Social Networking Top 5 Tools for Business

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Harnessing the power of the internet allows you to reach more potential clients, find other business owners to collaborate with, and take advantage of the growing number of free and low cost technology tools that help you run your business better.

The internet has also opened up a world that simply did not exist for many small business owners, even five years ago. It’s a great time to be in business, and to use the internet as a medium to get your message out (and even to deliver your services, but that’s a topic for another day).

When I talk with new business owners, or people who are planning to leave corporate, about social media, they tell me they’re overwhelmed by the technology, and also afraid to unleash a monster they can’t control.

Most of us, myself included, are of an age that we remember the pre-World Wide Web era. We think of Facebook as a tool for our kids, not for us, and we want to protect our personal information. Or we think it’s non-productive time better spent on other things, like ‘real work.’

They’re wise to be cautious – but I assure them not to be afraid! There is much more to gain than there is to lose when it comes to using social media as a business tool. But before you jump on the social networking bandwagon, it’s really important to understand what you intend to accomplish.

So here’s what you need to know: your goal is to connect, not to sell.  Here’s a primer on the best ways to integrate social media tools into your business so that you can attract a steady stream of potential clients, which is the first step to making a sale. There are many more options, but these are the Top Five that I recommend you use as a key marketing strategy. And the best part, they’re all virtually free and doable without a computer science degree!

(A note to those of you who are still working in corporate – this is a great way to start. Using these tools will give you a credible platform and allow you to start building a stream before you quit your job.)

Top 5 Social Networking Tools for Business:

Number One: Your website as a blog. One of the best moves you can make is to create your website using a blogging platform. Blogs are really just websites that contain regular posts or articles – which can be really short, even audio or video. The key is that the software is designed in such a way that the search engines easily find content and catalogue it, so that when someone searches a phrase, your results show up. You don’t need to understand this to get it to work for you, so don’t bother getting bogged down in the details. The most popular tool for blogging sites right now is WordPress, because it’s simple to use and has a range of other tools that complement it. You can create a WordPress website in minutes, customize it so that it shows up as your domain name (without wordpress in the title), and the only cost is your time and your domain and hosting, and you can customize it literally with the click of a mouse. You can even make your new blog site look like a regular website, simply by deciding which pages you wish to make visible. Because WordPress is the most popular choice, it’s also the one that has the most features to make it really easy for you to get more mileage. For example, if you have a LinkedIn account, you can choose a menu option that automatically adds your new articles from your website, to your profile on LinkedIn. You can also plug in videos from YouTube, photos from Flickr and all kinds of other useful features that you can use to highlight your business, like I have done on the home page of www.corporatefugitive.com.

When you create your site, you do need to spend some time thinking about what you want readers to do when they get there. It needs to provide at a glance, enough enticement about the benefits you offer, to get them to stick around for a while and to come back again.

The beauty of the blogging world is that you can comment on other sites, which always includes a link back to your site. It’s very worthwhile identifying the circles of influence in your industry, as well as figuring out where many of your ideal clients ‘hang out’. Sharing comments, or offering tips of value, on other sites will help you get your message out and begin to develop your own following. It also drives up your ranking in the search engines. But remember, this isn’t sales! Your purpose is to offer intelligent and helpful comment, not to swoop in and scoop up other peoples’ customers.

Number Two: Email marketing – The low hanging fruit in the internet business world is by far making sure that you have a way to capture the email addresses of your potential clients and followers when they visit your site. The best way to do this is to offer something of value to them, in exchange for providing their information. This is like getting a “free taste” of you, perhaps an article, a special report or audio interview, or something that lets them get to know more about you and helps them solve a problem or answer a question. Once you have their email addresses, you need to have a way to communicate with them on a consistent basis. There are many free or low cost services that do this (like Email Brain, ConstantContact, AWeber are a few). No matter what you choose, you need to follow anti-SPAM rules. This means you require their permission to send material to them, and that you give them an option of removing themselves from your mailing list. Don’t try to send mass mailings through your Outlook, and don’t send people marketing material they didn’t request. This will backfire on you quickly.

Having a consistent way to reach your list allows them to get to know, like and trust you over time, so that when they are ready to purchase your services, they think of you. Again, this is not sales! The purpose of your communication is to share your expertise and to provide useful information. You can mention upcoming promotions, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure that 75% of what you share is free and useful. You’ll get the return later.

Number Three: Facebook - Facebook is one of the most frequented sites in the world. Just having a profile on Facebook will get your name showing up on the front page of Google. It is also used mainly by university educated, higher income visitors, contrary to what you might think. Depending on your business and your comfort level, you can choose to share a lot or very little personal information about you. The settings allow you to control how much information you choose to be visible. You can add a box to allow people to sign up for your mailing list, and you can create a fan page that is visible even to people who aren’t on Facebook. You can create events, groups, and send messages to them. There are many applications. You can also join forums, and comment, just like you would on others’ blogs. But please, don’t try to create two separate accounts. This is against Facebook’s rules and could result in your account being terminated and you banned!

Facebook is by far the best social media tool to use to share news about your business (update your profile on exciting projects you’re working on, new services you’re adding, where you’re speaking, or others you recommend). It is also an excellent way to find sources of referrals. As people get to know you, they will recommend you to others. You can also find like-minded business owners who offer complimentary services, so that you can package your services together, refer business to each other or even subcontract projects.

Number Four: Linked In – Linked In is another leading tool, and is especially good for finding joint venture partners to work with, and to promote your business and your services. It includes event listings and many groups to join, where you are free to post your information. It allows you to seek and post recommendations or testimonials, and to make introductions and be introduced to others, because you can see who is connected to who. It’s less user friendly that the other tools, but worth learning and using. You will get the most out of it if you log in a few times a week to connect with others, or post in a forum.

It also works especially well for the ex-corporate audience, because it allows you to retain your connections from the past and if you choose, you can also post your employment history. This is really good to showcase your transferable skills, and to show that you’re not a fly-by-night, self-proclaimed expert on the internet.

Number Five: Twitter - Twitter is the most bizarre of the social media tools, but it is one of the fastest growing. It allows you to post a brief profile and then have other people follow you, to see your updates. You choose who you follow. Twitter is about building relationships – in 140 character short bursts. It takes some getting used to, but the advantages are great. Of all of the tools, this one is the most unforgiving in terms of sales etiquette. Sharing information of value, passing on other people’s information you found on Twitter (being sure to credit them) and introducing people to each other is really the value of Twitter. It is a whole other world, but, it is a world where most people monitor their own posts, meaning you can get access to and get to know people you would not otherwise reach, without gatekeepers. Use it as a tool to get feedback, get to know your target market’s concerns, find people to partner with, and also build your own following. There are tools you can use to manage your tweets, and even to post your updates simultaneously on the other sites.

Feeling like you can’t manage all of this? Well, luckily, the internet is also full of tools that help you do just that. Once you create the above free accounts, create two more: one on HootSuite, and one on Ping.fm. This will allow you to connect your accounts, so that you only need to post to HootSuite, to have your updates automatically delivered to the others. You can even schedule your posts, so that they repeat at different times of day to allow you to reach people across time zones.

Using these Top Five Social Media Tools in your marketing toolkit will generate traffic to your site, which will translate into clients for you.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:  Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System^TM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and  unlock their business potential for greater  personal freedom and prosperity. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful entrepreneurial adventure. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for free tips on how to unlock the business in you.