Friend, Tweet, Link...Why Not Just Shake Hands?

By: Bart Fisher - Director of Marketing and Business Development, CF Jones Group

Categories: Social Media/Networking, Technology

What happened? Is it me, or has there been over the top focus on Social Networking by the media recently? Twitter has become a source of information for “journalists” throughout the country and the globe.

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Attending a recent networking event hosted by the local social network SmallerIndiana.com, attendees were “tweeting” one another about the event. Two of the “tweeters” sat literally elbow to elbow and didn’t want to “talk” for fear of disrespecting the current speaker.

I am up to speed on the social networking options. I add pictures to Flickr on behalf of my employer to show off projects. My LinkedIn account has been active for over five years. I have kept my family and friends up to date on the growth of my children on Facebook.

I have been invited to over 16 social networking conferences, informational sessions or online webinars in the past four months. Look, I just received another. There are social networking experts, consultants, specialists and advisors. Universities are funding studies showing the direct correlation between the social isolation of those individuals that spend an inordinate time social networking (Stanford University).

I am a firm believer in “people do business with people” and no matter the company, the customer must believe and respect the supplier for a majority of medium and large purchases. Networks, such at LinkedIn, allow individuals to view information regarding prospective suppliers and customers. The information on such networks can assist individuals in determining someone’s character and experience.

Sites, such at LinkedIn and even Twitter, have the option of operating as informal CRM systems. Business contacts can be maintained and colleagues can be introduced in an informal manner. Once introduced, before any transaction occurs, the original social network of face-to-face interaction usually takes place.

How do I view the immediate effect of social networking? The upcoming class, let’s say under 30 years old, of customers, colleagues and employees have matured sharing their experiences via this media. On their hips or in their pockets, this class has a computer that makes phone calls at its disposal 24/7/365. Even now, I receive LinkedIn and Facebook updates on my Blackberry.

If I count up all of my connections and friends from the networking sites I follow, I can touch over 400 people directly and my depth of knowledge is not that vast. Imagine the web of influence woven by those that have grown up with these networks. The reputation of a company can be severely wounded via one status post or short character blast.

When vetting prospective employees these sites bring more information to the table. I search prospects on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Google. I view pictures, ensure their resume matches their profile, view their friends (birds of a feather and all) and receive written reference validation. Usually, each individual has some motivational aspect of their personality on their profile. This information gives me some insight to the type of person entering your place of business and, at a minimum, threads an effective line of questions.

One of the main business applications for social networks is reviewing information to validate companies and individuals before contracting with them. Another application social networking presents is an additional media outlet for corporations to utilize and manage to get the word out. Adept executives will search the internet and these networking sites on a regular basis in order to manage the “validated” advertizing that may be casting a shadow on their companies.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Smaller Indiana, Flickr, and the over 150 other social networking sites offer users and contacts the ability to develop personal contacts. At the same time, according to Stanford business professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, “The most effective networking is fact to face. There is no substitute for real human contact.”

After all we all purchase products and services created by people, so why not personally shake hands with the person who “delivers the goods?”

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