SOCIAL MEDIA -- SO WHATS THE FUSS ABOUT??

Are you new to the social media community? Whether it is Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter or Digg, or some other application, more than likely you are trying to figure out how to best utilize these wonderful networking tools.

As an account manager, my number one priority is to be my customers' (both internally and externally) trusted adviser. The foundation of any business relationship is strong communication. Therefore you should share relevant information with customers to consider in addressing their business challenges. This consultative behavior demonstrates value and builds their confidence in you quickly.

Social Media is a wonderful resource for business people to locate nuggets of information relevant to their job as well as build new relationships. Here are just a few samples of ways to leverage this tool:

1. Facebook (www.facebook.com) -- By befriending someone, such as a new customer, you can access their Facebook profile potentially learning a great deal about them. (their birthday, hometown, relationship status, education, hobbies & interests, etc.) In Facebook everyone has a "wall" a place where they display their interactions with other Facebook friends. There you can pick up other tidbits about an individual. Facebook is also famous for its photo sharing capability which can be very insightful.
2. LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) -- has a distinct business feel to it and there is wonderful information here about a person's business accomplishments and interests. LinkedIn has a unique feature, much like amazon.com, where you can review recommendations other business colleagues have made of an individual. You can learn much about a person's business style.
3. Twitter (www.twitter.com) -- tagged as a Microblog site, Twitter is an amazing place to build a network of like minded individuals to exchange information and web links in "tweets". (140 characters at a time) For example if I type the words "hotel cancellations" in the search window every tweet posted with those two words will come up in an answer window. You can then scan through those microblogs to find the information you seek.

The business world is becoming increasingly competitive, especially in the current economic environment. It is incumbent upon us as business professionals to find ways to distinguish ourselves in the business community.

Do you want to be perceived by your customers and business colleagues as a proactive thinker? Then start investigating the value of social media... it is the future of business communications!