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TRAFFORD BUSINESS connect
June/July 2015
social media What does your Social Media Activity say about your business? You’ve attended a networking meeting, had a 1-2-1 with a perfect lead and walked away with that warm fuzzy feeling that all went well and you can potentially work together. And then you arrive back at the office and check your Social Media profiles. Deal over. Just as great Social Media can massively increase a company’s bottom line, poor use or lack of Social Media can often be the end of the deal - and trust me, this is not an exaggeration.
You are what you share
We live in a world where people in the UK check their mobile phones 150 times a day on average, the average person in the UK spends 1 hour 20 minutes a day using Social Media. So whether you personally like Social Media or not, you don’t have a choice whether you use Social Media. You simply have a choice if you use it well or not.
The chances are that those people you meet at Networking once or twice a month will actually have eyes on your Social Media updates more than they do face-to-face conversations.
2. Back it up with data
everyone should know, but often don’t.
Twitonomy.com can analyse your Twitter profile and gives huge amount of data. Things you can find include:
• Have a professional photo - not a holiday shot
• Number of Tweets per day
• Don’t leave any unexplained gaps in your career history
• Percentage of Tweets that are Replies or Retweets
• Don’t post Facebook-style posts - yes to quizzes, maths tests or riddles
• Percentage of Tweets of yours that are Retweeted
The biggest turn off however is no Recommendations on a LinkedIn profile.
• Users you most engage with
So often I meet businesses at networking meetings and they talk We all know about the 7 Second Test For ourselves at Altrincham HQ in any about an illustrious history spanning - the fact that it takes only 7 seconds given period it shows us that 68-70% of decades working with hundreds of for us to judge another person when our tweets are replies and retweets. businesses, and then you connect with we first meet them. The same applies Here are some top tips to make sure them on LinkedIn and they have zero That means the data backs up the online. you create the right impression for those social element of what we do in terms recommendations from clients. That first impression of a Twitter profile, post-meeting Social Media searches. of Social Media, and often we find it’s People like to do business with people a LinkedIn profile, the opening couple double that of our peers. they Like, Know and Trust, and part of Top tips of lines of your blog - what does it say the process is seeing testimonials and about your business? 1. Click on your Twitter Profile and 3. Run searches on your name recommendations from people they You can judge a lot by the way hit Tweets & Replies option also Like, Know and Trust. Important stat for you - 31% of brand someone uses social media. (desktop only) mentions on Twitter alone are indirect, So - what does your social media • Are they committed? not using a company’s handle. If you are to view any profile from just say about your business? • Do they turn up every day? tweets only, which is the default option What will you find if you search your company name? How do you respond? for Twitter, then most people would • Are they exciting, creative and inspirational? Or are they beige? look like it’s all “Me Me Me”. And how is your response perceived • How are they different from It’s on the Tweets & Replies option that by potential clients?
The 7 Second Test applies online
competitors?
• Are they a giver? Or are they a taker? • Do they show gratitude? • Do others say great things about them? And you thought it was just 140 characters rather than a personality test or a look at your emotional intelligence...
• Hashtags used most
you truly get to see how people use twitter and whether they take the time to engage with others.
Set a saved search up for your company names and “slang” variations of it where appropriate.
We all hate that person at a networking meeting that offers a monologue AT you rather than having a two-way conversation WITH you. Tweets & Replies offers a window to the type of person they truly are in business.
4. Have a LinkedIn Profile you can be proud of Repeat after me ... LinkedIn is a professional network! If you are in the B2B sphere as many reading, then there are things that are standard and
Alex McCann Altrincham HQ www.altrinchamhq.co.uk
