How Social Media Content Is Similar To Samples At The Grocery Store

Free Samples!

I’m running a business. So why on earth would I ever give away my product for free? I’m sure you’ve noticed that I do hand out content for free: my blog is full of tips and resources that you can use to manage social media and marketing for your business. I’m frequently asked why I do this.

Imagine that it’s the weekend and you’re doing your big grocery shopping trip. You walk in the door and what do you find? Free samples! You try a bite of something you weren’t sure if you wanted to buy - but then it’s so good you go back and pick up a box to take home! Grocery stores know that you’re much more likely to buy something if you can try a bit of it first. 

The truth is, this “sampling” works for all kinds of businesses, including service-oriented businesses. It sounds like it might not make sense for, say, a landscaping company to give out tips on how to take care of your yard yourself. Don't you want people to call you, instead of taking care of their own landscaping?

In fact those tips give your customers a sample of the work you provide. When you give them information they can use this shows your customers that they can trust you. It shows that you care about the work, and that you know what you’re doing. And once customers know they can rely on you for useful tips, they feel confident that you are the one to call when they need more help. They’ve already sampled your product, and come back to you for the whole package!

Think of your content as little snackable samples, and soon you’ll find that clients have bought the whole service from you.

Please feel free to add to the conversation by commenting below. Thanks for reading!