Biz Hive - Why Social Networking Is Fragmented

During the last Ask Dr. Judd session on Twitter, one follower asked a very important question:

Why Are Social Networks So Fragmented?

Dr. Judd's answer to that was that "Each service is trying to differentiate from the other while grasping for an identity as THE go-to social networking service. Don't be surprised to see consolidation in this industry in the near future. Possibly through acquisitions. One source that I like and use is www.bizchunk.com because it provides real referrals instead of half-hearted connections."

To continue this topic, consider for a moment how these technologies emerge. An individual or group of individuals creates a proprietary technology that they can then wrap a variety of common tools around to create a social network designed to capture a certain segment of the online audience. These networks are then marketed to you, the user, as the newest and greatest solution for communicating your brand and message to your ideal audience.

But are these social networks really that effective when it comes to generating the one thing that you want as a business professional...qualified leads?

If you are in the midst of trying out these tools with the hopes that they will generate inbound, pre-qualified leads into your business then consider going back to the drawing board and following these steps:

1. Define your real sales process.
2. Know the limitations of these social networks as they relate to your sales process.
3. Know what step of your sales process social networking stops and you take over.
4. Know what networks your ideal prospects are using to market their products or services, and us them to hunt ideal prospects in your target markets.
5. Perfect your offline sales skills so that when you speak with a real prospect you are asking the right questions in order to determine if your company can actually help them.

BizHive specializes in helping small businesses succeed on the Internet with unique online marketing programs. If your organization has been stung by a lack of sales, should we be talking?

Request a consultation for our Social Networking Services.

Ask Dr. Judd a question on Twitter.

Grow Twitter Following Without Using It

Twitter has recently emerged as one of the most controversial social networking tools available today because of its vague application for the commercial market.

For friends and followers keenly interested in observing each others personal life events, thoughts, and opinions Twitter works great.

However, the team at BizHive encounters businesses attempting to harness the velocity of Twitter with the following guiding principles:

• Announce a service or product offering
• Announce an award or honor
  
• Announce a new client win
• Announce a sale, offer, or discount

While these techniques provide good factual information regarding the company, the fundamental problem with this type of one-way messaging is that its not relevant to the audience that may see it. This can be better phrased by asking "Who cares"?

One primary consideration would be to change how Twitter is being used to support what happens within the organization. For example, the team at BizHive experienced an 82% increase in targeted followers on Twitter in two weeks. This was done by having the founder of BizHive offer his time for one hour every two weeks to provide Internet Marketing Therapy for Business Owners.

The guiding principles for using Twitter were changed to the following:

• Only use Twitter during designated times and at no other times
  
• Focus on users walking away with a solution to their problem
• Ask users to refer future followers
• Drive users to your virtual doorstep for further interaction

The team at BizHive specializes in creating custom online marketing programs for businesses that are stung by a lack of sales.

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