Tap into Social Media
(7 votes, average: 4.43 out of 5)December 11, 2009 by Hilary JM Topper
If you are a “digital immigrant” (someone over the age of 30), you may think social media is a waste of time. How can you bring in business when you spend your life online?
My response: “If you’re not using social media, you’re missing the boat!”
Have you been to a networking luncheon? You introduce yourself to person after person, only to find at the end of the meeting you have a stack of business cards and no appointments.
Social media maximizes your time and effort by taking networking one step further. By being part of a social network such as Facebook, Plaxo, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., you become part of a community. You have an opportunity to meet new people and you are able to learn more about them before you actually meet, which gives you an advantage.
Social media gives you an opportunity to:
• Build a community of like-minded people – Say, for example, you are starting a fitness business. Join existing groups online where others are into fitness. When I opened my Rochester office, I didn’t know anyone in Rochester. I immediately joined Rochester business groups on Facebook and started to reach out to people in those groups. As a result, today, I have an ongoing networking group in Rochester.
• Market to that community in a non-salesy way – Use the 1 in 5 rule. Talk about yourself or your company once for every four times you talk about other things (the industry, relevant articles, etc.). If you are too salesy, people will avoid you.
• Provide insight and value to that community to position yourself as an expert in your field – Taking the example of the fitness instructor, you may provide nutrition or fitness tips to your community. By sharing valuable information, you will position yourself as a leader in your field.
Here are some solid social media tools/sites to help you build relationships:
• Blogs – There are thousands and thousands of blogs in every subject area. Technorati and Blog Catalog are great places to start to find blogs in your area of expertise. Consider creating a blog. This will help increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) organically. In addition, consider guest blogging on other sites and link to your Web site.
• Facebook – It’s not for kids anymore! Facebook’s fastest-growing population is women between 35 and 55. What I love about Facebook is that you get to know the person behind the suit! Whenever I meet someone, I “friend” them on Facebook and then learn a little about them. Many of the friends I have on Facebook I’ve never met. We became friends, saw that we have common interests, and as a result, I have acquired dozens and dozens of business leads over the last few months.
• Twitter – Twitter is a great tool for getting to know your market and engaging with your customers. Look at Zappos.com. They are constantly engaging their community and responding to requests via Twitter. Twitter is also a great tool for watching trends in any particular industry. Being aware of trends early on enables you to position your product or service ahead of your competition.
• LinkedIn – This site not only increases your SEO, but also allows you to get introductions to others who you don’t know but are linked to those in your community. If, for example, you want to get in front of a specific company’s CEO, you can find out if any of your contacts have the CEO on their list. If they do, you can request an introduction. In addition, the LinkedIn groups allow you to network and receive information from others with similar interests.
• Plaxo – Two things I like about Plaxo, in addition to increasing your SEO, is that you see a pulse stream (status update) of all the people in your community. If someone posted something on Twitter, you will see the posting on Plaxo. Another nice feature Plaxo offers is that every time someone in your community switches jobs or moves, your address book in Microsoft Outlook will automatically be updated.
Is marketing a waste of time for your business? If you answered “yes,” then social media is a waste of time too. But if you answered “no” and want to build your business with new clients and referrals, then social media is an efficient and cost-effective way to get your message out.
About the Author
Hilary JM Topper, MPA, is the President and CEO of HJMT Communications LLC, a full-service PR/social media firm located in Manhattan, Long Island and upstate New York. She is the author of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media But Were Afraid to Ask.
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This is such a great article, beeing a woman that is 45, I do see the imoprtacne of all the social sites. Thanks you for this article, Carina
I enjoyed your article, your advice on social media is right on target. I find all too often enthusiasim makes people too pushy. I feel we need to reach out and spark interest in the other person so they want to communicate. The old saying “You can not catch a cat by chasing it!” is true in social media.
I had not heard the term “digital immigrant” but as my first computer Apple IIe I do not feel it applies to me, but I understand it’s point.
I look forward to reading more of your insights into social media.
Terry
An excellent article that effectively and concisely presents a road map to social media. Readers should note that once they set up their web site it can use some great tools to interconnect their blog comments to many of the social media sites without having to visit them all.
One of the best and most versatile website builders is Wordpress. Its not only free but so are lots of feature rich plug ins to improve your sites capabilities. Wordpress can be installed easily and quickly.
James Todd
Publisher:BuildMySiteforFree.com
As a 51 year old woman running a business whose target market is young people 20-30, this is a must have skill. Facebook and Twitter I had heard of over here in Australia, but Plaxo was a new one for me. It is a steep learning curve but the potential is so exciting. Thanks Hilary!