Social Networking: The New Frontier in Making Business Connections

Whether you are ready or not, social networking has quickly emerged as the new frontier in making business connections. You’ve most likely heard many of the social networking buzz words being tossed around among teenagers but might be left wondering what real-world applications they have to offer you as a business professional. In today’s tech-age, the answer to that is, quite a lot!

“Through social networking sites, I have facilitated introductions and cultivated relationships through mutual friends. Those new relationships generated business opportunities for me and for my contacts,” said Michael Gabhart, sales consultant for U.S. Voice & Data. “Social networking enables more consistent interaction and complements existing relationships. I’ve often found a much stronger connection with a business associate that I was not aware of. That knowledge takes the relationship and trust to a whole other level.”

Michael uses a variety of social networking sites to enhance his business connections including LinkedIn, Plaxo, Georgetown College Alumni Site, and Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity’s The Link.

Nevertheless, the value of these online connections depends on the user’s interest and resolve in maintaining these relationships.

“It takes a lot of work to stay connected to a lot of people,” said Michael. “Social networking sites are vehicles to stay connected to a larger number of people than you would normally be able to manage. As a sales consultant for a technology firm, relationships are critical to my business. The more relationships I can manage and the stronger the relationship I can establish has a direct correlation to the number of leads I can generate and ultimately to the number of sales I can close.”

Social networking sites offer the user a variety of beneficial applications including the ability to connect with prospective employees. With personal profiles available on most social networking sites, you as the employer have the ability to examine prospective employees’ sites and weed out any that do not seem to fit your company’s mission or agenda. Prospective employees should ensure their social network profiles are professional and free of any questionable content. Social networking sites are also great vehicles for users to develop stronger relationships with prospects and customers, and often remove geographic barriers from business.

“I recently connected a marketing person in my (LinkedIn) network to a very good friend of mine in Tennessee. The marketing person found my friend through our LinkedIn page. If he hadn’t proactively asked for that introduction, I would have never considered them a good business match,” said Michael.

Most social networks provide forums or groups for like-minded individuals to discuss common topics, hobbies, views, etc. Within these forums or groups, the user is able to ask questions as well as generate answers, spotlighting you as an expert on the subject and potentially garnering prospective clients.

Because social networking is relatively new to those in the business world, it is important to avoid many of the unfavorable applications; so be wary of which social networks you join and how you utilize those that you do. It is important that you maintain a professional profile when using a social network for business purposes. Be very careful to avoid an overlap between professional and personal relationships via your social networking sites. Ensure that you have a clear agenda and purpose for utilizing a social network.

“It is important to understand who your customer is. If you are a business-to-business company, then a ‘social’ site is not the way to go, and I would recommend LinkedIn or Plaxo. If your company is business-to-consumer, then it may be advantageous to have a ‘social’ site,” said Mark Obermeyer, publisher of Kentuckiana Business Forum.

Mark utilizes LinkedIn and Plaxo to maintain his business connections.

Additionally, while social networks act as a great lead facilitator, they also act as a lead source for recruiting firms. As an employer, you should be aware of this.

Social networking is the wave of the future for making valuable business connections. If you are not taking advantage of this resource, you could be losing out on potential clients, employees, leads and essentially profits.

Social networking is no longer just for an audience who doesn’t remember the fall of the Berlin Wall; it has become a new sensation in business networking circles with the number of “connections” or “friends” being just as important as the number of business cards in your rolodex.

With a new and popular social networking site popping up daily, it is hard for the average computer user to know which sites are suitable for their social networking needs. Here is a list of the big names on the Web as well as some advantages (and, perhaps, disadvantages) of joining each.

Terms

LinkedIn is a professional, business networking site aimed at building connections with like-minded business people who may otherwise be out of reach. (A site called Plaxo Pulse is similar.) LinkedIn allows the user to post their career details within their profile. Contacts can be made with members who are potential or current clients, future employees or employers or act as liaisons or “connections” to such members. LinkedIn will soon be adding a “company profile” feature to its site allowing companies to create a company-wide profile detailing their products and services, with the capabilities of attracting new business and recruiting new employees. The site is free, but offers premium services to power users for a fee. Visit www.linkedin.com for more information.

Facebook allows for individuals to connect with friends and colleagues as well as meet new people with similar interests or friends in common. Facebook is a social networking site with an immense variety of applications and a large community of active users. This site initially was geared toward college students, as it required a valid university email address to join. However, with the immense success of the site within that audience, Facebook has now become a public social networking site allowing people of all ages to join. While this site is very popular among individuals of all ages, its business functions are limited. Visit www.facebook.com for more information.

MySpace was established early on and continues to be popular among users of all ages, cultures and socio-economic status. While it has proven to be a launching pad for the careers of many successful musicians, it is also home to viruses, spam and questionable content including a large underbelly contingent. Visit www.myspace.com for more information.

Second Life operates as a virtual world for computer users with more advanced skills (although with tutorials, a beginner is said to be able to use this program with some ease). Individuals can create an avatar or “resident” and live within a virtual society steeped with commercialism. Opportunities are available to sell advertising space or “property” and purchase “islands” in which your company can virtually operate. In its ideal form, Second Life can be used as a means of business-to-business communications and a way for businesses to connect with their customers. However, some security concerns exist within this system, including how to guarantee confidentiality. Some companies have addressed this concern in a few ways when doing business on Second Life. First, the company can give all its employee avatars the same last name – such as ProMoterTeam. And, they also can acquire public sims or “islands” along with private ones where only employees and trusted partners can go. They use the private sims for prototyping and private conversations.