The arrival of social media technology - that is, websites like Classmates. com, MySpace, Facebook, and so on - has brought a renewed interest in connecting individuals with people. Originally conceived in an effort to "catch up" with long lost friends and acquaintances, the mindset quickly morphed right into a way for younger people to simply chatter with one another about almost everything (and often about very little).
Regardless of how they are used, social networking portals like those just mentioned have made it remarkably easy for people to join together. While it makes sense to enjoy these tools like a source of "social downtime," the business relevance of such easy outreach and connection cannot be overstated. Because so much of the yakking that goes on within internet sites is "have you heard about this" or "have you tried that," there's valid reason to engage in that friendly conversation, hopefully motivating others to talk about the product or service you're offering.
For this reason, among others, "friending" in the social media universe entails so much more than passing the time in idle chitchat. Some have asserted the social networking phenomenon is only an enormous time sink; when you "friend" somebody, you are tasked with attending to that person from that day forward. If you aren't actively engaging such friends in some manner, they'll likely become bored or offended (or perhaps both) and will "defriend" or "unfollow" you.
And if you say "good riddance" to them, you've just engaged in bad business. Business is definitely an exercise in sociable behavior, in being friendly and useful to others. If you're not, why would patrons have a peek into your store or site? Why would they consider ever returning? And why would they bother to inform others about you?
Social networking is all about access, and the more access you give the general public, the more interest you'll generate in others. Therefore, when you're being friendly enough to reply to the question "what's happening?" on a regular basis, you're offering them access into what it is you do, what it is you sell, and why your business is one thing curious passersby would want to become a part of.
Consider the brick-and-mortar shopkeeper, the one who posts signs or announcements on his shop window, hoping to catch the attention of people on the street. If they're intrigued enough to venture over for a closer look, they'll probably peek into the window just to see what's inside. Similarly, you will gain the attention of others by posting short blurbs about your business on the Internet. Now, if your shop door is locked shut, curious onlookers won't be able to come inside to have an even closer look.
They'll quickly become disinterested or frustrated, and then they'll move ahead. Of course, if your door is open (since it should be), you can properly greet them and engage them in additional conversation, maybe concerning the weather, the big game tonight, that great movie playing in the theater around the corner, and, oh, maybe you can talk to them about your products, too.
With Twitter, you can post those inviting messages on the virtual storefront window, attract others' attention, and then engage them in further friendly talk once they've ventured into your establishment. If they've enjoyed their time with you, they'll probably return - and they might bring a buddy or two as well. Summed up, social engagement isn't a waste of time whatsoever, but rather a core necessity in establishing and looking after a customer base.
The important flip side of "access" is that when you've properly engaged a visitor and remind her what you and your goods are about, you also gain access to her. That is, when you establish a connection with a potential customer, she will make sure to tell you more about herself, what she does, and what she likes. Now you're discovering your customer's mindset and will be able to determine if your offerings are suitable to her and other customers' needs. Beyond this, you're also certain to engage customers who are businesspeople themselves, who might become future collaborators with you to the benefit of your business (and perhaps to theirs, too). Finally, you find the portal to networking through these so-called silly social networking sites!
Now, in conclusion our discussion about access, take a moment to consider just how easy it is to engage customers and collaborators via Twitter, thanks largely to how accessible the tool is to the greater public. Getting started and active on Twitter is incredibly easy and practically immediate. Since the learning curve is really shallow - that is, there isn't much setup or configuration necessary to get right to tweeting - people can become active tweeters within minutes of registering.
Yes, you will need to discount some of the Twitter activity that comes your way, but even so, you will have access to a big audience like never before and will be able to engage that audience in general, through product or service announcements, or separately and discreetly for one-on-one business collaborations.
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