RIP - Social Media Super Strategy

Here's a bit of sad news for the Facebook flacks and Twitter twits:

REUTERS – Oct 8, 2009: “Three-quarters of small businesses say they have not found sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn helpful for generating business leads or expanding business in the past year, according to a survey conducted for Citibank Small Business of 500 U.S. businesses with fewer than 100 employees."

Small businesses with less than 100 employees...hmmm, sounds a lot like you, doesn't it?

Oops. So much for social media being the "new marketing."

More like the "new huckstering."

Many people are touting social media as the end all, be all solution to your problems.

Don't you believe it.

Jumping on the social media bandwagon, while certainly appealing to most who like to follow the crowd, has led many lemming-like businesses astray.

Back to the basics, people. Drop and give me 3.

1- Smart advertising. For god's sake, stop placing the big Yellow Pages ad in the phone book. Save thousands by making yourself a nice visible piece of real estate in an in-column listing. If you're in a pissing contest with your competitor, be the first one to be man (or woman) enough to zip up your pants. Stop making the ad reps and directory publishers rich on your ego's back.

2- Drop the bulletins and calendars (but gently) I have made many a house call where the competition's calendar was hanging on the kitchen wall. I think that pretty much says it all, don't you? Just do it right. As far as the bulletins go, I asked a room full of 100 or so funeral directors "who has ever consulted a church bulletin before a making a purchase?" Exactly 3 people raised their hands. If you are lucky, 3 out of 100 people will notice your bulletin ad. Take that money being spent on that ad and take it directly to the church and spend it in more powerful, visible ways. You'll reach a lot more than 3% that way!

3- Smart networking. People prefer to do business with people they know, especially during bereavement. Don't be a showboating moron at the next Chamber of Commerce meeting, but be friendly, genuine, approachable and easy to talk to. Seek out opportunities to be visible without grandstanding. Being flashy, loud, boorish, phony, drunk, et cetera will only work against you.

P.T. Barnum famously stated that there was a sucker born every minute. He made millions off by taking advantage of ignorance. Don't fall for every gimmick coming down the pike. Do you think that people really want to be a fan of your firm's Facebook page? How much thought do you actually expect them to give you in the years between their loved one's funerals?

According to Reuters, the answer is "Not quite enough."

Hang in there, better days are a-comin'!

To your success!

Dan Heaman, CFSP

PS - The Ultimate Preneed Sales Letter is generating quite a bit of interest. Maybe you should check it out!