Ricardo Bueno has an excellent post at Ribeezie called Social Networking: Is It Good For Small Business? He piggbacks off of a Seth Godin quote from the Amex’s Open Forum:
“Networking is always important when it’s real and it’s always a useless distraction when it’s fake. What the internet has allowed is an enormous amount of fake networking to take place.”
This quote hit me simply because I have been debating on how to make social media more effective in a marketing environment. The small business marketing world in Indianapolis is a buzz with the concept of using social media marketing to drive revenue. So how do we go about using social media to drive revenue? Brand development? Pure enjoyment?
Ricardo and Seth hit it right on the head: Genuine Relationships.
When using social media it is extremely important to take time in developing your network on a personal level. The concept is the same with Offline Networking in a group like Rainmakers Marketing Group. Offline and Online networking are extremely similar in many aspects when it comes to mutual respect between individuals.
Respect me. I will respect you.
Add in a personal thing or two. Do you have kids? What do you enjoy most out of life?
I would rather not have posts constantly talking about your new blog post or new product offering. Tell me something that makes it personal. 
Related articles by Zemanta
- Online Social Networking. Impersonal?
- Will Social Media Replace TV, Radio & Newspapers?
- Seth Godin Praises Twitter; Seth’s Tweetiquette Critiqued
- The Number of Small Businesses Using Social Media to Double in 12 Months
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=48ebd9fe-67dd-4e1b-acca-0d2fde83d1c4)
Kyle – bullseye! We all know, and pay attention to, the importance of numbers. But just like any other desire to drive numbers (sales, membership, etc.), there must be a personal investment of time spent developing relationships or eventually “just numbers” will devalue what you’ve done.
(OK, all of Kyle’s readers…be my friend – follow me on all these sites! Just kidding LOL!)
[...] This quote hit me simply because I have been debating on how to make social media more effective in a marketing environment. The small business marketing world in Indianapolis is a buzz with the concept of using social media marketing … Original post [...]
[...] Social Media? Networking? Good For Small Business? [...]
I read and follow two groups of people –
Group One: Friends and associates, people I like, and so I follow them because I like to know what they are up to. I enjoy the mix of business and personal in their posts. It doesn’t replace a phone call, but it is a nice way to feel as if we are still connected.
Group Two – People I follow because I am interested in what they have to say. I don’t feel we have a relationship, but I enjoy their insight, opinions, and links to other blogs. For this group I am more likely to skim or skip completely their more personal posts. But sometimes it is fun to see the “human side”
In both cases, i really don’t want to know what you had for breakfast!
As someone who networks offline quite a bit I can attest that there are just as many fake networkers in face to face gatherings as there are on the web.
Within the last 48 hours I have met at least people who I have connected with initially on Twitter and taken the discussion to email and iChat. We spent a great deal of time getting to know each other and we plan to do great business and collaborate on some projects in the near future.
For the first time ever, I am seeing online networking parallel offline networking in most aspects.
[...] am still running into business owners and professionals who dismiss social media and online social networking as a fad. It puzzles me that people can be so nieve to think that the interconnectedness of the web [...]
[...] Social Media? Networking? Good For Small Business? [...]
Great. Networking is really important especially in the real time web. People are moving faster and faster in the world of business, in and out of the web.
Thanks