What is all the buzz about social networks today?

Are they helpful for me?

How can I use them for business without wasting time?

There is lots of talk about social networks and the different ways you can use them to ramp up marketing efforts of your establishment. As usual, we at IT Hands want to get past the fluff and get to the simple facts. I’ll attempt to summarize how IT Hands thinks you can use social networks and not get sucked into wasting time.

Facebook
If you think that Facebook is just for your college student to catch up with their friends and find out when the next ice cream social is…think again! Facebook has actually been taken over—by middle aged people!

Read the facts yourself from www.facebook.com

• More than 250 million active users
• More than 120 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day
• More than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college
• The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older

Twitter
Has been called everything form a ‘jumbled marketing and PR message junkyard’ to a ‘powerful tool to get real-time information about businesses’.

Did you know? Nearly 42% of Twitter users are between the ages of 35-49.

Read more statistics on Twitter’s users.

Read here for professionals’ comments on Does Twitter have Staying Power?

LinkedIn
Dubbed as ‘for business use’ LinkedIn is a powerful tool to connect and network with other business professionals.

The average LinkedIn user is 41 years old and 49% of LinkedIn users are the decision maker for their business. I’d say that’s pretty good chance that you’re connecting with the right people.

See more user statistics on LinkedIn.

With all the information out there about the various networks we have some simplified points for you.

Take Away Tips for Using Social Networks:

• Keep Business and Personal Contacts Separate. Do you want your business colleagues to see pictures your Aunt Polly posted on your facebook wall about the Clown Rodeos she participated in last weekend? I didn’t think so. Who you are connected with reflects you. A good way to keep contacts separate is to use different networks for business and personal. For example, I use facebook for friends/family and LinkedIn for professional contacts.
• Keep Focused— Turning off notifications on Facebook and LinkedIn can be extremely beneficial. This way you won’t get an email every time someone comments on a post, leaves you a message, etc. You have the power to sign on whenever you want, instead of getting sucked into meaningless browsing. If you have a personality like mine, you might want to set certain times in the day when you check your social networks (like during lunch). This way you have a limited time have a list of what you want to check each time you sign on.
• Only Follow Users that Contribute. On Twitter there are thousands of people who post meaningless comments like “Today I accidentally took a bite of a 3 week old Reuben sandwich from the back of my refrigerator”. Ok that’s great. Again, if you are using Twitter for business purposes, avoid connecting with people that post time wasting comments like this. Only follow people who have a track record of posting helpful, intriguing and un-narcissistic topics. Vow to do the same.

Take Away Tips on How to Avoid Wasting Time

• Twitter—Make a plan ahead of time of what you will Tweet. Think ahead of which topics you will search for and which users you will follow.
• LinkedIn— As soon as you get a business card of someone you want to connect with, make the request. Read someone’s LinkedIn profile before a meeting or while considering them for service. Avoid checking it multiple times per day.
• Facebook—before getting on, make a list with a notepad and pen of the things you hope to accomplish after signing on. For example 1) write an update on my status announcing my blog post 2) search to find information on white papers 3) stalk daughter’s boyfriend by searching his profile, etc. This will help you from straying and wasting hours looking at old college friend’s dog pictures.

Take Away Tips for Business Use:

• Twitter—gaining marketing ideas, keeping up with the industry
• LinkedIn— professional presence for established contacts, stay updated on industry or topics by using select LinkedIn groups
• Facebook—giving personality to your business

Our overall thought is that you should be using social networks for your business, but with a purpose and discipline. Decide how you want to use each of them and stick to a plan.

For more tips on using social networks or increasing your business’s presence on the web contact us at www.ithands.com