Making Sense of Social Networking…

Amid what can only be gently termed, “a sea of clowns pretending to be social media ‘experts’”, it can be difficult for the serious and responsible entrepreneur or small business owner to figure out what real value social media might hold for their businesses.
Already, many business analysts predict that some of the most successful major corporations are changing the way their employees, execs and customers interact, through the use of social media tools. A global survey of over 500 executives recently reported that social media improves customer relations AND boosts sales. In fact, two-thirds of them saw a vast difference after adopting a social media strategy. (source: http://profectio.com/proof-for-the-c-level-social-media-works)
Unfortunately, in the small business and homebusiness entrepreneurial field, the regular cast of characters are up to some of their typical tricks, and it’s likely to cause some negative backlash.
Those familiar with the home business arena are already more than familiar with the characters about whom I am writing. Far from early adopters, these scamsters are outwardly charismatic, genuinely likable folks, who persuade unsuspecting aspiring entrepreneurs to fork over hundreds and even thousands of dollars for overpriced products (backed by absurd product claims and even more absurd income claims), then further convince folks that if they’ll just commit to spending a couple hundred dollars each month on even more of those overpriced products, they’ll be able to use the “same magical system” these so-called “heavy-hitters” used to get rich.
In part, they’re not lying. If you already have a group of several thousand desperate folks, who’ve followed you from one failed company to the next, each time, forking over a little more of their money, and believing your “don’t let anyone steal your dreams” videos and audio fluff, then you could successfully broker deals with new companies every six to twelve months, and make a fortune. Heck, you can even shoot amateur video footage from the top of Machu Pichu or deep in the Amazon Rainforest, telling folks how they too can live the lavish lifestyle you lived… and some suckers, as P.T. Barnum attests, will buy that wheelbarrow of bullshit from you.
Recently, some of these same hucksters have been encouraging their folks to jump on-board with some of the less familiar social media tools, and as a result, a lot of us are seeing pointless spam in increasing numbers.
Now there are some great tools out there, and great ways to use them to build relationships, expand your warm centre of influence, and earn referrals. Perhaps more importantly, they are tools that allow you and I to learn from one another… to share ideas, without trying to “sell” one another anything.
Here are some of the ones I found most useful for brand new folks, perhaps a bit unfamiliar with the waters of social networking:
TWITTER
Decidely, this is the one that surprised me the most! I couldn’t imagine why I would want to invest time in a tool that lets people tell me what they’re doing, what they’re looking at on the web, and what they’re blogging about. But Twitter (http://twitter.com) is an invaluable tool for my business now, which enables me to not only network with other people, who are interested in the same things that I am, but also to expand that knowledge base, and find differing perspectives, which help me better my message, refine my own perspective, and understand the marketplace better than ever before.
Not only do I recommend that every entrepreneur sign up for a Twitter account today, but I also recommend two important ancilliary tools, which make all the difference in whether Twitter is an effective marketing tool for you or not.
The first is to download TWEETDECK — a free stand-alone app, which allows you to monitor Twitter from your desktop, without launching the website. You can download that at: http://tweetdeck.com. (Note: While it’s a tool I wouldn’t want to be without, it is a little bit of a resource hog, so understand that during peak periods, it could slow your computer down just a tad.)
The second important tool is called TWeeTERGETTER, and will allow you to potentially build a network of thousands of opt-in subscribers (called “followers” in Twitter-speak) within a few days. You can get this terrific tool for free (nothing to download!) by going to: http://tweetergetter.com/gianmichael
Don’t try to use Twitter to spam folks. It won’t help you. If you decide to follow someone, it’s best to make sure there is some interest in who and what that person is all about. Remember that interest does not equate to “agreement”… there are as many people from the opposite end of the political spectrum on my Twitter list as there are those who agree with me. There are folks from every imaginable MLM company on the list too, despite the fact that I regularly teach people how to earn seven to twelve times more money WITHOUT MLM, and am the bane of the existence of some of the self-proclaimed “gurus” of network marketing.
Instead, about once every few hours, post an update about what you’re doing, if it’s interesting. Post links to articles online, or other interesting ideas you run across that are not directly related to your product or business. For example, I recently recommended an wonderful new charity organisation that was started by one of the pioneers of the home business industry — Vision4Plenty.org. I believe in the work they’re doing, and know the founder is passionate about making a difference in the plight of the homeless, the hungry and the disenfranchised. I also posted a link to an amazingly useful free tool that can be used by both businesses and non-profit agencies, called CoolConferenceLive.com. Those two links resulted in dozens of people I didn’t know before, starting up conversations with me. THAT is what networking is all about.
FACEBOOK
There are and will always be proponents of limiting social media sites, such as FaceBook and LinkedIn, and without a doubt, I have accounts at both places. However, I don’t find enough value in those sites presently, to invest very much time there. I do use FaceBook’s “Groups” feature as a means of creating a couple targeted “training” camps for folks, who haven’t quite mastered subscribing to RSS feeds or using more robust media, such as Multiply.com, Veoh.com, or blogging. I also have a MySpace account, but only as a means of keeping my kid sister, nieces and nephews happy, since I find nothing about that site to be interesting, useful or business-oriented enough to bother.
STUMBLEUPON
I’ve seen a fair amount of traction from StumbleUpon.com as well, and recommend that folks use it as a nice way to wander through websites that are of potential interest to them. But I don’t personally invest much time into trying to make it a “hit generator” for me.