Businesses that are considering an investment in social media programs need to consider the cost of time as much as, if not more than, money spent on developing them. In business, time is money. For a social media program to be effective it must have a committed individual or team behind it.
Familiarity
The reason social media works for business development is because people prefer to do business with people they know and like. After all, who goes to complete strangers first when in need of something?
Efficiency
Social media participation can exponentially expand one's business connections. Connecting with new friends online is easy and fast. If you are a player in the community or your business category, others in your immediate circle will be happy to help you connect with potential customers or professional associates.
Trust
Chances are, if you have a friend who knows someone you want to know, that someone will trust your approach because of your common friend. When you reach out with value and relevancy, people will follow you willingly and you'll build your networks.
Referrals
Ask any Facebook or Twitter user if they've ever asked for advice on a large purchase, given such advice to a friend, or recommended a professional service to someone. It goes on all the time! Business deals are happening online before actual meetings take place because of the efficiency of communication and the mutual trust that is engendered in social networking circles.
Recruiting
More and more professional jobs are being found on Linkedin as recruiters are discovering the power and scope of this network. The same goes for Facebook.
Questions to help form a Social Media Strategy
- What first? Blog, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Website...?
- Who is our target audience and how are they currently using social media?
- What are we doing that's remarkable, newsworthy or valuable to our audience?
- Would someone want to forward our information to their friends and colleagues?
- Are we ready to listen and learn from valid criticism as well as receive praise?
- How can we improve our business by responding to patterns of feedback?
First Steps
- Key individuals in the organization should have completed profiles on Linkedin and work to grow their connection network. Active personal Facebook accounts are also recommended. Facebook bridges social and business connections effectively.
- A business Facebook page should be established and populated with relevant images, photos, videos, articles and links. "Fans" of the business can be invited through employee Facebook accounts as well as email invitations, blog posts and other marketing channels.
- Consider a Twitter account. The search tools are excellent for finding trending discussions and thought leaders in your category. Microblogging on a consistent basis can organically grow your following nationally and worldwide.
- Make the commitment to research and learn the available applications and dedicate the time to post valuable, relevant material for your audience. Look for opportunities to answer questions posted by people in your networks.
- Be true to your personal and corporate brand in your messages. Work for online strategic awareness: being known for the reasons you want to be known!
The explosion of social media use in just the past two years is astounding. The amount of available information written about it for business use can be overwhelming. Common sense and a mind toward value-driven information will help shape an effective social media program. Think attraction more than promotion.