Social Networking: Knock Knock, Anyone Home?

Writing by Brick Marketing on Monday, 2 of June , 2008 at 9:24 am

Social networking is supposed to be the practice of expanding the number of business or social contacts and in the online world can be achieved by developing a presence on social networking sites. The theory is that people use these sites to make contacts that could be good for them and their business, however, without the social sites, they would be unlikely to have met otherwise.

It sounds good in theory and for many individuals it works and works well. There are others who seem to engage in social networking, over time develop a range of contacts, then disappear only to re-appear on another site where they go through the process all over again.

What seems to be happening is the misguided idea that you can undertake a social networking program, steadily building contacts within a site and once established, leave it to look after itself whilst they move onto the next site. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Working one site at a time can be a good idea, particularly if you are pressed for time. Build up your contacts and reputation on one site, then move onto the next. What you should never do is vacate the first site. Once you have put the work in, the amount of time required to maintain those contacts and your reputation can be minimal. The key to social networking is not the development, it is the maintaining.

All to often I visit profiles only to see that the individual has not been seen since ????? (normally weeks prior) and their profile is woefully out of date. I have to wonder why so much effort has been put into their social networking activities only to abandon them for another site. My first thoughts are, don’t you like this site? My second thoughts, are you not happy with your contacts (often meaning me as well).

If you spend time on social networking and I come knocking on your profile’s page, will I find anyone home or have you left to start again elsewhere? The problem will be, if I see you elsewhere, I will probably ignore you.

                      Category: Social Networking                      

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