Many businesses are in a never ending circle when it comes to applying new technology and the superfast developments being seen in things like social media, that it’s difficult to know what the best plan of action actually is.
No sooner had we got used to websites and what we could do with them to reach an ever expanding network of people, we are now seeing a cultural shift in the way that people use the Internet and what they want from the websites that they visit.
Many business owners still don’t champion things like LinkedIn, even though as a business networking opportunity, more and more people are connecting in this way, opening up new doors and channels of communication throughout the world.
There’s still the age old belief (which is to some end justified) that you network, meet people and sell in real life. However, things are changing and while it is important to continue with the traditions of networking for business, it doesn’t mean that you should ignore the new trends and activities just because you’re used to what you do.
There seems to be an attitude of ‘I work face-to-face. That’s how I sell my services and I don’t see how social networking is going to help me’. While face-to-face is always good, social networking demands that you apply a new business strategy that works in the real world as well as the virtual one.
You can forge relationships with people online; you just need to remember it as part of your business strategy in the first place rather than an add-on for later. It’s better to do something than nothing and you really shouldn’t ignore your future prospects.
It may seem like an obvious thing to say, but the younger generation use the Internet markedly differently to the older folks and it is those people who you will need to reach in the future. Basically, if you’re not on their wave length, have you thought about how you’re going to connect with them?
Making the most of LinkedIn as a first port of call should be on everyone’s list as a business because it allows you to generate conversations, just as you would at any networking event.
Not everyone has the time to network in reality and I daresay there’s a large proportion of businesses that look for suppliers online and this is really who you need to network with.
Furthermore, just because you can’t see the benefit doesn’t mean that there isn’t one for you or the services you provide. You just need to know what to do with social media and even whether it will apply to you in the first place.
Further on from LinkedIn, when you have applications like Twitter, Facebook and You Tube you can effectively reach a much larger population and increase brand awareness, create a more branded business strategy that can even assist your employees as much as your client base in understanding your business and its aims.
Social networking is a growing concept and with growth comes change and developments that work with current trends as much as with future ones, so if you do nothing else, you should at least seek out a good LinkedIn training programme or a more general social media programme that can at least help you identify how social media MIGHT help you.
There’s a reason that No.10 Downing Street has a Twitter account as well as some of the world’s largest corporate, and they invest millions of pounds in to their marketing and business strategy, so you could say if you choose to ignore social media you’re potentially missing out and indeed you’re not making the most of the corporate millions, which identify key trends but which don’t cost you a single penny.
