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I realise some people don’t care if they connect with strangely-named default avatars, but I do. I’ve opted out of the ‘fastest to a million followers/friends’ race and want to meet real people, with whom I have something in common, and to build relationships that may or may not lead to business, or joint ventures at some future date.
(Please note, I am not talking about if you use social networking purely to be sociable!)
As more and more small business owners sign up to take part in the social networking whirl, I’ve noticed that they often miss out an important step. They’re so keen to get started that they put very few details into the profile section, probably intending to go back and revise them later, but never quite getting around to it. Perhaps they’re not sure what to include, so for these people, here are some suggestions to consider if you’re networking for business:
- Include a recent professional photograph of you that shows your face clearly (preferably smiling). Childhood photos are cute, so are the shots of you with a beloved pet, with the kids or grandchildren, or relaxing on holiday with friends, but don’t make me have to guess which one is you, and please, take the sunglasses off!
- Carefully put together 25-50 words that sum up what you do. Think of it as your social media ‘elevator pitch’! The response you want is for people to be interested enough to want to find out more about you.
- Put a live link to a web page (or blog) that explains more about you. Don’t send people to your home page or, even worse, to a sign-up or sales page! Remember, this is ‘social’ networking and is therefore about you first and your business second, so link to your ‘About’ page. Better still, write a special ‘landing page’ to welcome visitors from your social networking sites. (Here’s an example of mine.)
What have you found works well for your professional online profile?
About Louise
Louise Barnes-Johnston has been working in social media marketing since 2007 after realising that it was a powerful marketing tool which would enable her clients to raise the profile of their businesses on the internet, even when working to a limited budget. Her specialism is in researching social media practices; trying out the most effective online tools and then sharing the best of them with her clients.
