I had the privilege this week to be the guest speaker at the Jacksonville Women’s Network quarterly dinner, and the topic was on Social Networking for Business. I began the evening with the question: “How many of you have used Social Networking ?”… and I was met with a variety of responses, but the most fun being … “what is Social Networking?” Truth be told, I did omit the word ONLINE from the question, but only to prove a point. Social Networking is something humans do (unless they live in complete isolation) every day, with many other humans.
Social Networking is simply connecting with other humans – for a plethora of reasons: fun, pleasure, connections, relationships, business, marketing, profits, friendship, love, desire, greed, help. We do it in our words, actions, remarks. Social Networking can be witnessed around water coolers and coffee pots at work; or at the milk cooler at the super market; or even in the carpool line at school. We are natural networkers, we belong in social groups, and most of us thrive in social groups and wilt when those groups are taken away.
Clients tell me that Social Networking is going to take too much time, it is not profitable, they are being bothered by people they don’t even know, and in many instances it just seems like an intrusion. All valid points.
Keep in mind that the only difference between Social Networking in Person and Online Social Networking is that the tools, programs and computers have reduced the time lapse required to connect with the people we want to. (And if you choose, you can LEVERAGE these virtually free tools, too).
So, Why Freaking Bother?
Frankly, you don’t have to do it. There is no law requiring it, and if you feel that social networking is just a fad, you can ignore it. There is lots of garbage to deal with when you are “doing” social networking, and the technology amplifies that. On sites like Facebook where you can be Cherry Bombed, Lil Green Patched or Passed A Drink … it sometimes feels a bit overwhelming.
I spotted Drew Barrymore on TV yesterday and she said that she really didn’t want to “Facebook”, because if she hadn’t spoken to her friends in 20 years, there was probably a reason. That may be true for many others, too. OK, no problem, just don’t do it.
On the other end of the spectrum is Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk), now crowned the King of Twitter. And he himself was in awe of the idea that folks want to follow him. But in an interview with Oprah Winfrey (@oprah) he conveyed the idea that social media now gives one person the voice of the mass media. A single voice can be heard and can make a difference.
My prediction is that Social Networking is NOT a fad. It may ebb and flow as the years pass, and it will become more a part of what we do with all kinds of mobile tools. Personal Computers didn’t turn out to the be passing fad that IBM once thought they were either.
So again, Why Freaking Bother?
I give my clients 3 specific reasons to consider Social Networking aka Social Media for their busines
- Monitor and manage your business reputation.
- Open new communication channels with your customers – to reach them where they are.
- Create PR and Branding opportunities to attract new customers.
In my next posts I am going to address each of these in-depth and I welcome your comments and conversations about Online Social Networking for Business. And if you haven’t yet heard about “Domino’s Pizza ’s two idiots and a video camera” – you may want to brush up for reason number one.