Social media has become ubiquitous in a fast and furious frenzy but few businesses have mastered the art. Connections and introductions are a great way to warm up a cold call for business development. The same holds true in social networks, but what I like the most is how you can instantly know so much about a person before you speak with them that you can maximize your effectiveness.
Do Your Social Media Homework
In business development this is paramount to success. Doing your homework tells a prospect, customer or referrer just how much you care about them and their business. To prove my point, Microsoft has announced that LinkedIn will be “built-in” to the new Outlook and Office. If you are a B2B firm, LinkedIn is the ideal place to start. However, sometimes you just don’t have a connection to get you to a warm introduction. Sending a blind invitation to connect is more likely to get you pegged as a spammer than get you an appointment. Unless they are an open networker, don’t ruin your chances. You also must customize your invitation to connect so don’t start connecting using the LinkedIn app from your smartphone – there’s no way to change the invitation message there.
Create a Compelling Social Media and Mobile Friendly Presence
Your social networking profile as well as your website needs content that explains why people do business with you. What do you deliver? What’s your story? How can I reach you? Look at your profile now and critique your on-line presence. Does your content make people want to connect with you, call you or learn more about your business? Can they see your phone number on their smartphone, on your blog, your business website, etc. Is the phone number clickable for others to call you easily? You can’t do business until a connection is made. Make it easy fro them to maybe call you or you’ll miss opportunities.
Leverage Twitter
While many business leaders are not yet using Twitter, often their business development, marketing and PR departments are. The hidden gem in Twitter is that everyone there is more approachable. You can follow them, retweet their tweets, start a conversation by adding to one of their tweet topics and soon have them follow you back. Once you both follow each other you can direct message them (that’s a private message on Twitter). I find asking them to lunch, inviting them to a Skype chat or inquiring about my topic of technology is usually welcome once we have established a bit of trust…especially when it’s not a sales pitch. Once you have a connection inside you can open up more opportunities with that firm.
As the lyrics in the song say – I just met you. This seems crazy. Here’s my number. Call me maybe! If you aren’t familiar with the song, enjoy this viral video: