Social Media: A Powerful Networking Tool

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or you are lucky enough to live on some remote tropical island and you really don’t care about being social, anyway), you must have heard the buzz about Social Media. Social Media (Social Networking) is all the rage these days, now that it’s finally hit mainstream communication channels. Sure, some of us have been interacting on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for over a year or longer now, but until very recently it was hard to explain the value of social networking to a newbie.

Why is this? Because people are followers by nature. Think about it. Innovative products & services usually start with a tiny following of believers who live on the bleeding edge, then there comes a few more early adopters, then eventually the idea is accepted by the masses. We’re human. Most people like to do what everyone else is doing. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just the way we operate.

But Hooray! Now we can talk about Social Media and people will listen.

Our friends and family no longer think we’re nuts when it comes to Social Media. (They may think we’re nuts about lots of other things, but that’s another matter completely.) People are hungry for information. For the newbie masses, the thought of Tweeting is often overwhelming, confusing, and downright frightening.

Why is it important that we continue to talk, teach, and promote? Because Social Media is a powerful tool when it comes to getting the word out about your business/service/cause. It’s also an awesome lead generator, feedback machine and customer service tool. It’s good old-fashioned networking – just to a lot more people. Think of it as the Super Bowl vs. an intimate cocktail party.

Hello! Can anyone hear me?

Sure, it’s awesome to be in front of lots of people, but it can be hard to get noticed. It’s like being at a huge party when everyone is talking at once. You have to make the extra effort to stand out, to meet people, and to keep the communication lines open. It’s hard at first. Stick with it. Be nice to people. Add value to their day. It will happen.

But I don’t have 5,000 followers! What’s the point?

What about quality of followers vs. quantity? Good question, and I have to say that your mileage may vary on this one. For some businesses, quantity is key. Think Zappos, Nike, IBM. It’s not going to do them any good if they only have 100 followers on Twitter. For other smaller companies, it’s more about the quality – the key (and the challenge) is to get targeted followers who really want to hear your message and buy your stuff.

The Social Media Spy Factor

Who do you really want to do business with? What are your values, and where do they fit in with your business? One of the best parts about Social Media is that you can get an inside peek at the real person behind the name. Some people call it spying, but I consider it research. When we’re having conversations online, we inevitably end up talking about our families, our interests, our communities, beliefs, politics (though I steer clear of that topic no matter where I go), etc.

Depending on how transparent a person is online, you can learn an awful lot about someone just by following their updates. Sometimes the truth lies in what they post in their Facebook photo albums. What you discover about someone may impress you, or it may enlighten you to something you’re JUST not comfortable with, thus making you think twice about associating with that person. Either way, it’s a valuable way to clue in to people’s practices and values.

No matter how you slice it, Social Media is work and can be tricky to manage – but so is traditional face-to-face networking. It’s work, but it’s important that we stay visible, so we do it!

What’s your take? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s discuss in the comments.

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