Using Social Media...socially

Businesses explicitly for managing social media are abundant.  It's up to their customers if they are effective or not, but one thing that is up to businesses themselves when it comes to social media, beyond the profiles they create, is how they are utilizing this profile.  That is, the connective power latent in social media is only as good as its use, just like the gasoline in a car is only effective if someone steps on the gas.

Building Facebook profiles and posting - even incessantly - on Twitter is not enough anymore, no matter how interesting your posts, or how informative your profiles.  Profiles, posts and blogs are only, if you will, the "gas" in the social media tank.  Someone has to step on the gas.  Managing the many profiles on the myriad social media sites available is not "stepping on the gas" because managing profiles can only be as effective as the profiles themselves.  To "step on the gas" and utilize social media's kinetic connective energy, one must be social.

The Internet, as we've seen, has become a nebulous virtual mass of e-noise, and it's all too easily to get lost in the neurotically updated, frantic shuffle online.  Social media, if not used effectively, tends to merely contribute to the ever-growing mass of increasingly unintelligible information. But, creating more information to be ignored by the masses is not being social. If used the way it was intended to be used - that is, socially (read: relationally) - social media can speedily propel your business to the top of your kind.

In particular, Twitter has an incredible ability to provide tidbits of information at lightning speed.  These bits of information, if well crafted and thoughtful, can serve as enticements (think hors d'oevres) to one's business, instead of mindless posts over which the more social media savvy skip.  One way to improve Twitter use is to set up separate lists: one for clients only, one for information, one for socializing, etc. - however best suits your business.

By targeting particular users on Twitter, you clear away all that irrelevant chatter you would otherwise have to weed through, possibly missing valuable updates from clients.  Retweeting is seen as a sign of respect, so by narrowing down your news feed on Twitter, you can easily see what your clients have posted and retweet it as your own.  This establishes a social connection of mutual interest, and is better for business.

Beyond its listserve-esque features, Twitter also has all these other applications.  For just one example, Tweetdeck - Twitter (and more) for your desktop, iPhone, iPad, and Android - can be used to schedule future tweets, connect with clients and contacts across multiple social media outlets and browse these sites in real time.  Twitter is a powerful social media device, but only when one knows how to use it to their advantage.

Photo Credit: Gakuranman