My Thoughts on Social Media’s Role in Business and Your Career

Email isn’t the only way to get your message across and isn’t the only communication-oriented technology tool at your disposal.  There’s also social networking (also called social media).  I use both Facebook and LinkedIn for business.

And let’s face it…regardless of what anyone thinks about social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.), the fact is that they are here to stay.  Sure, they’ll evolve over the years and will likely look very different than they do today, but ultimately they’ll still exist.  And while purely “social” social networking sites can have a business aspect to them, it’s important for business owners, executives, and managers to have a strong presence on the tried and true business networking sites (example:  LinkedIn).

Why?  Because your clients, customers, colleagues and others look to business social networking sites for evidence of your character.  For example, when a prospect is thinking about doing business with you or your company, he or she will likely do a social media search.  Never before did average people have the ability to research anyone or any company they wanted.  While in the past background checks were expensive and time-consuming, these days a few mouse clicks and keystrokes can pull up a goldmine of information.  That’s why you and your company need to be on business networking sites…and you need to be using the e-networking sites effectively.