Social Networking Demystified - What is it, and how does it work?
Social networking is an exciting, emerging trend in business that more and more businesses of all sizes are seeing tremendous value and potential in. Those currently utilizing this cutting-edge (but surprisingly user-friendly) tool are seeing amazing results, but only if used properly.
Reasons many people give for NOT utilizing social networking vary from group to group. Some are afraid that social-networking tools are too hard, some feel they are “only for the kids” and others are still sold on traditional methods—to the exclusion of all others.
While these concerns have some basis, they lack a really solid sense of how easy, how powerful and how life-changing these tools can be for the bottom line.
Let’s define social networking for those not familiar with it. “Social networking” is a technology-based means of communication utilizing the power and variety of the Internet to provide an infinite variety of tools and offerings. It is a continually evolving concept, as new tools and capabilities are introduced. However, the basic concept of using the Internet to communicate with each other should make sense to virtually everyone. Some of the more popular examples include LinkedIn, FastPitch, Plaxo, Twitter and Xing.
People can leverage these sites to create a sense of presence that even traditional marketing experts can appreciate: brand awareness, lead generation, information sharing and so on. And the real keys to success are the same as in traditional marketing: frequency, relevancy and cross-marketing, to name a few. Like traditional forms of networking and advertising, the result is directly proportional to the effort.
Critics claim that social networking is merely a gimmick. In reality, while it is true that social networking alone will not likely produce substantial leads in the absence of other critical methodologies, it IS true that combined with other methods, and when used regularly, social networking can, and has, produced excellent results.
Frank Damelio, founder and CEO of the area executive training company Target Intellect, says, “I have found that social networking is a simple and cost-effective method of building connections that have so far resulted in a significant increase in new clients and brand exposure.”
And social networking has one major benefit that other methods generally don’t—there is relatively NO barrier to entry. Usage is practically free (although one should employ the services of a social networking expert to glean the best results) and is relatively painless in terms of time spent updating and managing efforts.
Ease of use and low barrier to entry should absolutely make social networking an essential element of every company’s marketing plan. To not take advantage of these tools is to watch your competition use them to its advantage.
(First in a series of articles on this subject)
This article appeared in the October issue of DBA Magazine. You can check out this great publication online. Here are some links:
October 24th, 2008 at 7:27 am
To the degree that you are establishing the context of online social networking there is nothing to disagree with. What I hope to see in future post is how online and any other form of social networking is distinguished.
At that point what I think is the key to social networking is the scope and presence of the organization’s or individual’s reputation within a specific audience. Beyond the tools that support the “conversation” within social networking is the ability to be heard above the noise.