December 15, 2008
By: Tim
Guest post by Tim Searcy
When I grew up, social networking was code for cocktails at 5:30 PM. Now I find out that it’s code for just about anything and everything digital that brings disparate individuals and groups together: blog postings, topic-based forums and many other platforms I’m just now getting my head wrapped around.
My friend and colleague Azlin Happley sent the old timers in the office some clear rules of engagement for Social Networking, and I thought it would be nice to let you weigh in as well. She is classified into whatever the sociologists call the most recent generation, and I trust her knowledge of the technology that makes me go “WOW!”
Social networking is often about reading a lot of postings, and carefully selecting the person that you want to engage in conversation. However, instead of the blast nature of some other forms of marketing, you have to be very one-on-one when the promise is a one-to-one relationship. This means you will have to e-mail the person you want to connect with, and this is where it can get hairy…
When it comes to the actual email a few rules have served Azlin well so far:
Canned messages get you nowhere. We’re all so accustomed to marketing blasts that if it even LOOKS like it might be generic it goes straight to the trash. On some sites, canned messages will eventually get you banned.
Your reputation and profile are important. If you want people to respond to you, you’d better look like an actual person with some amount of credibility. Make SURE your company website is listed in your profile as that is the first place people go to check out strangers.
Keep it relevant, specific and about them. The messages I send which are mostly about our organization don’t get responses. The messages which talk about their company and why I’d like to speak with them are better. The best messages are responses to current happenings within the company and reference recent press releases or articles. There is a fine balance between keeping the message short and offering enough information about the organization to entice them into speaking with us.
Keep it short. Really short. No one has time to read a manifesto on Linked In. Chances are they shouldn’t be spending company time on there anyway so if takes longer than 10 seconds to read don’t bother sending it.
You must be twice as diligent in your follow up. For most of us, social networking still lives in this grey area of serious communication. We tend to treat our phone calls seriously, our emails less seriously, and social network messages a step or two below that. Even when someone says they will get back to you the ball is really still in your court. Since short messages don’t allow the kind of rapport building that establishes you and your pending conversation as a priority, continued persistent follow up is required to make the most of these opportunities. To avoid pestering, try to include a value add every time you touch the prospect (i.e. the reminder to set up a phone call is accompanied by an invitation to an event or a link to a great article).
Azlin has proven to me that when it comes to technology, I need to look to my younger staff to guide the way. What about you?
It’s interesting to watch business try to find a way to fit into the social aspect of social networks.
Clearly, mining the interactions as an observer can have benefit to large brands (who talking about us and what are they saying). The viral nature of true “buzz” can pay big dividends for companies, though they must (IMHO) avoid the temptation to create buzz (gag) with ham-handed corporate postings.
To me one of the most interesting things about social networking, and I’m thinking of FaceBook here, is that as it becomes mainstream there is this awkward juxtaposition of social circles. Your brother, boss, 2nd grade teacher, and Avon lady are all “out there”. I remember how truly annoyed my 20 year old niece was when she discovered her father had signed up for Facebook — she told him she would not accept censure for anything he found posted on her page.
And people seem to forget how “public” the social sites are. There’s the high profile case of the (now-ex) college football player who posted dangerous and offensive things….but on a smaller scale people post comments (e.g., “the rash has come back”) that make you shake your head and think, “Uh, I don’t believe I would have shared that, son.”
I think people think they are somehow anonymous (even as their picture smiles down at them). What if every car on the road had a sign with a picture and a name hovering above it—when someone cut you off, you’d know how it was (and vice versa). Today some people move thru social sites like they were snuggled safe behind the tinted windows of their Ford Focus — we can seeeee you!
I’m rambling…but my point it two-fold. One, as the grown-ups find their way onto the social site, they need to recognize that the dress code is waaaaay casual and calibrate their shock-meter.
Two, if you’re looking for business leads from social sites, be sure to interact (a lot) before trying to pull out what you want. I’m amazed as the number of people who ask for a linked-in recommendation without giving one….reciprocity of an important rule of human interaction!
Become a member of the commuity before you set up your display and cash register.
1You’re singing my song, Jennifer! I constantly preach about using facebook “how it’s supposed to be used,” and by that, I mean casually. I can’t stand people who are obviously there to network. Don’t get me wrong, networking is fine, just don’t be the overbearing schmuck who has nothing to talk about if not work. I love these two points in particular:
“as the grown-ups find their way onto the social site, they need to recognize that the dress code is waaaaay casual and calibrate their shock-meter.
Two, if you’re looking for business leads from social sites, be sure to interact (a lot) before trying to pull out what you want.”
2Amen!
I love Facebook, and I love LinkedIN. However, I use the two of them in totally different ways.
I keep my Facebook for my real friends and family. The ones that know me well enough to know when I am being sarcastic, or posting a joke about my “rash”, or that I really want to share the intimate details of my life. I also have my profile solidly locked down so that only people that I choose to see my info, actually can.
LinkedIN is totally about business and networking. Those connections are professional, as is my profile there. Some of my Facebook Friends are also connected to me on LinkedIN, but again, there is only cross pollination there if I choose to allow it.
I do allow my blog posts to show up on both, but those posts are about business, so they fit my LinkedIN profile. My Facebook Friends know that I live and breathe my brand and work, and they are generally interested in what I have to say on the subject. They are also the first to call me on my BS, so I use them as my test base and sounding boards.
Both are great tools when used properly. But I would agree that there are a lot of folks out there that have yet to learn the rules of Social Networking and post way too much information for their own good.
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