Become socially savvy

 

Editor’s note: Michelle Stockman is an independent consultant with her company, Fort Smith-based Msaada Group. Stockman earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University-Chicago in communications and fine arts, and earned a master’s in entrepreneurship from Western Carolina University. Her thoughts on business success appear each week on The City Wire.

Fifteen years ago, armed with a palm pilot and an email address, entrepreneurs would have to dig for opportunities to network. Networking meant trying to look like a big business while hiding the fact that you were working from home. A successful networking event meant you met at many people as possible to hand out as many business cards as possible in the hopes of landing as many follow-up meetings as possible.

Fast forward to today where working from home is hip, small businesses have gained far more respect while networking events and opportunities surround us. Our palm pilots have morphed into our smart phones that allow us to video chat anytime. We can grab our electronic tablets and work with customers in real time to deliver faster, cheaper and more customized results.

Access to the virtual networking world not only changed how we communicate, it has changed how we market and advertise. Social networking is no longer a strange term reserved for college kids. It’s in the fiber of our lives, and we have children who do not know what life is like without social networking today.

The OPEN Forum by American Express published an article by Donna Fenn who answered the question: “What’s the most efficient and meaningful way to interact with my customers online?”

Fenn notes that entrepreneurs need to prioritize immediate and long term customer cultivation needs. “It is too easy to get caught up in the Now! Now! Now! of Twitter and Facebook. Step back and ask yourself what the definition of a "meaningful" interaction with your customer is.”

Next, use the online tools that work best for the business.

John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing, notes: “1) create Facebook Groups and Twitter Lists of customers, 2) use a tool like Tweetdeck to follow these lists, 3) integrate Facebook Like and Send buttons on your Web pages, 4) create systematic process to listen to your customers, and 5) share content that your customer can use with this system.”

Listen to the chatter that is occurring in your online community about your business, market and industry. Use tools that track the online content that is important to the business. Also, have a plan to respond to what is happening in the virtual world. Such as direct or indirect inquiries, answering questions, comments or criticisms is important to maintain a presence online. As CEO, if time is a barrier, getting help being the online you is acceptable.

Lastly, like a broken record, create a plan, create a plan and create a plan. Build your social networking plan into your marketing plan or simply take some time to map out the business strategy and parameters for engaging in social media. Stay within self imposed guidelines for maintaining a strong presence in the virtual social networking world. Plan goals and strategies for the week, month, quarter or year as this will help you maximize the time and effort spent on this important component within the business.

Social networking has opened up a pandora’s box of opportunities to reach new customers, build new business relationships and build brands. The options between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp!,  Foursquare, Meetup, Whrll and so forth (the list is long), can produce confusion and panic to most people over the age of 25.

However, a good strategy, strong messaging and communications that speak to customers turns into a fun experience of building new customer relationships without printing more business cards.

Feedback
Stockman can be reached at [email protected]