Twitter and LinkedIn
‘Social networking as a marketing tool’ – it’s all over the internet like a rash. And like most entrepreneurially minded people, no doubt, I’ve been trying to figure out the best way of tapping into the lead generation potential of social media without being sucked into a vortex of life-eroding Twitter twaddle.
Speaking of which, it seems that Twitter has now found a foothold in the boardrooms of the Fortune 500, with even the bosses of Coke and Pepsi reportedly tweeting to the world at large.
I understand that the reigning ‘King of Twitter’ is Stephen Fry who, with 250,000 signups, and counting, has more followers than any other Tweeter (with the exception of Barak Obama – but that’s hardly comparing apples with pears). When Stephen Fry got stuck in a lift at Centre Point recently, half the planet got to know about it in real time.
Thanks to its reach, brevity and instantaneity, Twitter is the perfect networking tool; but equally, in the wrong hands, it’s also a means of broadcasting an incessant stream of boring trivia or self-serving bluster – think of the average (i.e. dull) press release in microcosm, and then imagine receiving it over and over again, ad-infinitum. That’s Twitter at its worst.
By all means Twitter, but do it thoughtfully and be certain that you have something worth saying. The crucial thing for us to remember as business people is that we aren’t all Stephen Fry – i.e. raconteurs who can make even the most mundane subject spring to life with wit and erudition.
In my own experience, the real value of social networking media, from a marketing perspective, is that they enable us to communicate directly with prospects while neatly bypassing third parties. And, theoretically at least, there’s no cost to using social media sites to get your name out there. To do it properly, however, there is a significant investment of time involved. So if time represents money, the cost of effectively leveraging social media to your advantage can be considerable.
Despite this, there are ways of working successfully with social media without sacrificing your flesh and blood life in favour of a virtual existence in cyberspace.
Generating sales leads with LinkedIn
There can be few IT and telecoms marketing professionals who remain unacquainted with LinkedIn. It’s is a professionally credible site which allows freelancers and businesses to draw attention to themselves and communicate with others who need their skills and products.
To network successfully on LinkedIn, it’s important to create a professional profile which highlights your USP and showcases your work. Supplement this by including a link to your other websites. This will assist greatly with marketing opportunities.
Business marketing - be proactive
The businesses that benefit most from their LinkedIn connections are those that proactively position themselves at the front of the pack. Begin by targeting a few key fields that you want to work in, and start contacting people on LinkedIn through those fields. For example, if you’re marketing a niche IT service, you should be targeting individuals relevant to your product. LinkedIn provides search functions specifically for this purpose. Invite these people to link to you on the site. When they see from your profile that you’re interested in them, they’ll let you know right away if they have a need for your services. And even if they don’t have an immediate need, you’ll at least have made an impression so that you’ll spring to mind in the future.
Stay in touch
Critically, make sure to stay in regular contact with your LinkedIn connections. This is definitely the most effective way of profiting from LinkedIn. Many of my clients run regular polls and surveys (very quick and easy to set-up on LinkedIn), and typically receive a good response. Running surveys is also a great way of assessing whether your communications are being read and, if so, what people actually think of both you and your business.
If you don’t have one already, consider creating a newsletter and ask your LinkedIn connections if it’s OK to add them to your mailing list. Likewise, make use of the LinkedIn message system on the site to send an update to your network of contacts about your current work, availability, etc.
LinkedIn is one of the best networking sites for professionals. Unlike other sites, it’s exclusively focused on business development. For this reason, it’s a great platform for enhancing your status as a ‘thought leader’ and, by association, your brand. If, for instance, you’ve written a book or had an article published, LinkedIn can be a great (and free) vehicle for getting the word out there – fast! By all means be a ‘late adopter’, but ignore LinkedIn at your expense.
It’s 2009, and the rules of marketing and PR have changed forever…
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