Businesses: Building Your Social Profile

This is an excerpt from my four-part ebook series, "SocialBiz - Something for Everyone". The book looks at the four main social networking sites and helps everyone understand how they can be utilised for business purposes. Whether you have a large corporation, a small business or even considering starting a business, EVERYONE can learn a thing or two. The first short yet informative ebook - "TwitterForAll" comes out on 30th December

The key to success for any business, large or small, is understanding that social networking is NOT about selling your product or service.

“You're crazy, That's the whole point of my business!”>

Yes, the aim of your business is to make a profit, however, when you bring your business into the social networking world the ball game changes. Put it this way, your business in its rawest form is like a lion, going in for the kill and taking no names along the way, you sell your product/service - “cheers, mate! Have a nice day!” - but social media is a cunning animal, it is able to either build your reputation or destroy it. So you too, must become cunning. You must become what you are trying to conquer, social.

Social networking gives you a unique opportunity to connect with your customers on an almost intimate level, you are able to be in touch with them personally, you have the opportunity to make them feel that the world revolves around them every time you communicate with them.

It is all about conversation, there are millions of conversations going on around the world, your aim is to become a part of those conversations and introduce your product and service in a less direct way.

Customers are out there, they just want to have a conversation. The trick is being able to create a personality that they trust, to present a human face, instead of a business.

Think about how you feel after you have had a conversation with a truly engaging person, “let's have a chat again sometime!”

A good conversation with potential customers will leave them feeling good and make them come back for more, which, in turn, increases your reputation and ensures that your business is able to keep attracting more customers and even keep your previous customers coming back.

Social Media sites allow you to monitor conversation, get involved in conversation and learn how consumers think without the need for a large-scale market research campaign. It was recently announced that twitter could be used to predict the outcomes of particular stock markets, is that not a wondrous development?

This is the power of social networking sites. It is all about communication, understanding and engagement.