Social networking seems to be the recessionary blue light special for companies trying to bring in business. It’s free, and everyone is saying to do it, right? Unfortunately the “if you build it, they will come” mentality doesn’t always work. In today’s information age, content is king, and unless you have something interesting to contribute (read: smart, funny, attractive, unicycling bungee jumper) your social media outlet may fall on deaf ears. However, while technologies are advancing to make our lives easier (supposedly), for some people it can just be an added headache.
To Tweet or not to Tweet – that is the new question. Social networking is a subject that many of my clients often inquire about. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter seem to each have their places as industry leaders for how their users interact. Is it for you?
If you aren’t a fan of the internet or email (thanks for reading, but) social networking probably is not for you. Social networking, much like a financial plan, takes a decent amount of time to implement properly.
If you know about Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, please skip this paragraph. For those not hip to the lingo, here’s the 4-1-1 — I mean a non-comprehensive feature breakdown. Facebook is great for finding people you know and becoming “friends” with them. You can share your life with them with photo galleries, fun quiz results, and the coveted “status update” – which is a quick answer to “whatchya doin?”LinkedIn is similar to Facebook but is more geared towards the professional résumé reading crowd. There aren’t fun little quizzes or a lot of multimedia because the focus is connecting business to business and professionals to their networks of pros. It also features a type of status update to let people know what you are working on. Twitter is just for answering the question ““whatchya doin?” but in 140 characters or less (including spaces). Short and sweet “Tweets” have impact because everyone seems to have A.D.D. these days.
With all these choices, it’s difficult not to get overwhelmed about what social networking outlet fits your personality or level of time dedication. If you are a real geek like me, you have a Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn account – with Plaxo, and Merchant Circle, thrown in for good measure (I said I was a geek!). How do you keep them all straight? First, start small. One social networking outlet properly used will be more effective than a bunch of poorly managed accounts. After all, if you are too busy updating info online, you will not be able to interact – which is the main point. Generally speaking, I recommend a Facebook account. It’s easy, popular, and personable. Facebook can be the foundation that makes it easy to segue into other outlets like Twitter.
Must-Have Helpers If you decide to tweet, first, set up your Twitter account, then downloading a nifty little free program called Tweet Deck (there’s also a free iPhone app). This little time saver helps control the clutter of your new micro-blogging community of friends and associates with its clean, logical layout. Tweet Deck also allows you to integrate your Facebook account so that you can tweet, and have your Facebook “status update” updated at the same time.
Xobni (xobni.com) has a Microsoft Outlook plugin that integrates your Outlook contacts with your social networking accounts. This little gem of a program allows you to add contacts to your social networking accounts simply by clicking an email in your inbox, browsing the sender’s online profiles, and adding them to your network with a click of a button. It also allows you to run a Google search on people, all with the click of a mouse. This is super handy for quickly connecting with people that email you without the hassle of stalking them online – a must have for social networkers. A couple of other programs in the “make your life easier” category are: Box (box.net) for file sharing, and Picnik (Picnik.com) for image editing. Check out these powerful tools, seriously – wow!
Getting an audience
Content and user experience is very precious these days. In fact, more and more people (especially the younger generations) are going to the internet for their news and information. Newspapers are losing circulation and print presses are slowing down. The good news (for online networkers) is that more people than ever are online. TMZ started as a website and is now a television show. While you may not get your own TVshow, websites like YouTube allow you to create a free channel to “broadcast yourself.” By starting with your current contacts on any social networking platform, you can cross promote your company’s website, social networking accounts and company newsletter.Face-to-face networking at trade shows is a great way to touch base with people who may be interested in what you have to say or offer.Collecting business cards and following up with your connections is a great starting point. If you like to write, comment on other people’s blogs and have links to your accounts in your signature block. Bonus: this also will increase the search engine ranking of your website if you have your company’s website URL in the signature block.
While social networking may be a time consuming practice, it allows for an additional “touch” point with your prospects, and allows you to stay in touch with your friends and family. Everyone loves free, and you just may find that the opportunity to network from home in your underwear is a beautiful thing.
