When using social networking for business, following these guidelines will help maximize your capabilities as a presence online:
1. Invest your time wisely on the right sites for your business. The most promising sites are Facebook and LinkedIn that allow you to create a profile and view other business professionals’ profiles in your industry.
2. Write profiles that establish your credentials and expertise. Most social networking sites start with a profile page. Seize this opportunity to position your business and market your skills, as well as providing necessary contact information and a Web site address. If you are an expert on a given topic, brand yourself as such. Make sure your profiles are keyword-rich and use pictures that you would want potential customers/clients to see. Take advantage of the applications these sites offer.
3. Join groups and forums and share your expertise. Establishing credibility and trust is as important as making yourself known. Comment on blogs, but keep emotion to a minimum. Credible comments add to any discussion and can help position you as someone with expertise in a given niche.
4. Seek out recognized authorities in your field. Send a Facebook friend request or a LinkedIn networking invitation, accompanied by a message introducing yourself and politely explaining why you’d like to meet this person online. Be confident, but make sure your motives are business-related.
5. Be selective about your “friends.” You want to make friends on Facebook and other social networking sites — but it’s not about how many names you can “collect.” Having a small number of friends (or connections) who value your passions and expertise, and who care to network regularly, may be best for your business.
6. Promote your blog on social networking sites. Blogging is not for everyone, and this is not a pitch to get you started against your will. But if you do blog or are considering blogging, many social networking sites enable you to surface your blog posts through RSS feeds.
7. Use privacy settings and street smarts to limit identity theft. Most sites have privacy settings allowing you to dictate how much of your profile is revealed to people inside and outside your network. Adjust these settings to your own comfort level, but in general, be cautious about the personal information you post.
8. Avoid aggressive marketing and constant promotion. If you do nothing but promote your new book or new business or product, people in your network will lose interest and likely “un-friend” you.
Using social networks allow business professionals to position themselves amongst the competition in their industry and offer value to their colleagues and customers in an accessible and efficient method.
These tips were taken from Microsoft Office’s Monte Enbysk’s article on social networking.
To read the article, visit http://www.office.microsoft.com.
