You hear a lot about social networking these days and the value that “being connected” can bring to your business. You can tell it's the latest trend, because all the “business experts” are pushing us to get onto Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn. There are classes and courses and a lot of folks who profess to be “gurus” on how to use these great new tools to help your business grow.
Let me tell you a secret: there is no secret to making social networking work for you.
It's just another way to reach your current and potential future customers. As with every other marketing method, approach and tool, you've still got to address the basics.
1. You've got to know your customers. You've got to know who they are, when and where they buy, how they make decisions and what they want and need. If your prime customers don't use Facebook and still think “twitter” is a semi-embarrassed laugh in church, then social networking is probably not going to work for you.
2. You've got to know your tools. You have to spend time to learn how Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other sites work; how people use them and how they will work best for you.
3. You've got to decide what type of relationship you want with your customers. Social networking is all about building long term relationships. If you're not looking for long term relationships with your customers, social networking is probably not going to be very effective for you.
4. You've got to be consistent. Your message, your conversations, your persona and your actions on social networking venues need to be consistent with your marketing in other media / venues. And because word travels so much faster in a social networking environment than in other venues, it is critical that your words accurately reflect your actions and vice versa. Nothing gets around social networks quicker than a company claiming perfection but delivering crap.
5. You've got to know who you are. Know who you are before you venture into this world. If you don't have a clear sense of who you are and what you stand for, people will know it...and they'll tell their friends about your inconsistencies very quickly. So before you start any social networking, make sure you know yourself.
6. You've got to know your product / service. And finally, you've got to know what it is you have to offer. Your product has got to live up to or exceed your Facebook claims. Your marketing group cannot promise things your operations group can't deliver...and the product's got to meet or exceed your customers' marketing-driven expectations!
So there it is. Social networking is just another way to reach your customers. It's not going to “change the face of marketing”; although it has definitely increased the speed at which your message...and your mistakes...are spread.
____________________________ I'd love to hear what you think. Feel free to leave a comment here or e-mail me at: TomFawls@Council4SmallBiz.com.
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