Market Improvement

 

 

Illustration by Dave Cutler

If you’re not already on Facebook, you know people who are. Your kids, your college roommates, and your co-workers are constantly updating their status to let everyone know that right now, they’re talking about themselves in the third person.

Likewise, you might not be using Twitter, but you’ve read about the celebrities who, no longer content to let the National Enquirer publish embarrassing details about their private lives, are doing it themselves. But before you dismiss social media as a colossal waste of time or the exclusive abode of narcissists, teenagers, and self-promoters, consider how these services could help your business reach new markets.

“We’re seeing an increase in business, and we’re establishing connections through nontraditional methods such as Facebook and Twitter that we never would have made,” says Sam Howat, creative director at the Web design and development company Bluetux. His firm began using the two services in January and saw a 30 percent bump in inquiries in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the first quarter of 2008.

But before you send your first tweet on Twitter or update your status on LinkedIn or Facebook, consider what you can offer. “It’s all about delivering content that someone actually wants to read,” says Mark Riffey, past president of the Rotary Club of Columbia Falls, Mont., USA, and president of a company called Rescue Marketing.

Greg Schinkel, a member of the Rotary Club of London, Ont., Canada, often uses tweets and status updates to promote new blog posts. As president of Unique Training and Development, a leadership training and consulting firm, he blogs about topics such as being an approachable leader or increasing your chances of a promotion. Two of his recent tweets: “I was inspired by a Salvation Army speaker this week. Leaders must give hope – see post at http://www.leaderfeeder.com” and “Just posted an article on whether your organization is better off stealing or growing star performers.”

Schinkel uses social networking to build relationships and establish credibility. His goal is for readers to say, This guy knows a lot about leadership, and he has a very practical way of communicating it.

Breaches of etiquette – such as sending an automated direct message, called a DM, about a special offer when people sign on to receive your tweets – can quickly turn people off. “They’re following you because they want to learn more about you or about what you do,” Riffey says.

But blending professionalism with the Web’s inherent informality can be a challenge, and striking the right tone can be even trickier if you’re communicating with a diverse group. Photographer Val Mohney, a member of the Rotary Club of Edmonds, Wash., USA, uses Twitter and Facebook to send updates about what he’s working on, such as editing photographs or shooting an assignment. He also uses Facebook to direct readers to new photos that he has uploaded to Flickr, an online photo-sharing service. His more than 400 “friends” on Facebook – who include family members and business contacts – span three generations. “I try to take that into account,” he says. “I’d like to be communicating well with the people I care about and have them feel included, or at least pique their interest once in a while.” (To keep professional conversations on Facebook separate from personal ones, consider creating a page just for your business.)

Carefully managing your online presence is vital, because the viral power of social media can just as easily work against you. “An [inappropriate] tweet can get a lot of attention, and someone may decide to order from a competitor, or might decide you’re not the expert,” says Zoë O. van der Meulen, a member of the Rotary Club of Unadilla, N.Y., USA. “It can hurt your reputation very quickly.” Only a few people at the Unadilla Silo Company, a wood products manufacturing firm where van der Meulen serves as communications director, are authorized to send tweets on behalf of the company. That “helps keep it at the professional level,” she says.

And while complaints posted on social networking sites by unhappy customers can be damaging, being plugged in keeps you on top of problems and allows you to demonstrate your good customer service publicly. “If you don’t have anything to hide, and if you’re willing to deal upfront with a situation that might not have come out perfectly, people are going to see that,” Riffey says.

Keep in mind that social networking works differently from traditional marketing, so if you decide to dive in, be open to the possibilities. “You don’t know how it can expand and connect you,” Schinkel says. “You can’t predict exactly how it’s going to work.”

To get the most out of it, Howat, a member of the Rotary Club of North Whidbey Island Sunrise, Wash., has this advice: “Social networking is never about you. It is about what you can do for other people,” he says. “It’s almost as if it’s along the [lines of] Service Above Self.”

Mindy Charski is a Dallas-based freelance writer specializing in business.