Operations File: Connections for business and other things

A while ago I promised an article on further social media tools that people can use for business, but it's useful for all manner of things from research to new connections. There is a huge difference between using these tools for personal use and professionally. Always remember that children may have access as well as unsavoury types. This is a follow-up from one of my first blogs 'Connecting you'.

Inbetween I confess to having got in a huff as I found myself thwarted from all sides from the very systems that were supposed to help all and concerns over family welfare and health. The result? I closed my accounts to put my family's needs (and mine) as my top priority. The break from social networking was rather refreshing as it gave me time for living, breathing people in person. It reminded me that people do function without social networking tools. They might be unlikely to be highly successful in the world of business perhaps, but not necessarily. Usage comes down to a matter of personal choice i.e. is it the right tool for you to use? Other questions begin to arise from that one including: Can you be consist, have you time, money etc

There is, I feel much to be said for face to face contact and the old fashion methods of communication to do business. After all emails have not made the need for postal systems redundant, nor eradicated hard copies on paper; many would argue that computers have increased such things. The computer age is also arguably responsible for an increase of stress and pressure for while computers can process information at the click of a button, we mortals need more time to do so - computers are still not capable of independent thought, I think it would be frightening if they were.

The point is that these marvels of the modern age are supposed to tools and aids that we command. We should never let ourselves be driven to becoming little more than plug-in devices for the any device or system. I recommend that everyone remembers that if they wish to avoid burning out due to stress and pressure of what would otherwise become unrealistic and unattainable deadlines. Far better to take more time to get administrative records right than risk batting something out to a deadline only to find your time is later taken up with weeks or months to rectify a mistake missed. It is not cost effective in any sense to adopt any other approach. Get it right in the first place and you immediately free up time to do more things in the long run.

Six examples of Social Media tools
Here are a few more social media tools I have come across and used myself that I have found useful.

1. Googledocs - I'd be surprised if other search engines don't do something similar (or will do), but whichever you use, they are a way of sharing documents via the internet to the world at large or just to your own customers/clients.

2. Facebook - If you are promoting a service for or an event it can be an excellent tool. I am considering it for promoting a few creative products. I personally can't see the merit or sense of using it to promote insurance or banking products aside from via adverts that sponsor and finance Facebook so that it can be free to all. To me it is more ideally suited for things such as sport, games or the arts as it is pre-dominantly something people use in their free-time to enjoy themselves, away from work and chores. It is also extremely powerful for community concerns and to help families round the world connected when there is a crisis. In my opinion, any leisure service including holidays and such things as cycle repairs, recycling goods or balloon rides should be perfectly suited to using Facebook for business purposes. There are less savoury uses of Facebook which I'd rather not go into, but you can use it for business to keep people updated on offers and information for all manner of things.

3.  Pinterest - A relatively new kid of the block, but it seems to be taking off. I use it for inspiration for my own creative work, I am less keen to share that work there unless and until I can ensure things like photographs won't just be stolen and palmed off as someone else's work. I don't happen to like having the word 'copyright' over images and there sadly always a few naughty people who spoil such things for the many so be careful. What is great about Pinterest is very much about sharing images, ideas and their source (originator). Great for shops to promote their wares and possibly it will expand into the manufacturing industry given time if it hasn't already.

4. Vistaprint, Blurb, Snapfish etc - Too many of these to name and they do vary enormously, mainly in price but also in products offered. From publishing photobooks to offering publishing and a sales service for your own books and all things written, there is a wide choice of options available for the small business person. However, hard copies over 1000 I would recommend using a local printing service as the price is likely to be better and you will have more control over the finish that way. On-line printing services are ideal if you are less certain of how many people will purchase your product or if you have a very small budget and want a only a few copies in a hurry. I'm currently test driving a few of these. You might also consider using these for targetting selected clients by way of a thank-you 'special offer' or for any organisation offering membership services. There is of course Kindle and photo sites that you can not only source materials from but sell them to as well but don't expect to get much profit from these unless you happen to be a larger enterprise.

5. YouTube - most of us are used to using YouTube for our entertainment, relatively few small enterprises think about using it for their own promotional video which could then be imported into their blogsites etc. If you choose to use it this way, do your best to get the best video made for this. Quality of sound and image will always help. I've not yet used YouTube myself... but I have plans to do so.

6. Spreaker etc - Fancy a live radio show of your own? Well here's one option complete with catch-up facilities. Again quality will aid uptake so plan content and rehearse it beforehand and it can aid other promotional tools.

Keeping informed
Here are just a few sites that may help you build your profile on the web too.

http://whatthetrend.com/ - If using Twitter (mentioned in Connecting You) this site will keep you informed on what the latest buzz is. This can help you time or word your own marketing, enter discussions or promote training services etc.

http://www.google.com/insights/search/ and http://www.socialmention.com/ - these helps identify what people are looking for on the internet by location, subject and over time etc. Type in any subject e.g. Performing Arts and see what comes up! In effect it can help you to see what the demand is.

If you don't have time for much analysis of what's happening minute by minute (who does?), just focus on one or two things to watch out for.

http://hootsuite.com/  and http://www.tweetdeck.com/ can help aid manage your social media, but be careful not to be too tempted too soon to automate things, there are many pitfalls to avoid.

For further information on using Social Media for personal or professional reasons, your best bet by far is to enrol in a short course to guide you through it. Sadly, despite appeals I only have a few such course deliverers following me on twitter, but hey, that's not bad considering I am a beginner. You really would profit from their guidance and advice... I did!

Apologies to all the other enterprises who provide social media products, there are just too many of you the mention in a blog. To readers and followers I suggest you go and explore to find those that suit your needs best, feel free to leave a comment on which you like and why.

Big business
The range of social media tools available is vast and the larger your business the more complex it gets. So my final suggestions for sources of information is specifically for the big boys.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp - should help guide you on (as it's name suggests) Return on Investment. which leads me to something I stumbled upon while exploring...

http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/ - On this site you will find a book advertised on the subject of ROI as it's referred to. I have no idea if it's good, bad or indifferent on the subject as it is way above my league and not my top priority to investigate further at the moment. So I end with a warning...

Don't run before you can walk. The information is ever changing so my advice is go at your own pace to acquire only what you are ready learn. Better to learn properly than quickly and risk missing something vital I feel. Bit of a challenge for me!

Connecting You

If you’ve read our first posting you’ll now know all about WildeHeads ethos and services and how it intends to keep you informed. Then came the challenge of how to promote WildeHeads without it costing a fortune.

First stop - see what is available for free to help promote the company. Without a doubt the most invaluable source (we can’t fathom why every business is not using these to their maximum effect) are all the social networking facilities. Looking at the options and learning to understand how they can be used to work in conjunction with each other was very illuminating.

The most well known movers and shakers (at least to us) in the field of social networking are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Blogger.

Facebook is the place where people socialise, for many Facebookers it’s not the place for businesses at all and yet all manner of companies have a page there now and they can befriend thousands to follow them there. It strikes us as highly appropriate for the Arts and for community groups to advertise and get chatting to customers on Facebook.

Why doesn’t WildeHeads have a Facebook page? Quite honestly, because it isn’t necessary at this stage and we are deliberating on what what it would say there that would be different from here, so it’s on hold for the time being.

LinkedIn is the site known to be for business networking. Those only used to Facebook often find it difficult to understand how it does so. Allow me to explain. It is the ‘contacts’ site. Unlike Facebook you don’t set about trying to ‘befriend’ everyone you see there that you’re interesting in connecting with. Why? Because it would be akin to barging into their office while they’re in the middle of a meeting. Some people might not mind you ‘cold calling’ but others may intensely dislike it. If the aim is to get to know someone, annoying them with your first attempt at contact is not smart.

However, there is a way of meeting many like-minded people in your industry by joining in discussion groups and by people you already know introducing you. With regard to discussions it’s generally considered bad form to start with “Hi, let me tell you about my business” or “Can you give me a job please”, but this can vary within the discussion groups itself. On finding a group you like, read a few postings on different topics first to get a feel for how people are communicating.

As it was put to Mel (our founder) by her business adviser, think of it as being at a formal party or perhaps at a conference during a coffee break - you join in the conversation by sharing your views about the topic being discussed. Try not to get too passionate if you can avoid it. Remember the idea is to connect with people and establish new contacts, thereby increasing the number of people who might be able to help with a bit of advice, or potentially increasing your chances of securing a new job or contract, as well as finding people you might want to team up with for all manner of things.

You can notify people about your own activities on your own profile/home page so when people look you up they can see what you’re about. If you’re careful to adhere to these simple guidelines you should be ok.

Twitter is the account to use to encourage people to take an interest in you, your activities and your business, but again it should be more like being at a coffee break at a conference as a general rule of thumb. Here though is the place to start to notify people about your activities e.g. you might be running a fundraising campaign and people might want regular updates on the running total or they might want to know about your latest newsletter or blog... Blogsites are there to inform and the place where you express yourself and can provide the most detail about your latest project or (as we’re doing here) to provide information to clients and customers.

The final link in the chain is your website where you encourage people to buy. LinkedIn supplies the contacts who, if interested can follow you on Twitter which will notify them of your new article on your Blogsite which can prompt them to look at your website. On your website you have a button to direct readers to LinkedIn, Twitter and your Blogsite. It gives customers the choice of what they want to know, in what format and how often. It’s possible for all to be free although we chose to get a website designed for WildeHeads so paid for what we got.

To analyse who’s reading what, and how to really capitalise on every element in that circle, you need an expert in the social networking field who can also help to automate things such as notifications on Twitter.

I deliberately chose this as one of my first articles for a very good reason. Social enterprises and the Arts don’t tend to utilise these free services as much as they could and in such hard times, free advertising and free ways to network and be able to brainstorm our way out of the difficulties we all face seem highly sensible. Once you’ve started using these tools I think you will soon come to appreciate how powerful they can be. At some point professional services are recommended when budgets allow.

In the first week of trading and launching the website, connections have already increased without us putting much effort in, because we’d done the preparation beforehand... but that’s a subject for another blog.