Social networks are a hot topic right now. Just last night I had a client ask me, “Should I join Facebook? I don’t understand how to use Facebook or MySpace.” Just like any business (good) decision, what social networks to join takes a bit of thought in order to get the results you’re looking for. And that is exactly the first question to ask yourself:
What goal or problem am I trying to solve?
The answer to this question can completely change which social networks you should take a look at. It may even mean that it makes more sense to create your own social network or community.
Where are the people I’m trying to reach?
Just because you hear about MySpace or Facebook in the news doesn’t mean that your customers or potential customers (or whoever else you’re targeting) is there. Just like in the real world, certain types of people hang out only in certain places. You need to understand where people are in order to get the most out of your efforts.
What will be the reaction to your message?
If you just jump into an established community with messages about how great you are, it can have exactly the opposite effect of what you’re saying. People inherently trust their peers more than messages from companies, so you’ll need to take the time to understand the community and the people who frequent it.
Those are just a few questions to get you started with thinking about your business goals first. We’ll take a look at how to answer these questions and some new questions to think about in future posts. For some outside reading, Groundswell, put together by Forrester Research, is a great book on how to use social networks and community for your business goals.
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