Weekly I’m off on a quest to meet with my networking group. I enjoy this time because we share business ideas, resources, referrals, and most importantly we are moving forward to building relationships. One other aspect included in networking, is being with individuals of similar profession/passion/interest. Definitely we all come together for the same reason, to build our resource pool, and to expose others to our businesses.

About a month ago, a nice lawyer reached out to me because he liked what he read on my website. He and I chatted, and instantly found ways to promote each other’s business. Over the course of time, we’ve been exchanging referrals and resources. He forwarded me an invitation to his exclusive nonprofit networking group, and I’m writing this post on the subway on my way to the first event. I am moments away from meeting not just one new business ally, but at least 20. I would say lunching with strangers definitely has its rewards.

So, do you have plans to lunch with a stranger anytime soon? Consider the possibility for the growth of your business.

Do you have accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and wonder what all the fuss is about? It seems a big time waster to you, but since everyone is talking about Social Media, how can they all be wrong? 

 
They can’t all be wrong. And the statistics can’t be wrong either.  To quote statistics from Socialnomics:

1 out of 8 couple who married last year met through some form of Social Media. 96% of Generation Y are on at least one social network. Facebook added 100n million users in less than 9 months. Even more shocking, if Facebook were a country, it would be the 4^th largest in the world!  78% of consumers trust peer reviews of products more than advertisements (only 14%). 

Is it all just a fad? No, this change in marketing represents a fundamental change in the way we communicate with each other. It is about listening first, about giving first, and about selling second. It is about building trust and awareness. It is about putting info out there about who you are, what your services are, what your products are, and knowing that the interested buyers will find you.  The world has changed dramatically from a static advertising modality to a form of interactive conversation- a dialogue, a discussion, a friendship. In short, it is about relationship.

Social media is a very new term from the last few years, but it has quickly become part of our culture and part of our language. In a nutshell, social media is made up of internet and mobile media tools for sharing information among people. This new environment is generally known as web 2.0, delineated by the fact that it is interactive.

Some examples of early social media sites were MySpace, Wikipedia (which means Quick, from Hawaiian), and Craigslist; and then followed by sites used for bookmarking, such as: Technorati, Digg, Delicious, and Yelp. But it is only in the last few years that the “biggies” were born- Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. These are the sites with the huge punch.

There are interesting stories behind the development of these three big sites. You Tube, the huge video-sharing engine, started off as an elite site for those that could afford to create videos. But it has, to everyone’s surprise, become an extremely accessible site. As a matter of fact, it is now the second largest search engine in the world!

The development of Twitter is a strange story. It was started as a site to dispatch communication for taxi drivers. Now, it is a monster site- a powerful marketing tool, when used correctly. And it was Harvard students who created Facebook (which grew by a phenomenal 422% in 2009). Their intent was to use Facebook exclusively for themselves!

These three big sites are primarily where a business should focus its initial marketing energy. When brainstorming strategy for social media marketing, it is good to remember that Twitter is the way to quickly connect with your customers and to announce alerts, gifts, coupons, etc. Facebook holds a larger news stream so you can add videos, photos, and much more in the way of information about your company or products, and your brand.

YouTube is just plain fun, and exciting. The right video can sweep around the globe. The most recent powerful example being the story of Susan Boyle, from Britain’s Got Talent. Within minutes of the broadcast of this singer’s performance, emails and tweets were chasing around the world. Someone put the video up of her on YouTube and it became and amazing overnight sensation. As did she. The power of YouTube indeed!

Here are a few great links for more information: First, here is a nice easy Youtube video explaining social media. Second, here is the link to one of the hottest videos on Social media last year.

Social media is here to stay, and everyone now knows it. The rush to get onboard has been exciting, and yet, the most exciting piece is how it changes all the time. Who knows what will come next?

Today my good friend, Dawn Goldberg, shared her social
networking experience and knowledge in a presentation for a client of mine.
While I’ve been on Twitter for several for months now, I learned so many new
things. Here are the top two things I learned today.

1) Be conscientious – Consider carefully how you want to
use this medium. It could be fun, personal, strictly profession, or a
combination of any of these. The important thing to remember is that the posts
will follow you forever. These are rarely lost in cyberspace. Judge each post
as to whether or not it fits your conscientious plan for each social network
tool you use.

2) Connect often – It’s not enough to be on a social networking
site; you must be an active participant. At least reach out once a week to the
people you are connected to. Mix up your posts and make them fun, personal, and
professional; and make them questions, quotes, thoughts, and statistics. Keep
them interested especially to you!

If your organization is on a social networking platform,
I’d like to connect to with you: Twitter – Vaartiz and Facebook – Antonette Artiz!