Tips for Business Networking in Social Media
Networking — the “it’s not what you know, but who you know” concept — is still one of the strongest factors for building a business. Given technology’s ever-expanding presence in the workplace, companies have a unique opportunity to reach their target market on a very personal level by using social media.
The big three
There are dozens of social media sites on the Internet, but you’ll probably want to home in on what is generally acknowledged as the “Big Three.” Don’t worry about all the small, niche sites and concentrate your time, effort, and resources on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
For certain firms, Pinterest will have value as well, but here we’ll focus on the main three.
Networking with Facebook
Facebook is widely regarded as the most useful social media networking tool for businesses due to a number of reasons. First, it boasts the largest member group: an estimated 1.23 billion active users.
Second, its structure is conducive for establishing a group and effectively disseminating content. Here are a few tips to get you started:
Customize your URL. When you sign up for a business page, Facebook will automatically generate a URL for it. It’ll typically be something like “facebook.com/dfij3847.” Instead of relying on that hard-to-search, difficult-to-remember URL, you should customize it to something closer to your preference (such as “facebook.com/mycompany”). Facebook readily allows this.
Complete contact information. One of the first things you need to do is complete your page’s contact information. Don’t leave anything blank and make sure everything’s accurate. People use Facebook all the time to find local businesses, and inaccurate contact information will cause you to lose out on potential customers.
Push quality content. Facebook is an extremely valuable tool for content distribution and sharing. Use that to your advantage by frequently posting links that are of interest and use to your followers.
Networking with Twitter
Twitter is quite different from Facebook, but it can better in many respects. As a sort of real-time newsfeed, it’s a great way to find out what’s going on and let people know about new developments in your business. For an example of a great profile, check out ParkViewLegal.com’s Twitter handle.
Here are a few tips:
Research your industry. You can use Twitter to find out what’s happening in your field and then contribute your own thoughts to the general conversation. When people begin to see you as a thought leader, they will want to follow you.
Balance Tweets. According to social media experts, you should follow the 80/20 rule, in which only 20 percent of your Tweets are brand-related calls to action. The other 80 percent should be interesting, valuable, and shareable content.
Interact, don’t bark. When you start to follow the 80/20 rule, you’ll also begin to understand the concept of interacting with followers rather than barking at them. Facilitate discussion, answer questions, pose questions; don’t just try to sell.
Networking with LinkedIn
LinkedIn was specifically designed for business networking, so it offers built-in capabilities that make it easy and comfortable to network. Here are some brief tips for effectively navigating LinkedIn:
Be proactive. The great thing about LinkedIn is that you don’t have to be shy about networking with people. Everyone is there for the same purpose. You basically have a free pass to reach out to people and discuss business.
Don’t stay online. Although LinkedIn is an online networking tool, the most successful users are the ones who link up online and then carry the relationship over to real life.
Be honest. Everyone knows that lying on your resume is a big no-no, but what about your LinkedIn profile? It’s a no-no here, too. Simply put: Don’t do it!
These tips should help you become better at networking on social media. Try to stay updated on new changes and developments, because these platforms have a tendency to alter their appearance and approach quickly and frequently.
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