I had the honour of being asked to speak to a group of fantastic Scottish Women in Business ( SWIB) members this week about social networking for business. I planned to talk about the 5 Cs of Social Networking until the lovely Morag from Fission Creative  inspired a 6th  and I wanted to share these with you

1 Connecting

Connecting /friending/following etc is the starting point.  A key thing to think about when you start out using social media is what you are trying to achieve and focus your networking activity on  that.  And remember that you would not go into a real life networking event, march up to someone you have not met before, give them your card and say that you want to connect  – so don’t do that using sites like Linkedin – take a moment to personalise your invitation !  

2 Conversation ….

…which is where the development of a relationship happens. Just like it always has been.  You can comment on a Facebook wall , or add an @ response on Twitter or send an email using Linkedin. The additional benefit to doing this publically is that others notice you too.  It still holds that you should be cautious about  butting in on somebody’s conversation in a social event or on the train but in the social media world it’s fine  – as long as you have something interesting and relevant to say of course which brings me to …

3 Content

A few interesting posts/tweets/comments trumps a series of drivel any time.  Talk about things that you think others might find interesting. Test out ideas, look at what others do  and experiment until you find your own level.  Always use your own “voice”  because if you are aiming to eventually meet people in real life that you have built a relationship with online you want to continue on from what you have started.

4 ( and thanks to Morag for this ) Credibility

When people are getting to know you online they will look for social proof to back that up. Who do you mix/have conversations with? What kind of links do you share? Who do you follow/like?  Statements about your strength/skills/knowledge in an area should be backed up by some evidence. This of course has always been the case but Google etc makes it much easier for potential buyers/clients to check what you say for themselves.

5 Collaboration

An early concern about using social networking for business was that your competitors can see what you are doing and who you are speaking to. Of  course that is the case  but on the flip side it can mean that they see an opportunity for working together that would be more appealing to a potential client. Several of my current projects are with fellow coaches and trainers. Collaborative working has huge possibilities!

5 Clients ( and customers)

Without this what is the point? Remember that all of the previous activity – how you approach it, how you commit to it and what you put into it – if done well will lead you to people who will pay for your product or service. This means of course that social media activity is WORK . It might feel like play – and indeed some employers consider that it only has that function – but to really do it well you should give it the same focus as any other part of your job.

So there you go . Maybe there’s a 7th or 8th C that you would like to add? If so – please leave a comment!

If you would like support to work how you should interact with  social media I offer coaching  for  “absolute beginnners” and for those who are a bit further on. Email me for more information

jackie@consultcameron.com