Social Media Part II : Quick Starts on LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Twitter
Posted by Kathy Tito at 3:44 PM Inside Sales Trends | B2B Lead Generation | Social Media for the Complex Sale | Channel Sales Trends
Consider how you can leverage killer applications on each social media platform. This will help you identify ways that you can leverage each platform for corporate gain. There are a number of killer applications in use today – whether you are hearing about them or not. For example, did you know that there are companies that are increasing the number of listings they have on Google – because they have developed a presence on FaceBook?
Twitter is becoming an accepted medium for getting out announcements, special promotions, press releases, channel updates, the list goes on (it’s the mobile phone support that helps with Twitter’s ease-of-use and ultimate acceptance). The thing that has changed is – these platforms are not just for kids/consumers/techies anymore- they are for everyone. Twitter users are actually skewing toward the 35+ crowd – go figure. There are very likely to be relevant professional user groups that will surprise you – some technology distribution channels and channels partners are becoming active (or certainly thinking about it), as are relevant publications. I guarantee that some of your competitors will surprise you with their in-depth participation. Don’t be taken aback – you can catch up.
Action item: Pick one platform a day for the next three days, and get to know it a little. The easiest way to get an appreciation for what it can mean for you is to check out relevant people and/or companies. If you want to see the platform in a more “extreme” state – you may want to observe some consumer usage, and consider how you can emulate the concept for corporate use.
For a quick start on LinkedIn – check out your current colleagues, your past colleagues, your bosses, those people you knew were destined for success, college friends, and long lost cousins. You’ll be surprised at the extent to which folks have (or have not) taken advantage of this network. Sign up for a group and click on “discussions”. See how people participate. You’ll notice that the more intelligent questions attract more productive involvement and really bring together like-minded folks. Remember that your colleagues, customers, and competitors will be / are following you.
For a quick start on FaceBook - check out a mix of B2B pages as well as consumer-intensive experiences. Here are some examples:
http://www.facebook.com/wholefoods
IBM Lotus Sametime on Facebook
For a quick start on Twitter – check out your favorite celebrities, that's right. Demi Moore and hubby are true professionals at leveraging this medium. But there are some great B2B companies as well:
Need help coming up with a social media plan and implementing it? Contact us.
