If You Build It, Will They Come?

You know that good ol’ saying

“If you build it, they will come”

It usually makes me think about baseball and Kevin Costner, but every once in a while I hear people say this about their businesses, services and ideas. It makes me think that if only I build it, I will survive and beat out my competition. Right?

What if you built a grocery store near a thriving community? Would they come? Chances are, yes! Why? Well because it’s something that is lacking within that community. It’s new, exciting and needed.

If you build the same grocery store across the street from an already successful grocery store in the same community, they might not all come. People are going to have to choose and how they choose will be by who offers the best products, the best prices and/or the best overall experience. Does this place make me happy? Is the service excellent? Do they offer the best of everything that I need? This is what people will be thinking.

What if you built that same grocery store 20 miles away from the same community and they already have a successful grocery store within the area? Do you think that they will come? This really all depends. It’s easier to drive 5 minutes to pick up a gallon of milk, but maybe your store offers my favorite pizza and my local store doesn’t. Hey, you can bet I’ll be there if you have Jack’s Pizza hehe! However, if your store is ordinary and provides no incentive for me to travel the 20 miles, I will not be visiting.

Now let’s say that the store you built offered horrible food, expired products and really crappy service. Do you think people would still continue to come? Probably not, right?

What if you built the same grocery store and it offered the best prices on the best quality of products, people were always friendly and helpful? Would people still come? You bet they would. I bet they would continue to come even if the prices were slightly higher as long and the quality was superb.

This same logic can be used when trying to brand yourself Online through Social Media.

If you build a presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many other platforms; will they come?

Will they visit your website? Will they in return visit your physical location?

Will your efforts turn a profit or provide you with exactly what it is that you are hoping?

The answer to this is simple….. Well not so simple actually.

The answer is maybe.

Just like with that grocery store, no one wants to connect with unfriendly people or spam. People also don’t want to go too far out of their way, unless it’s worth it of course.

Let’s start with the platforms:

• Have you already created a presence by setting up accounts on the Social Platforms? - If your answer is yes, you are on the right track! Yay!!!
• Do you have a plan?
• Who are you targeting?
• What content will you provide?

These are all super important things to consider.

Sure you could post links all about you and your company, but will they continue to come?

NOPE!

Not unless each link says you are giving something valuable away and then even I will continue to visit!

If you build it, you need to reach out, be social and then if the quality of the content is indeed good they will come!

Connect With Me!

Social Brand Strategist & Interwebs Addict, Blogger, Lame joke teller, St. Louis Cardinals fan (woot! woot! 2011 Champs!!), Twitterholic, Second Life Resident (Sadie Pippita), entrepreneur, CEO of KiMedia Strategies - Tampa Social Media, Startup Weekend Tampa co-organizer and Chihuahua owner.

Kim has 383 awesome posts.

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