I almost entitled this article as “Don’t Let Your Business Lose Out in the Social Media Land Grab”.
You will already have read on this blog how important social media is and will be to the corporate world, but you might still have some reservations. That is fair enough, and to be honest, I still have reservations about some of it.
But really, if you do nothing else with social media for your business, at least make sure you secure your business names, brands, and as important, your own name.
Just like in the domain name world, in most cases only one person can hold these uniquely named accounts. You might not think of a Twitter account as being prime real estate today, but in fact business is already being done there, people are already passing off their own lunatic rantings as those of major brands and celebrities, and you can count on it only getting even more crazy in future.
So, grab your names. Go now.
Back so soon? OK, now what next?
The key to making the most of social media for your business is to work out which parts and tactics work for you, and which do not. That means getting your hands dirty and trying things out. I have had terrific return on investment from blogging, Twitter, and to a lesser extent, LinkedIn, but have found MySpace less than stellar and I am still finding my way with FaceBook. You will not know if these services will work for you unless you take a look.
If you want to look at Social Media for business, check out “What is Social Media” by iCrossing, which is a bit old but still explains the basics: http://www.icrossing.co.uk/fileadmin/uploads/eBooks/What_is_social_media_Nov_2007.pdf (PDF)
As a professional you will need to be on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com
Seeing as I already mentioned Twitter, and Twitter is one of those services where only one account can hold a particular name, you really need to get started with that service today: Twitter
Mari Smith is the Queen of FaceBook, and she has a free FaceBook tips report telling you how to get started, how to avoid common mistakes, and how you might use it for business. Get it by adding your email address, right here: http://marismith.com/facebooktips/
Finally, for individuals in this challenging career environment, I have to point to Chris Brogan’s report on how to use social media to find work :http://www.chrisbrogan.com/free-ebook-using-the-social-web-to-find-work/
Hopefully these free resources will give you an idea of the potential social media holds for your business, but the key point is grab those accounts and get started!
This was a guest post by Chris Garrett. Chris writes for several blogs and companies including Cogniview, the leading provider of PDF conversion software, as well as his own blog Chris Garrett on New Media where you can get two free ebooks just for subscribing.
Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye
Hi Lucy, thanks for the recommendation of our ‘What is Social Media’ e-book.
Although you note that it is old as the url referenced may suggest, it should re-direct to the newer version which was updated at the end of last year.
We will be making another revision soon with fresh stats and incorporating the new tools of social media.
In the mean time you may want to check the most recent e-book from our social media team here at iCrossing.
‘How to start blogging’ A guide for Business Bloggers.
You can find them all here…www.icrossing.co.uk/ebooks
Hope you find it useful.
Chris Eden
Chris, thank you for clarifying that – I can see that there is indeed a revision date on the PDF, and we’ll look forward to the next version. Some fresh stats would be very useful, as I spent a couple of hours chasing down up to date statistics yesterday!
Cool!