact a large number of those people if you couldn’t use LinkedIn?
Yep – it’s an issue. We have got used to just connecting on LinkedIn – but not having any other contact details.
Your own list
Now many of you will be aware that I used to be* a CRM expert – selling software, implementation and training to businesses. As such, I truly believe in the value of building your own independent database of contacts.
In the past – I was one of those who would return from a networking event with a little handful of cards, and then spend a little bit of time inputting them into my database.
But here’s the thing – I don’t really mind what you use – you could scan them or whatever you want – or put them in an Excel spreadsheet. But I’d like you to see the value of having that database (in whatever form) that is YOURS, so that if LinkedIn disappeared, or Facebook and Instagram deleted your account – IT HAPPENS – you still know who your contacts are! (Yes – you can download your LinkedIn contacts – but that just gives you a name and company name – no email address or phone number).
Email marketing is not dead – despite what some people will tell you. SO building your own list – with as much relevant information as you can legally include – is gold dust. Your database is a valuable asset – and you really don’t want to just lose 10,000 followers and shrug your shoulders.
So – we don’t meet them at networking events and get business cards any more (or not to the same extent) so how do we do it?
People won’t just give up their email address unless there is some reason to do so – signing up for an event might be one – or you can offer a tip sheet or a PDF – something they can download. You may hear this referred to as a “lead magnet” – you want to attract people to you – and you offer something that is valuable to them in exchange for their email address (and maybe first name).
DO NOT fall into the trap of having a monster contact form with everything but their shoe size – they will hit cancel long before submit! Capturing where they came from or which lead magnet they are interested in will also help you to deliver content in future that they will love!
Use a reputable provider such as MailChimp to gather and manage your data so that you stay compliant with local data protection laws (e.g. GDPR). Make sure you are also asking permission to send your information to them as well.
So – don’t rely on your huge 10K follower count – bring some of them closer – and make sure you are connecting with your LinkedIn contacts “properly” so you don’t lose them!
Happy to answer any questions you may have! And I have a Lead Magnet for you on building lists and lead magnets!
Get in touch if you’d like to chat about how I can help.
*I guess I still am a CRM expert – I just don’t focus my efforts on selling and implementing the systems now.