“I need to get on those social networking websites…I need to quickly start generating business from them.” Working with websites and Search Engine Optimization, I hear this very often. Many business owners feel that they are missing out by not joining sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These sites are somewhat of a mystery to many who have heard them mentioned so much in the media lately but really don’t know anything about them. This leads to an unrealistic expectation of what these sites can do for them.
So what are sites like Facebook all about, and can a business owner expect to get some business from them? My answer to this question would be that you should think of social networking sites in the same way you think about personal networking in a Chamber of Commerce or similar business networking group. Just as you shouldn’t expect to go to one networking meeting and start getting lots of business right away, the same is true of social networking sites. These sites are online versions of the same concept of personal networking – by getting to know one another, you will start to develop trust in one another, and if the need arises for a service or product you offer, I will likely call on you to provide it. As we get to know one another, we will also give each other access to our network of contacts.
What makes online networking uniquely powerful is the fact that our network of contacts is leveraged so much because we instantaneously have access to the contacts of all of our contacts. Whereas this is true in real-life networking, it would take you a lifetime to see all of the connections you have. Online, it is evident immediately. A site like LinkedIn makes this easy to see, as you can view the contacts of each of those who you are connected to. This phenomenon is tempered a bit by the nature of less personal online connections, however, and this is important to keep in mind. In person I can make a much bigger impact than online. All this means is that personal networking is still effective and should still be a part of your marketing plan, and online networking is effective as well, but is a different animal altogether.
So business owners are right to want to dive into social networking. But what results can they expect? This depends first on the type of business we’re talking about. Let’s take a retail store as an example, which sets us a business “fan” page on Facebook. I’ve personally seen this new type of marketing work wonders. A store offers coupons on its Facebook page, and before long it has hundreds – or thousands – of new fans. What a great way to get people in your store and on your website! I’ve seen this work really well with national chains and smaller mom and pop stores.
This is more challenging, though, for businesses that aren’t household names. One idea I’ve seen is to give something away, such as a $5 gift card to a store to everyone who signs up as a fan. The question is, if 500 people sign up, and only one or two end up as clients, will it be worth it? Obviously this will depend on your price points.
Either way, though, some perspective is in order. Unless your business is a household name that can quickly get thousands of fans, to the point that your Facebook page is getting more hits than your actual website and is a major part of your marketing, results will likely be slow and much more modest. You may only get one client the first year, but it will grow from there. That’s probably the best way to approach it.
If getting modest results at first is ok with you, then why not do it? Why not join Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, even if nothing comes out of it at first? It certainly won’t hurt, and I would say that the exposure would be beneficial and may someday be substantial. My recommendation would be – sign up for these social networking sites, spend some time on them growing your network, update your status periodically, and don’t expect too much. After some time, just like real networking, you’ll start to see results.