I know. I owned a window cleaning business for years and said the same thing myself. Who is going to look for a window cleaner online, much less use social media for it?
I admit it. I was wrong. But, I also had no idea “how” it actually worked. No clue what to do with FaceBook, Google + or Twitter. Raise your hand if you thought Twitter was the stupidest thing EVER. *raises hand*
As I was preparing to send out the latest installment of the 52 Week Challenge this weekend, I read this statement:
Social Media is Word-Of-Mouth on Steroids
That puts it in terms that window cleaners can understand, doesn’t it? We get word-of-mouth. In fact, I think for the first 10 years we owned our business we did not spend one red penny on advertising. It was all word-of- mouth and we grew bigger every year because of it. It’s not just us, though. Show up, do a good job and they’ll tell their neighbor. Boom! Referral.
So, what about the steroids … ? Well, today in the news there was the perfect example of how social media can spread things via word-of-mouth in a crazy, hyped up on steroids kind of way.
Marilyn Hagerty, 85, writes food articles for her local paper in Grand Forks, North Dakota, population 66,000. She reviewed the newly built Olive Garden and the story went viral. Foodies were making fun of her and insisting that Olive Garden was not worthy, while others loved her use of adjectives and writing style. Over 400,000 people shared the story with their friends via FaceBook, Twitter and Google + and she was subsequently interviewed live on all the major news networks.
That is word-of-mouth on steroids. No one would have known about a review of an Olive Garden in a little North Dakota newspaper without the power of social media.
Now, I am not suggesting that you will suddenly get 400,000 requests for in & out cleanings. I am suggesting that social media is a powerful tool and you need to figure it out quick.