How to Implement Social Networking into Business

Doing business requires an ongoing high level of activity with people. There are a number of ways to meet and connect to colleagues, associates, clients or customers; the latest is online social networking. While some companies are embracing online social networking, other companies worry that it may be a drain on employees’ output. To successfully implement online social networking, employees involved need clearly defined objectives, plenty of communication and more as defined in the steps below.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Assign specific people to specific online social networks. For salespeople one of the most active networks is Ryze. There are over 80,000 members world-wide. The network is business oriented with blogs and message centers, news sections, a classified section and member search options. Persons in human resources may want to join Ryze as well as LinkedIn, because both sites have a looking for work section with thousands of job-seeker profiles.

2. Encourage and ensure employees that they will have time to participate in online social networking by providing ample work hours for them to do so.

3. Code each network so that leads and contacts generated from the networks can be easily tracked.

4. Add the leads and contacts made in each network into a client management system or program or database.

5. Keep the employees on task when online with the networks by asking those involved to provide their supervisors or managers with monthly summaries of the where (which network used), how (how much time spent on the network and specific steps used to create the lead), when (during which work hours) and who (are the new contacts).

6. Encourage the employees doing online networking to network with other employees in person to provide appropriate leads and information that might be applicable. For example, if a sales professional makes a client contact and learns of a viable product or service the client needs and feels that the company could produce or develop, passing that information along to the appropriate people within the company makes the online networking twice as valuable.

Tips & Warnings

• As with any new business practice, planning ahead and incorporating the practice into the strategic, marketing, and public relations plans will help make the practice a part of the company culture and provide a higher return on investment.