Sales Savvy

For people and businesses, I tend to believe that social media activity must accompany a strategy and set of goals. Without it, you are a bit like a rudderless ship. You may be moving but you’re not moving in an intended direction. I think that some people and companies set goals such as “thought leader” which is great, but you better have some good thoughts—and more importantly be able to reinforce that in the real world. You may be a hotshot in Twitter terms but it won’t carry much weight without something tangible to back it up…

Real thought leadership or expertise needs to start in the external world, where your results, skills and knowledge create that foundation. Social media sites such as Twitter allow you to reinforce or leverage what you have accomplished or know. Without it, anything you say in the social media realm will fall into the category of “talks a good game.”

If you want to demonstrate expertise and build your level of influence, another key aspect of social media is about the company you keep. People often equate the size of their following (or blog stats) with their standing or level of influence in this environment and the two aren’t necessarily tied together. As many of us know, there was a flood of spam on Twitter in late 2009 that made us all feel like Rock Stars—only to find out that unless you’re the king or queen of porn, that’s probably not your target audience. (p.s. Twitter addressed this spam issue.)

When you participate in social media go for quality relationships, not quantity and build your following methodically—just as you do with your career. The experience is more authentic but more importantly, it will better support your professional goals. You are better able to filter and make meaningful contacts. Think of it like an alumni association—in total numbers, you are an acquaintance with a lot of people, in reality you’re close friends with small few. It’s the quality of those small few that matter.

Social media has great opportunities for people and businesses. But it’s up to you to decide what impression you want to create.