If you want people to talk about your business on social networks, the process is pretty straightforward.
- Do something worth talking about.
- Make it as easy as possible for people to share it.
- And if you want people to know it’s YOUR business that’s being talked about, get YOUR name into the story.
It’s that final step, which I want to share with you today.
Steak out
I took the above photo in a great little village pub and restaurant. It’s a list of steaks they offer, which apparently always includes some very unusual [worthy of sharing] steaks.
I decided to share their steak menu on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook, as well as my Instagram account. As I pointed my phone at it, one of the staff told me that people often took photos of the menu.
Take another look at that photo. Have you spotted something missing, which means they are gaining nothing from all the photos being shared about their weird steak selection?
The name of that pub and their website is missing from the steak menu.
A huge, missed opportunity
So, they have created a visual story worth sharing, but when people share it, the venue isn’t included in the share.
- No one knows the name of the venue from the photo’s being shared on social networks.
- Because there’s no website or phone number on the menu board, you can’t find the place either, if you want to try one of their steaks.
- No name. No website. No phone number. No Word of Mouth (or Word of Mouse) referrals from all those social networking shares of their menu. What could be a powerful visual marketing asset is of no value to them whatsoever.
I wonder how much busier this relatively quiet venue would be, if the potential customers who see that menu on social networks, knew where the place was? My photo alone was shared with around 80,000 people.
The answer?
Take visual marketing seriously. Give people something worth photographing and they will share it. Just make sure your website and (or) company name and phone number are visible.