Social networks provide a wealth of information and the opportunity to extend your reach for very little financial investment.
Your Activity in Social Networks Can Be Good for Your Business
Whether by blogging, tweeting, posting, linking in or any of the other social networking activities, an active presence in social networks can have a positive impact on your business when leaders were active in social networks, employees were more likely to trust them and customers were more likely to buy from them.
If you are a solo entrepreneur, small, medium business, or Fortune 500 business, as a leader you should consider a social networking presence as part of your business strategy. Social media is a powerful tool that can bring great opportunity. However, it can also be fraught with peril.
In my article Do You Maintain Composure in Business, I wrote about the importance of emotional intelligence when responding to a crisis in social media. Composure is an important skill, but more is required if you wish to represent yourself and your business well. It is not enough to simply make no errors; you also need to be acting in a way that contributes to the community. Does this require an investment of your time? Sure, but less than you may think, and the payoff is very often well worth it in the long run. Social networks provide a wealth of information and the opportunity to extend your reach for very little financial investment.
A Good Model
As a leader this is a good model for your own activities, and it can be employed well if you remember these three tips:
These are the 3 Social Networks Tips:
1. Figure out what you like to do.
Are you a conversationalist? Do you like disseminating information? Are you a writer? Do you like asking questions or responding to them? Once you figure it out find the network that works best for you and spend more time there doing what you like. Why? Because authenticity and consistency are two important components of social engagement
2. Manage your time effectively.
It is easy to waste hours in social networks once you see the wealth of opportunities for information gathering networking and communications. To be effective you should consider a time and activity frame that includes things such as reading others and posting your own updates once a day, participating in a chat session weekly, sharing your thoughts in a blog once a week and more. But do not just post and run, stick around, and remember to engage.
3. Do not do it alone.
You can outsource or perhaps more accurately co-source components of your activities to those you trust and train. Some of these activities can include routine activities such as responding to requests, typing your responses, and proofreading our posts but for many leaders it can include much more. Before you do so, it is important to begin by clarifying your identity and being prepared to communicate this to those directly or indirectly might be sharing your activities.
In an earlier article, Hiring Better Fitting Employees, I explained the value of personality assessment when hiring, a process that included a personality assessment of both your organization and potential hires. The same advice applies to co-sourcing your social networking. Make sure you know who you are and how you want to be presented and communicate this clearly to those who may be directly or indirectly co-sourcing your public social networking activities.
Effective Business Strategy
Effective social networking can afford leaders the opportunity to educate, engage and lead their employees, customers and even their community and it can be an effective strategy for building a successful business presence.
Related content:
Small Business Owners – Make the Most of Networking Opportunities
Social Media & Business Etiquette- Eight Rules
The Beauty and Power of Women’s Networking Groups
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