Recently I attended a webinar on social networking where my marketing coach, Jeanna Pool interviewed Sherman Hu, an expert on social networking and blogging tools to grow your business.
I knew about Facebook and had setup a LinkedIn account months prior. I have setup numerous blogs for my clients but never for myself. Partly because I didn’t think I would commit to writing in a blog weekly and partly because I didn’t think I had much to say.
You probably have heard of the big three social networking sites, MySpace, LinkedIn (my profile) and Facebook (my profile). Here you create a profile, add pictures of yourself, details about your professional and educational background, then make some friends. Most of my current “friends” are colleagues and actual friends. My hope is that I will start to make virtual acquaintances who enjoy reading my blog or like my professional work.
It sounds kind of egotistical, I know, which is why I didn’t start a blog to begin with. I’m not sure anyone will read this for sure, but it has so far been a great way for me to put thoughts to paper.
The reality is that we live in a time where you can and will make friends with people and work with clients that you have never met face to face. Technology has changed the way we interact with one another and find each other.
The world of social networking is confusing and seems a little intimidating to me. I’m not completely convinced I will make new friends through Facebook but it is worth a try. In as little as one hour I was able to setup my profile, add some photos, and link my blog to my profile. I have to be proactive. I can’t sit back and wait for people to find me. It is the same in real life, you have to pursue in order to be pursued.
I do more than write in a blog, I write detailed articles about emerging technologies for planning and real estate as well as respond to posts on industry-specific web sites. I also help my clients build online communities on their web sites.
On most web sites, either social networking or discussion boards, you can link to your site or blog. Some sites, such as Facebok, let you connect directly to your blog and feature your entries on your profile page. Sites that are more discussion based allow you to link to your web site in your profile. This can provide extra exposure to your business.
I think it is too soon to gauge measurable results from social networking sites and the benefits (such as web traffic back to my site) they provide for all types of small businesses. One size does not fit all. It is also too early to give up; I’ve only been proactive for about a week. And it is never too late to try something new.
