If you’re a Twitterer or a Facebooker, do you have something of value to say? Are you able to help broaden the mindset of your followers with your words of wisdom?
This article that I came across on a sports-related website is actually what got me thinking about that question as it relates to social networking in business. As an avid user of both Facebook and Twitter, I enjoy them both immensely and have gotten a lot of good information and business referrals from those on my friends list. I have connected with high school classmates, established new business contacts and have even enjoyed repeat business from existing clients. Yes, for me the social networking scene is good for my business, but am I contributing enough for others in my circle? Are YOU giving out value-laden advice and pearls of wisdom?
Social Sites Popularity
When the Facebook platform first became popular, it was primarily with college students who socialized about things that interested them: parties, test scores, campus events, etc. After a while (like these days), you can find a lot more diversified audience of moms, freelancers and a host of businesses who connect to their own websites and product lines. According to Facebook’s statistics page, there are now over 200 million users on Facebook – – and that’s a lot of people who have something to say!
With Twitter, it’s quite flattering to get a “ding” in your inbox announcing that someone is “now following you on Twitter.” I’ve had that happen to me countless times, and I never tire or get bored with reading who’s following me and wanting to learn more about them. I think that’s one component of Twitter that’s pretty cool. And since Twitter responses are more succinct than Facebook’s (generally speaking), when you Twit, you’d better be sure to have something to say, say it quickly (or succinctly), and move on. But what if you’re like me and you like to go on and on and explain things better?
Finding that Value
These are only two social networks that I’ve mentioned, but there are countless more with new ones popping up all of the time. They certainly are here to stay, but are you as an individual, a business person or a corporate representative getting any value from those sites? Are you finding that they enhance your business knowledge, or do you find that you’re trudging through a lot of unnecessary information to get to the pearls?
How can you provide value and make Facebook work better for you?
1. Engage the reader. Ask him questions about his business. Show interest in them, and they will show interest in you.
2. Be gracious. Thank them for being a follower. Thank them for friend-requesting you. Always say thank you.
3. Reciprocate. Return the tweet by commenting on one of their tweets or blog posts. Tell them you like their site, their profile picture, etc. Say it and mean it.
4. Create Passion. Write and link to content that not only will interest the readers, but will also interest you. Readers can tell when you’re writing about something that you’re mildly interested in and something that you have a passion for.
Being a part of a social site needn’t be about who ate lunch where or an outline of your daily habits. Add value to your pages and keep the readers coming back for more by giving them that value. Write about interesting topics. Write about unusual practices. Blog about changes in your company’s industry. Blog about blogging and how it has helped you online.
Whatever you find that adds value to your online presence, use it to its maximum and your readers will fill in the rest of the puzzle. Build it…and they will come!
What kinds of other ideas can you use to add value to your site?
I am a freelance writer, blogger and professional motivational speaker. I primarily focus on business content, offering my clients strategic marketing strategies for their businesses. I have been an entrepreneur for over 13 years, after having worked extensively in corporate America.
I agree totally and thank you very much. Like self help books, we never seem tired of the need to validate what we should already know and what should be common sense.
Having them clearly stated again helps me to navigate through the seas of social media information that is out there.
Thanks again and I look forward to reading more of your enlightening posts.
Ray, thank you for your comments! The seas of social media are indeed deep, but it is also a never-ending process that we will all be learning for a very, very long time.
Very nicely put! Anyway it’s amazing how the “what was my lunch today” posts (having FB as an example) usually get a lot more “I likes” / comments than the actual knowledge sharing ones…! Anyway – very clear, objective and extremely important article. Thanks, and best of luck