Social media for business

There are opposing views about whether it's OK to use social media for business.

Of course, it's OK, there are no rules that say otherwise, but does it work?

Camp One says social media should only be used for 'social' activities and it's all about getting to know people, not selling your stuff.

Camp Two says that social media is a great way to promote your business, products, services, etc. and is not just social.

So who is right?  And who is wrong?

Camp One is right because it IS all about getting to know people and building relationships, not selling.

Camp Two is also right because social media is an excellent way to promote your business, products and services.

Camp One is wrong that social media should only be used for social activities - or LinkedIn would have failed back in 2003.

Camp Two is wrong in that if you ONLY promote your business etc. people will switch off.  Nobody wants to be sold at.

Confused?  No wonder!

It depends on what you are trying to achieve.  There are a number of purposes for using social media:

• To become a thought-leader
• To encourage people to visit your website
• To help people learn more
• To provide opportunities
• To get to know other people who may become clients, partners or advocates

These are not all exclusive, but each outcome needs to be approached in a different way, choosing the material and platforms that will get you the best results.

If you just keep posting 'buy our stuff', 'special offer on widgets; just $10 for 5000', 'we offer fantastic consultancy services for small business owners', you'll soon lose followers on Twitter, and won't get engagement on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and others.

However, if you post more engaging content e.g. 'Did you know that the auto industry uses 735.203 widgets an hour across the UK?' - with a link to an interesting blog on this subject, most people will:

a) read the post
b) click the link
c) follow/connect with you

Tips, advice, links, controversial statements, challenging concepts, interesting blogs and intelligent comments on other people's posts all attract attention and get links clicked.  (So don't forget to put relevant links into your posts so people can find out more on your website).

Broadcast only is not good news - engagement and conversation is the only way you'll start building relationships.  So, leave the camp and go out exploring in the social media forest!