Happy Easter! I hope everyone has time with their loved ones, lots of chocolates and a bit of time off work! This is my first post for Our Corner, so I am a bit nervous and excited!
I have been thinking very hard about business networking; face to face, business collaboration and the all important (at the moment) via social media platforms.
I have had good and bad experiences using social media for both personal and business use. All in all I believe that if done correctly you can grow your business and reap the rewards! Unfortunately if not done correctly it could be very detrimental to your business reputation and might work against you.
I have done a lot of reading about the topic and a lot is from personal experience. I would like to share with you my top 10 tips on business networking via social media. I am the first to admit that I have A LOT to learn, but I hope I can shed some light for some of the newer networkers out there.
Are you an experienced social networker and a novice in business? Or are you experienced in business but a novice social networker? Well, I am both experienced in business and experienced in social networking but found that mashing the two together had its ups and downs.
1. Business versus Personal - Do you want to flood your personal friends with your business or flood your business friends with your personal life? I am a firm believer in respecting others, respecting yourself and your family’s privacy. In saying so, I have created (on Facebook) a separate personal account and a work persona. I use my personal account for friends and family (photos, blowing of steam in status updates and games etc) and I use my work persona account primarily for business networking. I have invited personal friends to the work account - if they are interested in my business they are quite welcome to follow in my journey - but it is ultimately their choice.
2. Why are you networking? Who are you networking for? Are you trying to get your business out there, are you trying to get to know other businesses similar to yours or are you looking for some strong business alliances? The key word here is NETWORKING. In definition meaning connecting, associating or grouping with. If you tend to be one-sided, people will start to recognise that in you and your business. Try to be more two-sided. Here are some examples;
a. If someone becomes a fan of your page - become a fan of theirs (find out a bit more about what they do).
b. If you want people to follow you on Twitter - follow them (create a broader network with them).
c. If you want followers on your blog - follow their blog and make an occasional comment to let them know you are there.
d. If you want people to “shout out” your business (tag you in a post, re-tweet you) then you must do the same to them.
e. If you want people to “like” or comment on your page or group - comment in theirs.
f. If you want people to invite others to join your page or group - send out invites for their group (and let them know by posting on their wall that you have just sent out invites).
g. Basically treat other businesses how you would like your business treated! Reciprocate!
3. Fans and Followers - Is fanning or followers that important to you? Will you not be able to sleep at night if you lose fans or followers? Do you spend your days checking how many new fans you have in the past hour? While this is great to boost your confidence it shouldn’t be taking any of your time or emotion. Be grateful for new fans and followers but don’t let it consume you. There are a few reasons why you lose fans or followers;
a. People have deactivated their Facebook account (out of your control).
b. People don’t like the amount of posts you put on per day (flooding their feed).
c. People don’t like your opinions.
d. Many other reasons, probably the same reasons that you have personally removed yourself from fan pages or groups.
If you are using your Facebook fan page, Facebook group, Twitter account, LinkedIn Account, MySpace account etc only for business - be professional. Don’t promote political, religious or otherwise controversial opinions or views to fans or followers. Not everyone will agree with you and some people get very offended. Pick a certain time of the day to post to your fans or followers. Spread out your posts throughout the day so as not too flood anyone too much. There is definitely such a thing as “overkill” in social media.
4. Promotions - While promotions are banned from Facebook don’t be discouraged. There are many other means of running promotions. Be careful with raffles as your state laws may require you to apply to run a raffle (see your state’s fair trading laws). If you have a website or blog your business would love the extra traffic - so invite your fans and followers to your website or blog and run your promotion there! People that will follow you to your website or blog for your promotion are interested and will more likely buy from you.
5. There is more out there - People have been networking in business long before social media came along. While social media can boost your business quicker it is not the only vehicle you should use to promote your business. Use your time wisely and think of other methods for your promotion.
a. Free advertising websites
b. Business websites that have forums and networking groups
c. Business or industry bloggers (they may do a write up for your business)
6. Poaching - DO NOT use social media to poach from your competitors! While you can get some great ideas from other businesses don’t “stalk” their hard work so you can get ahead. Remember there are huge legal ramifications if you breach copyright or intellectual property laws.
On the other side of the fence, try to keep your new business ideas under wraps. I know feedback is imperative when introducing new products and services into your business - try and choose some select people (that you trust) and send them a private message instead of posting it to your very public fan page or group. Not only can “stalker fans” see everything you are writing, so can non-fans who may visit your group or page everyday to see what else they can poach from you. If you have any trademarks or intellectual property that you would like to protect, get the protection as soon as you can i.e. a new brand name. If you post new items or brand names in photo albums etc, be sure to note that this is your property and subject to copyright.
7. Reciprocate - Another point about reciprocation - if you have used a business within your network and you are happy with their products, services or information - let your fans know about their business. Again, if you were to give someone exceptional service or a fantastic product you would appreciate the free promotion and feedback as well.
8. Open your doors - Let other people in. I have seen it a lot on Facebook, for example, fan pages that don’t let fans or members post or comment. This can be seen as a business not wanting your feedback. Perhaps they are afraid of negative comments or people posting garbage to their walls. This is not networking - it is once again being one-sided. All you need to do is moderate your group or page and let your fans or followers know that you will be moderating comments and posts. Encourage your fans to contact you directly if they have a problem. In some cases pages and groups do not display an email address or have any means of contact, so of course they will post on your wall. Again, be professional and don’t shut your customers or fellow networkers out.
9. Good custom - Treat your fans and followers like customers - as if you were running a shop down-town. You would welcome the new customer into the store, ask if they need anything and give them advice on your products and services if they ask. You would smile as you took their money, thank them for their business and let them know they are welcome back anytime. Remember, you are not only a business owner - you are also a consumer. How awful does it feel when someone working in a shop doesn’t welcome you, don’t smile, don’t thank you and worst of all they do not communicate with you whatsoever! Let me guess - you would NEVER go back and you would also tell everyone you know how bad the service was? New customers, repeat customers and customer feedback should be very important to your business!
a. Treat your customers as you would in person.
b. Answer their questions / get back to them in a timely manner.
c. Be polite and professional.
d. Keep your customers engaged with helpful hints, tips or information.
e. Thank them for their patronage.
f. Let them contact you - offer an email address or phone number.
10. After all, it is called SOCIAL media - My last tip (for today) is probably the most important point to remember. You are using SOCIAL media to promotion your BUSINESS. This is a new concept to many people (both business owners and general users who may or may not become fans). If you are serious about business promotion look for BUSINESS NETWORKING sites as your main priority and use the social platforms as a secondary means of promotion.
Jessica Urquhart
