How Do I Take Advantage of Social Networking?

It seems that almost every where you turn, you hear something about these modern Internet-based social networking websites. Names like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others buzz around the media. So why does your business need to get on board with this new way of communicating?

The answer is quite simple. Almost 1/3 of the US population - 55.6 million adults to be specific - visit social networking sites at least monthly. This according to the latest report from Forrester Research.

Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.

According to recent reports, Twitter currently has 35 million users, and Facebook boasts an astonishing 250 million users, 50 million of whom just joined in the past three months. If Facebook was a country, it would be the fourth most populous country on the planet.

But what are these websites, how do they work and how do utilize these new marketing vehicles for your business? Don’t worry. We’ll get you to the Next Level.

What is Social Networking?

An Internet-based social network is a social structure made of people connected together by internet tools or services. Social networking is one of the fastest growing areas of the Internet and focuses of marketing professionals. It is now the quickest way to spread your name and get people talking about your business. In general, social networking services are web based services that allow people to create a profile for themselves and form a network of connections with other people via the service. Communications can be done one-on-one or broadcast within the community.

These social networking services offer the ability to reach prospective customers directly at a relatively low costs for marketing.

Top Uses of Social Networking Services for Businesses

With over 250 million people on Facebook and as many as two-thirds of all Internet users utilizing social networking, the chances are that your prospective customers are in this group. There are numerous ways to utilize social networking to build awareness.

For example, you can use social networks to launch company events, offer special promotions and invite your customer’s to learn more about your brands, and encourage customers to share information about your products/services with their friends.

Some companies have created Facebook pages for their company or product/service to reach potential customers who can follow the latest information the company has to offer. Prospective customers become “fans” and follow the company or its product pages or join various community groups to discuss the business or its products. A Twitter user may tweet to his or her friends about a new offer your company is offering them, as another example.

People in your industry know others in the industry. People with certain skill-sets such as accounting, marketing etc., know other people with these skill-sets. These networks can help you identify good candidates for employment opportunities.

The latest CareerBuilder survey found that 45 percent of employers use social networking sites to research potential job candidates - an increase from last year’s 22 percent.

Of those who do not currently use social media for that purpose, 11 percent plan to start doing so.

Facebook emerged as the most popular platform for screening job applicants, with 29 percent of hiring managers indicating that it is their website of choice, followed by LinkedIn at 26 percent. Twitter ranked lower than blogs, used by 7 percent of respondents as opposed to 11 percent for blogs.

Along with creating social networking pages, companies continue to add community sections or other areas where visitors can participate in blogging or chats on their Websites. Blogging and chat rooms can be effective ways for users to communicate and the end result is often a growth in sales or improvements in customer service. Market researchers love this kind of direct customer feedback.

What are customers of your competitors saying about your competitor’s company, product/service or customer service? Are there trends or common messages? Are there ex-employees disclosing confidential or insightful information in a public forum? Can you use this information to better position your company or products/services to gain market share against them?

Studies show that 70% of customers trust peer recommendations while only 14% trust advertising. To prove our point, who would you trust for product advice: your neighbor who owns the automobile you are considering buying or the car salesman? Unless you have a bad neighbor, peer advice can be a powerful marketing tool. The trick is learning how to harvest this power. Your job is to build “buzz” around your company and its products/services.

You do this by creating customer advocates. You can’t just satisfy customers, you must delight them so much so that they are forced to tell others they know about your company and/or your products/services.

• VERY OLD SCHOOL – Write a letter to a customer or mail them a paper survey and expect them to return the information.
• OLD SCHOOL – Use telemarketers or sales people to call customers (usually during dinner time) and talk with customers.
• NEWER SCHOOL – e-mail customers or send them electronic/web-based surveys.
• MODERN SCHOOL – Tweet customers, post information on your Facebook wall.

Modern social networking is permission based meaning that your customers give you permission to contact them by becoming “fans” or agreeing to be in your network. Since your customers have given their permission and because the form of the contact is less intrusive than older communication vehicles, your customers tend to be more open to the communications and studies suggest more receptive to responding to it.

Getting the most for the money you spend is a basic premise of good business. Social networking simply costs less than traditional advertising in print, radio, or television and can be just as effective if done correctly.

You can build your personal or company’s credibility by good use of social networking services. For example, you can establish yourself as an expert in your field by answering discussion questions, posting tips and articles or even inviting ‘friends’ to live events like teleclasses and webinars.

Social networking can help solidify long lasting relationships - either personal or professional by making the process of connecting easier. It can provide an easy way to connect faster with target prospects, referral sources or mentors and allow you to respond more quickly from anywhere in the world.

Social networking is great at establishing connections but getting your marketing and sales message through these channels may be more difficult. For example, at a character limit of 140 characters, your Twitter tweet isn’t going to say much but if done properly, it can drive people to your website for promotions, downloads, and information.

1. Be social. Be active. Social networking requires that you work the network. Don’t sign up and expect business to walk in the door. It usually doesn’t work that way.
2. Don’t force your growth. It takes time to build a quality network. The goal is to build an active network not just a large one. If you have one real, quality, targeted and engaged contact on Facebook, that’s better than thousands of people that don’t really know or care about your company.
3. Don’t expect immediate results. It takes time. When you first meet a prospective customer, for example, do you expect them to sign a contract with you immediately? No, for most businesses there is a process of convincing a prospective customer to buy. It works the same way in social networking. The benefits come only after the prospective customer or customer decides to engage.
4. Don’t hard sell. This is killer. You can do more damage to your brand than anything else. If you’re on Facebook solely to market yourself, you are making a mistake. Social networking is social. People don’t want to be sold to here but that doesn’t mean that selling can’t be a by-product of good social networking marketing. Branding and selling happens all day long there, but it’s a by-product, not the primary concern. Allow it to remain a by-product of you being there, and you will do fine. Once people perceive that selling and promotion are your priority, you will start losing connections immediately.
5. Don’t using auto-DM on Twitter. If you don’t know what this is, don’t even look into it. You’re better off.
6. Linking out to your site is acceptable (but don’t do it constantly). Remember that your network is, first and foremost, interested in their own needs, wants, desires, fears and problems. Address these areas and the solutions you offer from their perspective or better yet have a customer do this for you within the network. Keep your social networking interesting and non-threatening for those in your network. Be social and not 100% business.

The following list of resources is by no means all inclusive of what you need but do represent resources that have helped our firm get to the Next Level.

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