For a small business, successfully engaging audiences through social networks involves a definite learning curve. Anyone can create Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts, but what comes next?

Unchecked, new users will usually go one of two ways: spend every waking hour tweeting and updating wildly until they soon run out of steam, or spending a frustrating 30 seconds a day logging in to see that nothing has changed and they still don’t have 1000’s of connections. What most people bypass is in my opinion the most important part.

Since working at Fuel, I have been lucky enough to work with a number of business owners who are keen to invest both time and money in developing their online presence, and often the hardest part is initially convincing them to hold back with their tweets, posts and updates. As a kid, I remember my Dad telling me “We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we can speak.” Unfortunately we also have ten fingers so we can type five times as much as we can listen…

When I first started advising clients about how to grow their online social networks, I quickly became aware that having a plan of action was key to getting anywhere. Partly due to some excellent blog articles by industry moguls, and partly due to the very obvious benefits when put into action, I became a determined advocate of ‘the listening period’

The listening period is not a new concept, it has been used throughout the history of advertising and marketing. Basically, it involves following the mantra Listen, Learn, Analyse, then Contribute. Nobody has ever successfully promoted their business by jumping wildly into the marketplace with no concern for their potential customers needs or expectations. Social networks provide excellent platforms from which to listen to your customers, with the additional bonus that there is no pressure to engage them until you are 100% prepared. You have the opportunity to find out exactly who your audiences are, what they want, where they are (in both the online and offline senses), and how they communicate.

The same is true of your competitors – what and how do they contribute? Can you learn from them? More often than not you will probably start to notice that they haven’t employed a listening period before plunging in, meaning you already have an advantage over them before you have even started contributing.

Of course this is only stage one in successfully developing your online network. Soon will come the time when you will need to start adding value and building credibility for yourself and your business. But listening and responding will continue to be as important to anything you do online, and if you stop you will soon find yourself drifting away from your audience. Just remember: one mouth, two ears (forget about the fingers).

To find out more about business social networking strategies, contact us to arrange a no-obligation consultation.

Posted by: Nikos