Every once in awhile I will get a client who objects to the way people are befriending them or following them on Facebook or Twitter. They become friends with or follow these new people and find that once they follow them for awhile they are very negative, and often complain a lot. Then they become reluctant to start any other conversations online with new friends and followers and want to give up the whole social media thing.
They complain that they would not want to attract negative clients and even worse ones that are complainers. “It’s just too negative,” they say. “That’s just something I don’t want in my small business. As a service professional I want to use social media to attract ideal clients, who are positive and upbeat.” I had to agree that would be very true, and there are numerous forms of negativity online and offline for that matter that are very risky or toxic in marketing, such as:
* Disparaging remarks, post or comments about the competition. This may damage you, encourage legal action or spread recognition of the person that you are making the disparaging remarks about. Remember, whatever you put online is there forever, and is there for everyone to see.
* Relentlessly declaring your weaknesses. Doing this over and over again, clearly invites your target audience or niche to start thinking poorly of you. Have you read some of the blog posts out there? Some have gone beyond sharing information to downright ranting and hatred. Ouch!
* Extensive posts, comments and articles that include loads of sarcasm, pessimism, constant complaining or hostility. (And no, I won’t name anyone here) Enough of these types of qualities and your audience will find you much less likable, and most certainly this will affect your client attraction and Law of Attraction results in your small business.
* Dramatic and repeated nastiness or spitefulness. Disgusting details can sicken readers, followers, viewers or listeners, making them very unreceptive to when you post your happier comments, articles, or blogs. I read remarks on some blogs that were meant to dis-empower the person(s) they were meant for.
I am giving you the clean version as examples:
- Things always turn out wrong for me because of you.
- I need someone to bail me out.
- Life is not fair, this always happens to me.
- Why bother…
- I can’t help it; my situation and story is unique
- This has nothing to do with me, it is your fault.
Remember, offline behaviour mimics online behaviours. Are you acting that way offline with your clients and customers? In the words of Dr Phil, “How is that working for you?” Keep in mind that as long as you don’t make it a habit of focusing on your frustrations and annoyances for more than a paragraph or two, or dramatize them in a way that pushes potential ideal clients, and friends away, it’s often effective to start by describing a situation experienced by your target market, as this makes it more relatable. This creates rapport and sets up the value in your way of solving the issue or problem. And guess what? You start to look like the expert, and it improves your client attraction and Law of Attraction results. It’s okay to try and be relatable and realistic, as long as you put a limit on it and don’t go overboard to the point where you lose credibility and possible ideal clients and opportunities.
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