10 quick Social Media Tips for Networkers

10 quick Social Media Tips for Networkers

If you’ve ever attended or been a member of a Business Networking Group, you’ll know the value of meeting other business owners and building relationships.

But how about Social Networking?

Here are a few tips to help you work online to compliment what you do offline…

• Make your brand accessible. It doesn’t matter what social media platforms you like, it’s where your customers are and what they use that counts. The Social Networking platforms have foot-fall, so make sure your brand is accessible.
• Set up a Facebook page, twitter profile and ensure you get the user names, for example http://twitter.com/fl1group. even if you don’t intend to use it, you wouldn’t want a competitor to grab user names that represent your brand
• Ensure you’re on each platform and all your company details are present correct. Once you’ve done one, they get easier and easier
• Tired of losing business cards? Use LinkedIn, one key way to use it is as a CRM for your business contacts. Use it for recommendations and referrals, think of it as an online version of a Business Networking Group
• Want to source visitors for your Business Networking Group, guess what? Use your social network connections!
• Have a story. In many Business Networking Groups, you think up a different 60 second pitch every week. This is in essence a mini update/pitch and marketing plan. Transfer this same thinking to your Social Networks as well as your Business Networking Group to get your message out further. You’ve done all the thinking for your pitch, so use it!
• Write a blog, this can be the “engine” behind your Social Media activity and can be as much use offline as online…read this: https://fl1digital.com/general/how-a-blog-can-build-your-business-offline-as-well-as-online/
• Twitter gives you reach using hash tags which are in essence filters for different tweets. Just by tagging an update like “Want more business? Check out new #stalbans #business #networking group” you’ll update not only your followers, but this tweet will be seen by anyone following the #stalbans, #business and #networking tags.
• There’s an old saying in marketing: “throw 3 different balls and you no-one will catch a single one, throw the same ball 3 times and someone will catch one”. In social media terms, let’s say you have 300 people connected to you on Facebook, 100 people liking your Facebook page, 400 people following you on Twitter, 500+ connections on LinkedIn, 25 people connected to you on Foursquare, 120 people following you on Google+ and 15 people in your Business Networking Group, that’s in theory 1,460 connections that might see or hear your update, and we haven’t even talked about your mailing list
• Finally, and most importantly, just signing up is not enough, each platform is called a Social Network for a reason, so use your Business Networking skills, and be Social and Network