Summer 2010 – Social Media - Trade Press Services

Business Builders
Summer 2010 / 2
continued from front page
Grossman calls LinkedIn the best
choice of all the social media sites
for business and acknowledges the
impact that LinkedIn recommendations
have.” We agree and add that
while Facebook has value, it tends to
be more for personal use. Of course,
don’t forget Twitter, which has a
huge following largely due to some
of its celebrity “tweeters.” Grossman
suggests the best use of Twitter is as
a connection to LinkedIn where the
discussion can go well beyond the
brevity of a tweet.
Any messages through
these networks
need to be consistent
with the company’s
value proposition
and brand.
Also valuable is a company or executive
blog because it provides
an insight to the operations of the
business through the writings of the
blogger. One word of caution: blogging
can be time consuming, and it
is only effective with frequent updates
and expeditious responses to
postings on the site.
The most important consideration
of all in the use of social media is
branding. Any messages through
these networks need to be consistent
with the company’s value
proposition and brand. Both will
be impacted by everything posted,
meaning all content should appear to
be professionally produced.
These networks are not a fad. They
have rapidly become the most dynamic
marketing and public relations
tools today, a repository where business
can be a resource or find resources,
customers and partners for very
little investment. The reality is that
the biggest mistake is not using them.
Social media is, in fact, a global pipeline
for information offering great
potential for any business, regardless
of size. Whether it’s networking to
grow the business or simply building
awareness, social networks may well
be the most inexpensive and profitable
investment. u