Being Social #5 - The art of the introduction
I'm going to change things up and make this issue all about tips and resources. So here we go!
- We all believe that we're memorable and assume that a person whom we want to connect with online will know who we are. We might also assume that a person will be willing to connect to someone even if they don't know us. Let's not assume. If you really want a person to accept your invitation to connect, take a minute to write a note of introduction. Tell the person where you have met or why you want to connect. If the person, who is receiving your invitation, cannot tell quickly why you want to be "friends", your invitation may be rejected.
- In most cases, there is no reason to tell a person why you don't want to connect with them. However, I often feel that it is appropriate in LinkedIn to write a brief note of explanation, especially if you really do know the person. For example, it could be that you know the person but not well enough to feel that you should be connected in LinkedIn. (Remember that in LinkedIn, you should feel comfortable referring your contacts as well as having them refer you.) If you don't feel a strong connection at this time, tell the person and say that you would be willing to establish a LinkedIn connection once you know each other's work better.
- Are you connected to people in LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or on some other site that you don't want to be connected with (for whatever reason)? It is okay to remove them from your friends list AND they will not know. Yup...I've tested it. They don't receive any notice that you've dropped them. By the way, it really is good to clean up your friends list occasionally since it is easy to accept an invitation that you later regret.
- A good use of social media is for marketing. A business should include social media as part of its marketing mix. Twittown has written The Marketer's Social Media Cheat Sheet. I wouldn't consider this the last word on using social media in marketing, but it is helpful. The chart will definitely be useful for anyone that hasn't considered what's possible.
- Wondering still about fitting social media into your day? If you haven't done the rock-pebble-sand time management exercise, try it out. This version of the exercise doesn't have you assign time for work and it doesn't ask about social media, so remember to think about both. Is social media a rock, pebble or sand in your life? Or maybe in ranks with water and surfing the net?
- Want to be a social media champion at work? Jason Falls has written a good article on the topic which contains six times. The best tip is to "illustrate the benefits". If you can use social media and reap demonstrable benefits, then others in your office will be more willing to follow your lead.
For Your Information & Entertainment: When most people think of social networking, they think of the consumer products that are always in the news like Twitter, Facebook, etc. However, there is enterprise software that can be run behind a firewall which will bring in-house the ability to connect, share and collaborate in a social way. An excellent article on the subject is "Can Enterprise Social Networking Pay Off?" (InformationWeek, March 23, 2009).Of course, there are books on this topic, although you may find most of what you need through magazines like InformationWeek. One book is Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization's Toughest Challenges
Burson-Marsteller did a Fortune Global 100 Social Media Study and found that "Twitter is the social media platform of choice among the Fortune Global 100. The study found that 65 percent of the largest 100 international companies have active accounts on Twitter, 54 percent have a Facebook fan page, 50 percent have a YouTube channel, and one-third (33 percent) have corporate blogs. Only 20 percent of the major international companies are utilizing all four platforms to engage with stakeholders." The full report is available online (13 pages).
Cisco commissioned a study that "reveals proliferation of consumer-based social networking throughout the enterprise and a growing need for governance and IT involvement." Cisco has published highlights from the study. I've heard that a report from the study will be available this month.
Comments? If you have a comment about this issue of Being Social, please email me or leave a comment in the blog. Thanks!
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