| Every day I run across at least one article that claims | | | | If you happen to fall into one of these groups AND |
| all businesses should invest serious time in social | | | | you are willing to accept the fact that building a solid |
| networking or run the risk of failing. However, I also | | | | reputation will take time, then it is very likely social |
| seem to run across another article claiming that social | | | | networking could have a tremendous impact on your |
| networking is a waste of time or even bad for your | | | | business or cause. |
| business. | | | | Another thing I have learned is that building a reputation |
| So, which is it? | | | | online is harder than it is in the real world. When a |
| As with most things in life, I think the answer lies | | | | potential customer physically meets with a business |
| somewhere in between. The ugly truth is that social | | | | person, they are able to observe all sorts of things that |
| networking is not a one size fits all solution. It is not | | | | can help them decide whether to trust the business |
| going to magically transform you into an international | | | | person. For example, how did the business person |
| superstar. And it certainly is not going to happen | | | | dress, what was their attitude and how did they |
| overnight. | | | | introduce themselves. |
| Online social networking is really no different than the | | | | When a potential customer meets a business person |
| regular social networking that has been going on in the | | | | online, they have less information in which to make a |
| business world for years. Good, lasting customer | | | | decision. Often times, a business person has mere |
| relationships are built on trust and respect. And building | | | | seconds in order to grab and hold a customer's |
| that kind of trust and respect takes time and most | | | | attention. This can make building lasting relationships |
| importantly, effort. | | | | challenging. |
| I myself have been involved in social networking for | | | | Despite the fact that social networking can sometimes |
| over a year and in that time I have painfully learned | | | | be difficult and time consuming, it can and does deliver |
| what does and does not work. I have on more than | | | | remarkable results. For some small businesses and |
| one occasion put my virtual foot in my virtual mouth. | | | | individuals this can mean the difference between |
| Not a pretty thing. | | | | bankruptcy and success. |
| What I have observed is that the following three | | | | If you are on the fence about whether you should |
| groups seem to benefit the most from social | | | | embrace the social networking world, remember this |
| networking: | | | | key phrase, Garbage In, Garbage out. If you go into it |
| 1.) Individuals selling services in a highly competitive field | | | | expecting easy and fast results, you might want to |
| 2.) Small Businesses that need to reach more | | | | think again. Rome was not built in a day and neither will |
| geographically dispersed customers | | | | your online reputation. |
| 3.) Non-profit organizations | | | | |