This article was published in the January Issue of Meetings:  Minnesota’s Hospitality Journal.  You can find that article by clicking here.

Like many people, you probably have more tasks on your daily “to do list” than you can shake a stick at.  Have you added any Social media applications to your business toolkit?  More importantly are you engaging yourself consistently in leveraging their value in your business communications?

A comment I often hear from business colleagues is “I just don’t have time to put anything else on my plate, or I am too busy for social media.”   Sound familiar??  Well, read on…

In the past year a major shift has occurred in the way people do business.  The financial pressure of the poor economy combined with the continuous introduction of web 2.0 applications into the marketplace has generated a major focus on social media as an effective business solution.

The Meetings and Events business is particularly well-suited for use of social media.  Educational and informational content can now be delivered not only with face2face meetings, but also using added virtual components such as webcasts, or webinars.  Organizations are enhancing those digital experiences with back channel communications such as Twitter hashtags to create additional buzz and conversation before, during and after their events.

These communication channels are very effective and economical, and thus, their staying power is obvious.  New business models and markets for meetings and events are emerging as a result of these innovations.  Quietly, a paradigm shift (from skepticism to validation) of this technology has been occurring in many businesses.   Early Adopters are already miles ahead of their competition.  Looking ahead, the reality is organizations dismissing social media as irrelevant will begin to lose market share as their customers abandon them for more forward thinking business partners.

On a personal level, using social media applications a person may initiate and build new and existing relationships as well as share knowledge and experiences with other like-minded individuals.   If you haven’t already done so you would be wise to engage yourself with these business tools, and do so quickly!

Incorporating social media into your personal routine is more complex than just signing up for a bunch of these accounts.  You must commit yourself to “learning the ropes” for the chosen applications and then work vigorously to establish credibility for yourself within them.

The first step in the process is developing an action plan.  There must be a balance between the time you spend with SM and other job responsibilities.  Due to their interactive, dynamic and sometimes addictive nature, some people find themselves preoccupied with these tools.  Subsequently their overall job performance may suffer.  Needless to say, a mistake such as this could be career-limiting.  So, here are some tips on how to make your journey with social media smooth and successful.

Step #1 — Plan Well — Create a written statement outlining your vision of what you wish to accomplish with each Social media application.

Sample Plan:

• Facebook
  • learn more about clients’ background and interests
  • strengthen personal connections
  • make consistent personal touches with them
• Twitter
  • Collaborate with other industry Twitter users, exchanging information, relevant articles and perspectives on hot business topics.
  • Develop my personal brand and reputation in the online community
  • Build and maintain new & existing business relationships
  • Monitor the customer service of my company and respond to clients posting comments/complaints/issues.
• LinkedIn
  • Develop an online business profile validating my credibility as a business person and individual.
  • Participate in relevant industry Group communities demonstrating thought leadership and building personal reputation.
  • Strengthen existing industry relationships and develop new ones.

Step #2 — Schedule Strategically — develop a routine allocating certain times of the day for social networking.

Sample Routine:

• Early Morning (7am – 8:15am)
  • Visit Facebook page and review posts made, check message inbox and respond accordingly.
  • Socialize with Facebook friends online.  (water cooler talk)
  • Open Twitter and review tweet posts made by users followed.
  • Follow up tweets of interest (Retweet, or acknowledge value to author).
  • Review News feeds, and post relevant tweets with article links to followers.
  • Review growth of follower base from previous day.
• Mid Day (12noon – 1:15pm)
  • Check LinkedIn site for activity in member groups.
  • Respond to any discussions of interest and clip any relevant articles, posting them to Twitter for followers.
  • Review LinkedIn Inbox messages and respond.
  • Check Twitter messages, and review new tweets posted by users followed.
  • Follow up tweets of interest (Retweet, or acknowledge value to author).
  • Stop by Facebook to review any new posts and comment on those as appropriate.
• Late Afternoon (4-5:15pm)
  • Stop by Facebook to review any new posts and comment on those as appropriate
  • Check LinkedIn message inbox and respond.
  • Check Twitter messages, new posts and follower volume since the morning.
  • Follow up tweets of interest (Retweet, or acknowledge value to author).

Note: This schedule is theoretical, and depending on your work responsibilities and routine, could shift from day to day.

Step #3 — Learn the features of the Social Networking applications and use them prudently.

• Schedule Your Posts — Twitter has a few sister applications allowing users the flexibility of creating their tweet posts at their convenience and then scheduling them to be posted later.  One such application is called “Socialoomph.com“  There are many other applications like this available… the analogy I would use is that these tools function in much the same was as Tivo does for television.
• Tweetdeck – is a powerful external twitter client application (with Facebook interface) that enables a user to organize and filter through all the Twitter and Facebook posts they receive.  Here is a link to a really good article providing some tutorial guidance on this great tool!
• Manage your Online Friends — Each application has its own functionality for this process.  There is a time commitment to building these relationships so make good decisions regarding who you initiate an online relationship with.  If you have some folks on your friends list not contributing to the connection, then you may wish to evaluate whether they should continue being part of your network.

I firmly believe you will receive a return on your time investment into social media commensurate with the effort you put into it.  I am available to you as a resource, should you have further questions about incorporating these very important tools into your business routine.

Contact me anytime at:

Michael M McCurry, CMP

Phone:  847-825-0243

Cell:  312-961-5486

Email:  mike.mccurry@experient-inc.com

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/michaelmccurry