Social media is an increasingly popular tool for businesses and entrepreneurs to gain exposure and to drive traffic to their Website. From „mom and pop shops“ to major corporations, businesses of all sizes are hiring specialists to handle their online networking strategy.
Interacting online in social network sites allows you to do three things. You get to build stronger relationships with your business partners and colleagues, you have access to online experts and you get more one-on-one time with your customers, to learn their likes and dislikes and to engage them in your business.
Connecting with customers allows you to understand their needs, hear and address their concerns immediately, and involve them in the evolution of your company! With access to your colleagues and business partners, you can strengthen your existing networking opportunities to obtain new business or find (free) expert advice. Combining your prior contacts with new online contacts, you can easily expand your ability to get introductions to key players in any industry.
There are an ever-increasing number of social sites available to you and it would be impossible (and unnecessary) for you to be active on all of them. To start off with it is only necessary to be active on three: LinkedIn (professional), Facebook (social) and Twitter (immediate). If you still feel overwhelmed, just get involved on LinkedIn and Twitter for now. You can add Facebook later.
When you sign up for these, sites use your real name (or as close as possible). You want people to be able to find you. You may also want to sign up under the company name which you can do on LinkedIn and Twitter. Get a great head shot and use a small version of this as your thumbnail sized avatar. The sites will offer to look for contacts from your email address book. This is a great feature and you should do it. Deselect if you don’t actually want to follow someone.
Write a complete and compelling profile bio. Be authentic in who you are and don’t skimp on this part. People want and need to know who you are in order to have any interest in following you. As appropriate, include a graphically appealing background. Twitter’s is pretty easily manipulated and there are plenty of free sites that will allow you to tinker with it yourself or hire a graphic designer for this small project. Always add your Web site or blog URL to your profile!
Get involved. If you are on Twitter, follow appropriate people (use the search on the main page for types of business people: entrepreneurs, artists, attorneys or go to WeFollow.com to find a broader selection). But don’t just be an observer. Share information, share articles you’ve found online, ask questions, cheer people on, connect people to other people! On LinkedIn and Facebook, sign up for groups or fan pages in areas that truly interest you and participate in discussion groups. Offer your expertise.
Although the bottom line for many using social media is to increase sales, don’t push your product or your services too hard. People don’t like this. It is a real turn-off and they might not just stop following you, they might encourage others to do the same. Offer real opinions and real interactions to slowly build a following and loyalty.
Finally, be prepared to interact with some of your new online contacts in person. There are „tweetups“ in larger cities and Facebook and LinkedIn offer lots of event listings. It’s great to meet some of these virtual people personally and that builds even greater loyalty.
Don’t be intimidated by social media. You don’t need to spend hours online to be productive and for it to pay off. You may need to spend a little more time in the beginning but this new tool can allow you to reach people (customers and experts) that you were never able to before. Go give it a whirl!