Communicating With People at Warp Speed

The massive shift in behaviour of many businesses, - professional service firms, banks, and indeed most corporations dealing with the public – and their clients is due to internet technology. A doubling of broadband take up in Australia over the past four years (more than 50 per cent of households are broadband connected and more than 70 per cent of AB demographic clients are broadband enabled - about “average” when compared to other countries). This “always on” capacity means that existing and prospective clients are using the internet today as their preferred research and information sourcing tool. And for social networking.

Check your own behaviour: what is the first thing you do when someone tells you about a new show that’s coming to town? Want to go and see Leonard Cohen in concert: Google “Leonard Cohen in Sydney”? It’s that simple and it’s that obvious. And if you went to the concert and enjoyed it, you’re going to tell your social networks about it.

If you are not moving toward a more transparent relationship with clients, and a more outward marketing focus then you are not changing with the times and will be left behind.

More and more businesses today are making at least token efforts, adopting the latest in Social Networks in order to be seen to be a contemporary, relevant and a vital resource. And if you have an HR manager they’ll already be using Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and other social networking accounts to scan for talent.

Stretching the marketing budget

Due to the current economy, there are clear restraints on marketing budgets, so free social marketing is a great alternative. Business owners should get involved in social sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

This should not be a knee-jerk reaction – “I must get into social networking!” Rather, the owner must have specific goals in mind in order to strategize about what he or she wants to get out of these efforts. Is it to increase business by a specific number of customers? Increase visibility? Sell more products or services?

1. A business should at least be involved in the largest social networks, belong to forums and have at least one blog. Each of these internet strategies is a way of positioning yourself and your business to the world. For the strident, innovative marketer there is the opportunity to create a video, or indeed multiple videos that are subject matter driven. The social network site should also respond to questions or problems or start a discussion.

2. You also need a profile page on Facebook or Linkedin. It will tell readers about your business, the people and its product and services. If people join your Facebook or Linkedin groups, there should be an expectation that they will spread the word virally through that person's newsfeed.

Your website is a brochure to the world; this is an expansion of it. The principles are the same: people Google for information or people log on to your website. The social networks are another network that is an increasingly important business communications medium.

The time challenge

“It’s not easy being popular,” said one GenY fashion designer referring to the 300-plus names he has listed as ‘friends’ on FaceBook. For a business owner; it can be another item on the ‘to do’ list. You put all those (social network) icons on your email, your website, displaying; advertising the fact that you’re a member and inviting a click or two. But here’s the challenge: readers have a high expectation that sites will be refreshed and updated often and on a regular basis.

Some business owners simply will not have time for this, yet the responsibility is overwhelming, so someone needs to do this. Answer? Delegate or get a VA (virtual assistant) the newest ‘resource’ for busy entrepreneurs and business owners. This employee needs to be a content producer, presenting current data, information, or video for weekly visitors to the site. There needs to be meaningful content put forward.

Statistics

• MySpace has over 185 million users, split evenly between men and women 14 to 34 years old. Twenty-five percent of them are in the U.S.
• FaceBook has over 110 million readers, more women than men. The majority of these users--80 percent--are under 30 years old.
• LinkedIn has over 26 million readers, with the average age being 41. Men make up 64 percent of the audience. Their average household income is $109,000.
• Twitter has 3 million readers, two-thirds of whom are men 18 to 34 years old.