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View Full Version : How to make Social Media Work for Your Business



vangogh
04-27-2009, 03:35 AM
I came across this short video explaining social media (http://www.veribatim.com/blog/2009/04/10/social-media-compared-to-offline-networking/) a couple weeks ago and was reminded of it earlier in another thread.

In the video Katrina Rice explains online networking in terms of offline networking and I think she does a really good job showing how to network online.

She briefly discusses

your website
your blog
LinkedIn
FaceBook
Twitter

and the offline equivalent for each. You may not need to use the three specific social sites she mentions as I'm sure others could be substituted for each and you may not use each of the sites quite the way she does. Still I think it's a great overview of how social media and networking can help your business by comparing it to things you likely already do offline.

One point I'll emphasize is that just like offline, networking online is all about building real relationships with people. The main difference is you may not ever meet your online connections in person.

What do you think of the video? Do you use any of the sites the same way Katrina uses them? Do you use other sites in similar ways?

rezzy
04-27-2009, 09:29 AM
I never really considered using social networking in that way. she mentioned linkedin, which always came off to me as more of employment website of sorts. I tended to only use for more business purposes.

As time has progressed, my opinion of it has changed to reflect the times.

vangogh
04-27-2009, 03:31 PM
I've always thought of it as a way to build real relationships as opposed to trying to get quick traffic from it, but I hadn't quite see the bigger picture she describes in comparison to offline networking. I thought it was a really good way to look at social media in general.

You could easily add other sites to the mix and perhaps use different sites than Katrina does. Since watching the video I've been thinking of social media and networking a little differently.

The video is definitely worth watching if you're struggling to understand the point of social networking.

SimplyBRG
04-27-2009, 04:42 PM
I am not really sure how Twitter fits into an overall marketing plan for most businesses. I am not on Twitter but I understand that people must choose to be in your network. Why would most people opt in and choose to be spammed by a business? Maybe I just don't understand the Twitter appeal.

vangogh
04-27-2009, 07:39 PM
People do use Twitter to send out spam messages, but that's not really how you use it successfully. The idea with all social networking is to build real relationships with people. Through Twitter I've gotten to know some people I didn't know before and strengthened relationships with people I already knew. It's really not any different than networking with people offline. Some of the relationships you build may not lead to anything, others will.

Another use of Twitter is market research. You'll want to use a desktop client or one of the Twitter search sites, but you can follow the twitter stream for a particular word or phrase. You might choose to follow a search for a legal phrase and then respond to people's questions by pointing them to a helpful article. Do that enough and people see you as an expert and then they do need legal help your name is on a short list of people to contact.