Why Social Media is Just Like Sex.

By Jamie Turner, Chief Content Officer, the 60 Second Marketer

Let me start with an apology.
For those of you who don't know me, you might be a little put-off by the title of this article, "Why Social Media is Just Like Sex."

For those of you who do know me, you might be a little more comfortable with the title. After all, we already have a relationship with each other, either through my Twitter account, my LinkedIn profile, my Facebook page or through the 60 Second Marketer.

And that's exactly my point -- that because some of you have an existing relationship with me through social media, you're probably not put-off by the title. Those of you who don't know me might be scratching your head, wondering what social media and sex have to do with each other.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's rewind a little bit.
When I first started writing this article, the headline was "Why Social Media is Just Like Dating," but that didn't have the hook I was looking for. The next best headline was "Why Social Media is Just Like Marriage," but that lacked a little sizzle. So I landed on "Why Social Media is Just Like Sex," which had everything I was looking for.

Okay, so how is social media just like sex?
Well, like all good things, social media (and sex) start out with a conversation. Typically, the conversation is designed to gently introduce two entities to each other.

Nobody meets someone at a party and introduces themselves by saying, "Would you like to have sex with me?" (Well, nobody over the age of 18 does that, anyway.)

In similar fashion, no company should jump right into the sack with their customer prospects. They should start with a conversation and that conversation should be about the prospect, not about the company.

In other words, if you'd like to sell something to someone, whether it be a widget or a roll in the hay, your starting point is to talk about them, not about you.

That's what makes social media such a perfect marketing tool. Because social media is all about the conversation and the dialogue.
Once a dialogue is started, you're on your way to closing the deal. But your goal is not to move too quickly. Your goal is to continue the dialogue by gently introducing the idea of whatever it is you're selling.

This can come in the form of a Tweet that provides interesting, helpful information to the prospect. Or it can come in the form of a blog posting that, again, provides helpful information.

But the idea is still to keep the conversation low-key, simple and non-threatening. (See the parallel?)
What happens next? Now, your goal is to make them want more of you. In the dating world, this would involve stepping away from the conversation, fixing yourself a drink and, later, coming back to continue the conversation where you left off.

In the marketing world, this involves allowing your customer prospect to take a step back from your brand and subconsciously digest what they've learned about you. In order to allow that to happen, you (as a brand) need to let the customer prospect breathe a little. Allow them to ponder their purchase for a while. But don't, under any circumstances, let them know what your intentions are. Let them come back to you.
Again, social media is perfect for this.

After all, if you're doing social media right, then you've opened up a number of different channels for your customer prospects to re-introduce themselves to you. They might engage with you via Facebook, or LinkedIn, or Twitter, or YouTube. They might even connect with you via email, telephone or even your blog. But your intent is always the same -- gently introduce more and more information about yourself in a non-threatening, casual way.
After you've done this for a long time -- probably longer than you want -- you can start introducing the idea of a longer-term relationship. Perhaps your customer prospect would like to take advantage of a free, 30-day, no-obligation trial? Or maybe they'd like to take your product out for a test drive? No matter what the case, your goal as a marketing director, is to make sure your customer prospect feels comfortable and feels as though they can exit the purchase cycle at any time with no questions asked. (Again, more parallels.)

What happens next? That's where the fun begins. If you're lucky, the customer prospect will accept your offer for the free, 30-day, no-obligation trial. If they feel as though they can take you home without worrying about having to make a final purchase, you're in excellent shape. After all, by now, you've built up a great deal of trust by having a series of lengthy, non-threatening dialogues with your prospect over the course of time.

Ultimately, you'll want to close the deal. If you've played your cards right, that should happen easily and gracefully. In fact, you shouldn't have to do anything, because by this time, the customer prospect will have taken a deep dive into all of your social media channels and will have concluded that a relationship with your brand will be a win/win proposition.

So there you have it. Social media is just like sex. Why? Because social media is all about a conversation, which is the starting point for most good things, be they a relationship with a future customer or a future spouse.