Social Media: What for …?

By Lisa Tierney

First things first: know that you most likely are not going to get a new client by simply establishing a presence on social media venues, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These media are more about social marketing than sales. Think virtual networking. If you have a business, you should have a Facebook page. You should be LinkedIn. But understand the reasoning before you get started. It might result in a very different approach than originally thought.

Facebook
The writing on the "wall" of a Facebook page will help when people search your name (or company name) on the Internet. In other words, what people type on the page will be picked up by search engines while people are researching your business—or businesses like yours—on the Web. So, ultimately, the page can drive traffic to your Web site, where the true wealth of information about your company, its people, and the array of services it provides is kept! So, add relevant information to the Company Profile on your Facebook page, and guide people back to your site.

About the Facebook page itself, you may be wondering if it can feature anything of real value to those who may come across it or if it’s just another venue to host key words about your business. Well, that depends.

Most people who are on Facebook are in their early twenties to early thirties. Many surveys indicate, though this will eventually change moving forward, that those who are perusing Facebook today are young adults. You may not think young adults are your audience, but that may be short-sighted. If your human resources staff attends recruiting events on college campuses or you are looking to hire young talent, you can definitely use your Facebook page as a recruiting tool. Think about using testimonials from young staff who have been given some free time to post statements about why your company is such a great place to work. Ideas like that are perfect for Facebook.

LinkedIn
Don't make the mistake of assuming the reasons behind fostering a Facebook presence is the same for LinkedIn. They are totally different. The top reasons for being on LinkedIn are as follows:

Self-promotion/looking for a job —This might be the No. 1 reason most people use LinkedIn. This goes hand-in-hand with the next reason, networking, stated below. The old adage still applies: it’s not necessarily what you know, but who you know. If you are under 35 and want to get a job, let people know what you can do and what kind of job you’re looking for on your page. Direct people to your page, and make your LinkedIn page personal. You can also use LinkedIn to check out recruits that you are considering hiring for your company.

Networking, networking, networking —Maintain and foster relationships with past and present colleagues. This is a great venue by which you can search for other professionals by industry, by company, and by geography. It’s the Six Degrees of Separation theory pared down to maybe four degrees! Did you know there are groups on LinkedIn that are targeted and can be very useful? If you are an attorney, you probably already know that there are groups and subgroups for virtually every aspect of the law being practiced today. It’s a way by which you can share information, ask questions, and receive answers, as well as join intelligent discussions on hot topics that relate to whatever field you're interested in.

Establish yourself as an expert —Answer questions from peers on LinkedIn, or facilitate discussions.

Increase your results on search engines —Similar to Facebook. Every word that gets typed on your LinkedIn page will help your appearance in search engine queries.

Research, research, research —LinkedIn is a valuable tool when it comes to research. Let’s say you have someone you want to contact, but you don’t have their e-mail. Try to look them up and invite them into your network or see who else you may know. You can use this tool to look up someone else at a particular company and get their e-mail address, or try to find out something personal about an individual you have an important meeting with. There is a multitude of ways to find out more about someone on LinkedIn. There is also a means by which you can commend someone on a job well done and an easy nonconfrontational way to ask for recommendations from clients.

Twitter
The concept behind Twitter is, essentially, live chat for all. Through this venue, thousands of people can access each other virtually at once or follow an issue by the second to monitor its developments. Some industries are using Twitter successfully: car retailers, the movie industry, special interest groups and politicians, retailers, and not-for-profits. Car dealers who are having specials can send a feed to people who have signed up for news on a specific area of interest; merchandisers can send alerts about that three-hour-long sale; movie companies can send out a new trailer for the first time ever; a not-for-profit organization can introduce a contest to win free tickets to its annual gala. The possibilities are endless.

If this is something your business can capitalize on, make sure it’s a good gain. Know going in, though, that it will take time for somebody to work on this, monitoring the activity and acting on it accordingly. For some industries, this is already proving to be a worthwhile endeavor.

Think about these three options, and compare the offerings of each with your company's culture and style. Most importantly, know your audience. After all these considerations, and determining what you want to accomplish, then you can decide which are right for you.

Reprinted from the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“PICPA”) newsletter, PICPA Connections, February 9, 2010