Social Networking:

The way that society communicates is changing, and the world is getting smaller due to the increase in social networking sites. It is now possible to stay in touch, instantly if you choose, with friends around the globe. Jenny Clift, Digital Media Officer, Marketing and Development Unit at UniSA explained the concept of social networking as "getting to meet all of your friend's friends and their friends and so on!" Social networking opens up opportunities to widen your network and potentially find people who share your interests, or can help you find a house, a car, or even a new job. Jenny demonstrated how to set up a Facebook page - a very popular social networking site. Interestingly, it is not only the teens, and 18-35 age group that are using the social media sites. In the past year there has been a significant increase in the 65+ age group signing up for Facebook pages. As one of our attendee's explained, "it gives them the opportunity to keep up with what their grandchildren are doing". According to a research study by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law, 14% of executives are unsure of social media, yet 70% expect to spend more. That set the stage for some of the common obstacles and barriers to social media adoption which he focused on in: 7 Common Social Media Problems and their Solutions.

1.

Flying blind:

Many companies chase social media tactics with no idea about the who, what, when and where of the social web. Its essential that companies first develop a listening program to answer those W questions. Listening through social media monitoring is critical to understanding brand, competitors and key terms relevant to your audience on the social web. Without a smart listening effort, companies miss key opportunities: marketing, customer service, sales, recruiting, partnering and public relations.

2. Unsure where it fits who owns social media?

As companies develop their social media programs, responsibilities and resources need to be allocated and that leads to accountability and ownership. For successful social media adoption within organizations, its important to establish social media goals and responsibilities in different parts of the organization. As resources and accountability are identified, the different departments can work to cross pollinate efforts, and work together as a team. Doing so helps leverage combined efforts and from an implementation standpoint, avoids conflicting representation of the brand.

3. Inconsistent participation
Companies need to be consistent with their social participation. Our clients at TopRank Marketing with the most successful blogs are those that post consistently. The solution to more consistent participation is to lead from the top, get executive buy-in. Establish goals and provide a feedback loop to contributors. As they grow, the community will provide feedback. Set aside resources, plan who will create content, monitor and engage. Tap passionate community members and activate them to be brand ambassadors. Create efficiencies through the repurposing of content.

4. Not individual or confident

Believing that people will listen to and find value in what you really want to say requires confidence. Whether youre right or wrong might not matter as much as being passionate. Now, more than ever, is the time to show leadership and conviction when it comes to social participation and engagement.

5. Digitally unsavvy team

Modern marketers need to understand social media. Companies dont do social, they are social. That means being savvy participants. Theres good reason for that. According to Social Technographics of Business Buyers from Forrester Research:

91% of business buyers read blogs, watching user generated video, participate in other social media 55% of decision-makers were in social networks 43% are creating media (blogs, uploading videos or articles, etc.)

If youre a B2B marketer and youre not using social technologies in your marketing, it means youre late. Josh Bernoff, Forrester. The good news is that you can learn to be social media savvy through training, participation, listening and engagement.

6. Data paralysis
Data should help drive decisions, but dont let it get in the way of creative ideas from your team. Adam relates the story of one of his clients, Joffreys Coffee where he recommended campaign changes based on his personal experience with the social web vs waiting for data to prove a concept. The result was a successful program by all accounts which is often cited as a social media marketing case study by others in the industry.

7. Lack of personalization
Use real team members in your social media efforts. Dont use some faceless person behind Brand X. Forge relationships with others. Put others in the spotlight. Give to get and be focused on serving and being useful. Dont send in legal right away as an initial reaction to social dissension. Read the Streisand Effect for more on what happens when that backfires. Embrace personal brands, dont worry about them getting too popular because their allegiance is to the brand. In the end, companies can win on the social web by developing a strategy, experiment and iterate. And if you get lost, you can always get help.

Words said by expert Researchers:

Larry Brauner says that.. At times, Facebook users create multiple personal profiles for
business purposes in violation of Facebooks Terms of Service that clearly state: You will not create more than one personal profile. These Facebook users usually create one personal profile for family, friends and acquaintances, and another personal profile for business associates and prospects.

PERSONAL PROFILE Vs BUSINESS PAGE:

With a Facebook personal profile you network and acquire friends. It doesnt matter whether these friends are personal friends or business contacts. A Facebook personal profile is a friend page, and Facebook prohibits creating more than one friend page for yourself. With a Facebook business page you brand your business and attract people who like your page. A Facebook business page is a fan page, and Facebook permits creating more than one fan page for your business, although that might not be practical.

If you find yourself in the predicament of having more than one Facebook personal profile, my recommendation here in six steps is very similar to my advice in last weeks OMG! I Cant Use My Facebook Personal Profile for Business:

1. Create a Facebook business page as soon as possible. Either How to Create a Facebook Fan Page or How To Set Up a Facebook Fan Page can help you to get started. Let me know if you need my help. 2. If you have no more than a few hundred business friends on the Facebook personal profile youre using for business, send each of them a private message explaining your situation and inviting them to like your new Facebook page. If you have too many business friends for this to be feasible, limit the procedure to your most important business friends. 3. To avoid raising red flags with Facebook, dont send more than 20 to 30 messages per day, dont fire off messages rapidly and dont merely cut and paste an identical script. 4. Dont say or imply that youll be deleting friends or threaten to remove them if they dont comply. Such an approach is likely to backfire. Be courteous and professional. 5. Read Why Should I Like Your Facebook Page? and Top 10 Ways to Get Facebook Page Fans for ideas to market and grow your new Facebook page. 6. When most of your business friends have migrated to your new fan page, delete the extra Facebook personal profile you were using for business and breathe a sigh of relief. Before you hurry off, please subscribe to my blog, like my Facebook page and leave me a comment. Best of luck with your Facebook business page!

10 Tips for LinkedIn Social Networking

Social networking sites have each a unique protocol and dont usually provide members with practical how-to advice to help use their sites effectively. They let us figure out the how-tos on our own. I share in this article my basic LinkedIn how-tos that may shorten your learning curve and save you time and frustration. They are merely suggestions, not rigid guidelines. If you have an idea or advice you find helpful, please share it with us in a comment. Here are ten tips for maximizing your LinkedInsocial networking success: 1. Your LinkedIn profile is your resume. Put at least as much effort into creating and perfecting your profile as you would your resume. 2. SEO can help you to be findable on LinkedIn, as well as other social networking sites. Employ keywords that are relevant to your work when crafting your profile, so that you and your profile can appear in search results. 3. LinkedIn permits members to view profiles of other members within three degrees of separation from each other or who share common LinkedIn groups. Increasing your visibility increases your reach. 4. To increase your vertical reach (in your areas of interest), join every relevant LinkedIn group. To increase your horizontal (i.e. overall) reach, increase your number of LinkedIn connections. I invite you toconnect with me on LinkedIn! 5. To increase your number of connections, connect directly to as many other members as you can, especially well connected members. You can send direct connections messages or emails whenever you wish.

6. Dont invite people to connect haphazardly, as LinkedIn will restrict you if people you invite complain that they dont know you (as they sometimes do). Instead, join LinkedIn open networker groups, such asTop Linked, for people who welcome (but dont necessarily accept) all connection requests. Reach out to fellow group members, and be receptive to members who reach out to you. 7. Join discussions in groups by posting or commenting when you have something valuable to add, but dont spam the discussion board or post anything inappropriate. 8. Tell new connections youre on Facebook (if you are) when thanking them for connecting. Facebook has made it hard to add friends, so this tactic is useful. (See 3 Key Social Media and Web Marketing Strategies for 2011: Good-Bye Facebook Open Networking.) 9. Provide your Twitter handle (if you have one) where requested by LinkedIn to appear in your LinkedIn profile. 10. Keep at it. It takes a very substantial amount of time to build a strong presence on LinkedIn or any of the other social networking sites.

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