When we asked how to start doing online marketing we saw that the traditional hard-sell method of one message fits all is based on creating a need (singular) while good online marketing branding works with answering needs (plural).

The time and energy we use to find and track online company mentions and the needs/questions as expressed by our users or potential clients is time we invest in finding needs vs. creating needs. As such our investment is transposed: there's no loss of time or money.

Can I Use Social Media To Sell Online?

You found someone who either mentioned your company or product or expressed a need you can answer.

Traditionally speaking at this point you would jump on the prospect, start your sales pitch, create or confirm the need and then offer your product as The Solution.

You can still do that in the new model and it certainly will lead to sales.

Why? Simply because you're there at the right moment (the need!) at the right time (now!).

But it's a one-on-one model that has no built-in growth. You're still only talking to immediate, first tier prospects and clients.

Social Media for Marketing through Helpful Content

Using the Twitter tracking tools discussed we find this tweet:

The mushroom strategy now is to turn this need into Helpful Content.

We can publicly reply to this tweet with questions like; what do you need to backup? Programs or documents? Do you need to have archived versions available?

Down the Twitter conversation line you can introduce your backup solution but beware " if another solution is better suited to her needs, say so!

You can also use the tweet as the seed of an article or blog post: "Online Backup for the Office". In it you can answer the questions you asked Ms. Keyes. What are the differences between private and office/business backups?

The key is to be genuinely helpful and put the other's needs first

Recommended follow-up reading:

Transforming a Company Blog Into a Community Destination (Elizabeth Able)
Microblogging: The Internets Best Brand Advocate Builder (David Snyder)
How to Build Up and Participate in Social Network Communities (Kimberly Krause Berg)
Twitter Case Study of a Commercial Non Big Brand (Rae Hoffmann)
Building Your Online Credibility (Celine Roque)

Images courtesy of eschipul and, via a screenshot of her tweet, Audrey Keyes

About the Author: Ruud Hein

I love helping to make web sites make it. From the ground up if needed. CSS challenges, server-side scripting, user and device friendly JavaScript tricks search engines have no problems with. Tracking how the sites perform and then figuring out how to make that performance and the tracking better. I'm passionate about information. No matter how often I trim my feeds in my feed readers (yes, I use more than one), I always have a couple of hundred in there covering topics ranging from design to usability, from SEO to SEM, from life hacks to productivity blogs, from.... Well, you get the idea, I guess. Knowledge and information management is close to my heart. Has to be with the amount of information I track. My "trusted system" is usually in flux but always at hand and fully searchable. My paid passion job at Search Engine People sees me applying my passions and knowledge to a wide array of problems, ones I usually experience as challenges. It's good to have you here: pleased to meet you!