Conversations create clients. Right?

Yesterday Pete and I went to pick up a random bookshelf that I had bought on a whim from Facebook marketplace and within 5 minutes of chatting with the owners, we found out that they wanted to re-tile their entire house and guess what? Pete’s a tiler. Handy huh!

This happens ALL. THE. TIME.

Everyone wants a freaking tiler.

Does it happen to you?

“Ohhhhhhh you’re a photographer. Wow it’s been so long since we had family photos. “

or

“OMG my sister is pregnant. I am totally going to have to tell her about you.”

These kinds of connections happen IRL pretty quickly don’t they! It’s so easy to build trust in the real world in a meet-cute situation like that. They can tell straight away you’re not a scammer. They hear your voice, see your face, you’re giving them attention … a bit of lovin’. Trust is built in an instant.

The same thing can happen on social media too you know. It just takes a little longer!

But you definitely CAN build great relationships with your followers (who then turn into fans, who then turn into leads, who then turn into clients) by giving them a bit of attention in the digital world.

So how do you do that? Well, there’s LOTS of ways. But today we’re talking about CONVERSATION STARTERS.

I talk over and over and over again about how you need to be giving VALUE on your social media accounts otherwise people are simply going to tune out. I don’t know about you, but I would get sick of looking at photos of other people’s kids or families in my newsfeed after a while too – even if the photos were the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. There’s just no value in it for me. It’s actually kinda … gulp … boring!

That’s an awful thing to say to you. 

I’m sorry. 

Your photos are lovely. 

They really are. 

But seeing photos of strangers over and over again in my newsfeed is not my idea of a good time. And the odds of me liking or commenting on these photos? Very, very low.

Do you know why most people use social media?

There are heaps of surveys and data available about this that you can find on sites like Statista but here’s the CliffsNotes for you … people use social media because they are bored out of their mind and want entertainment, a sentimental moment, a laugh or … the news. 

Yep, giggles, a few feelings and the latest pandemic report.

They don’t go to to social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to be sold at. In fact, “product or service research” is down at #6 on the list.

So we’re back to that value conversation.

If showing them pretty photos isn’t enough, what IS?

Well, it depends on your ideal client of course. Your target market. But for 90% of you lovely people reading this today, those people are MOTHERS. And what do lots of mothers love to do? They love to TALK, that’s what! 

When Pete was busy man talking about tiles with the bookshelf guy, his wife and I had downloaded our entire life histories to each other and were deep into a discussion of the local schools, the challenges our kids are going through and how both of our daughters are on the Autism Spectrum. Yep, in legit 4.5 minutes flat. Ha ha.

It’s time to tap into that in a digital sense. By encouraging, initiating and continuing conversations with your followers. Every time you do it, you’re giving them the attention that they want. You’re making the experience valuable for them. They’re feeling loved and noticed. You’re strengthening your relationship with them and building trust.

So where do you start?

Well I would do it in your social media posts first. Keep showing people photos (that is your product of course) but in your caption, instead of always writing about the photo, start a conversation instead!

???? Ask your followers a question and tell them you want them to answer in the comments.

???? Tell a short story and then ask them to share theirs too.

???? Give them some information and ask for their opinion or experience.

???? Ask for help or advice.

You can do this in your Instagram stories too of course! Use the poll or question stickers regularly or simply type your question in the box and ask them to reply or pop you a DM!

I’m a big fan of caption cards (images that you upload to your feed that aren’t photos, but are words) and they work SO WELL to start conversations. Here’s a couple of examples ….

Turning followers into fans takes some TLC and having a chat is a great place to start.

If you’d like some simple conversation starters to share with your audience this year, I’ve created this set of birth flower, birth stone and personality trait cards for you to throw into your social media calendar every month. Mums love this kind of content so throw pop in your Instagram story, feed or emails this year and start a conversation with your clients. 

???? “Is your January baby like this?”

 ???? “Tag a Mum who is expecting a January baby.”

 ???? “Share this with your January friends and family.”

or GIVE VALUE to your clients like this …

 ???? “Need a great birthday idea for a January baby?”

 ???? “Pop down to your local nursery and surprise your January friends this month!”

 ???? “Oh imagine sending some January birth flowers to your expectant friends.”

You get the idea! To grab these for free, just go to https://alittlelife.podia.com/free-birth-flower-stone-and-traits-graphics

Start talking more this year in your marketing! Build a brand voice, tell stories, ask questions. It works.

Oh and the bookshelf? It’s awesome! Best $70 I’ve ever spent to dump all of the books that we will never read again but just can’t seem to bare to rehome or throw away. Relate? I bet you do.

NEED HELP WITH YOUR CAPTION WRITING? I’VE BUILT AN AWESOME ONLINE SYSTEM THAT WILL HELP YOU WHEN YOU’RE LOST FOR WORDS

Author: Kate Higgins