Social Networking Strategies Or Just Good Manners In The Social Web

Social Networking Strategies is the new buzz term for marketing to individuals through social networking sites online, and numerous industries are certainly abuzz about it right now. The concept of social networking incorporates the social interaction taking place online as well as the networking between consumers and organizations with strategies to connect people, ideas and products.

The collective information assembled with conversations created online provide fuel for social networking strategies for companies hoping to either jump in and create their own blog or Squidoo lens site, or be alert for comments about their product or service, so that they may post responses to comments.

Another of the social networking strategies is to allow transparency and truth to pass through the site, positive and negative. Say the company website has a blog on it. If so, the company needs to allow all comments to pass through, and not delete what is posted. Responses to all of the comments should be transparent, with no question as to the honesty of the answer. A creative, yet negative, YouTube video (one of the social networking strategies) can be quite a threat to a company if the company has done something to tick off a customer. If this happens to your company and there are conversations started, be sure to be honest and humble about the situation. After all, the customer is always right.

Other social network strategies include being tuned in to the online “scoring” system of your company. Social networking is a good guide of how your company, product or service is rated by consumers. Popularity is determined by “visits” to a particular article or commentary. Post-purchase customers are commenting, while influencing those potential customers who have not yet made a purchase. The various strategies, or channels used in social networking can be planned so that they work well with an integrated media plan that incorporates traditional media methods as well.

Remember too, that there are many different participants in the social networking scene. Not only are customers and potential customers contributing, but the competition can view and comment on your posts as well. Be sure that in your social networking strategies you plan to treat every commentator as if he or she is a customer, but do not reveal anything that your competition does not already know that may give them an advantage over you. Of course, your social networking strategies need to include checking out what your competition is saying and posting as well.

Social networking strategies’ success is based on the amount of influence created by the original post and the comments that follow. If and when you decide to pursue one of the various models of social networking foryour company, make sure your strategies are sound and make sense for your company. It's about YOU after all!