With many businesses struggling to make a go of it in today's tough economy, social networking is proving more valuable than ever. In order to help businesses do well not only in good times, but survive the current challenges, GOSOCIALNETWORK spoke recently with Carrie Podber, founder of echaincommunity.com.
GSN: How can social networking help one's business in today's tough economy?
Carrie Podber: In today’s economy we will learn now more than ever the importance of building the proper relationships in business. Social Networking when used appropriately is also a cost effective way to market, advertise and serve as a public relations tool in the areas of blogging, article write-ups and social media.
Social Networking is driven by critical mass and we have now reached that mass over the Internet. The ability to tap into the knowledge base of thousands of Internet users, read their personal bio, company profile, blogs, engage in interaction and build your strategic, synergistic and revenue relationships has created a new wave of business possibilities. Allowing users to tap into such a database is a compelling reason in itself for business minded individuals to become involved in the social networking space.
Currently our business community is comprised of the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. Generation Y has been predisposed to incorporating social networking as they enter the workforce by having already involved themselves in networks like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. These sites have introduced millions of students under the age of 21 to the process and as they move into the business world they will expect tools like these to be available to them. A portion of the Baby Boomers and Generation X have been predisposed by way of dating sites and now an increasing number utilizing Facebook to find old friends and keep in contact with present ones. These same tools enable intergenerational collaboration as we tap the energy of our diverse youth, the productivity of our middle-aged workforce, and the wisdom of our elders to build our next generation of business.
Content Management is a key driver in Social Networking. By definition content management is a computer application that is used to create, edit, manage, and publish content in a consistently organized fashion. General uses include news articles, operators' manuals, technical manuals, sales guides, and marketing brochures. The content managed may include computer files, image media, audio files, video files, electronic documents, and Web content.
Rich media specifically is used to describe a broad range of digital interactive media. It is either downloaded or embedded in a webpage. When it is downloaded, it is viewed or used offline with media players. When it is embedded it is uploaded to an online environment such as YouTube, where it can either be played on their site or the code can be embedded on another site such as Facebook, MySpace, echain community or your own personal web site. Another words, it is not housed on your server or actually even watched on your site although it appears to be but is available to the masses.
Rich Media is dynamic motion and can involve user interaction. Streaming video and Webcasts are examples of rich media. Often times webcasts can be coupled with a slide show. For example when I appeared on The Profitability Channel, I went into the studio, filmed my show and it was either watched live or available for viewing at the viewers leisure. In conjunction with the video, I put together a PPT presentation, which ran simultaneously next to the video. Areas that would benefit from rich media are Education, Continuing Ed, Corporate Training, Informational (products/services) etc. and allow for user interaction. In addition, we can allow the community to ask questions regarding these videos on their time and they are answered on your time. Social Networking only works when the users are active participants.
GSN: For those businesses who fail to have relevant Web sites, blogs, etc. what are the dangers for them in today's competitive world?
CP: Today’s competitive dangers are two fold. We have hit realization that a business is comprised of the product/service it offers, its Management and its employees. Therefore, it is critical that your web presence is both company and individual based. Not only do you need a web presence showcasing your products/services, we as users of these products and services now more than ever want to know about those providing them. The Internet is your foot in the door to introducing your company while social networking is the door to building synergistic, strategic and revenue relationships.
The process for business is simple. First you have to know you need a product or service, second you have to know who provides that product or service, and third you need to feel confident that you trust the product or service you are purchasing. The majority of business comes from referrals, whether that is from an individual or from research obtained from PR (press releases, write-ups, and media). The first place the majority of people go to in order to obtain such information is the Internet in turn the Internet is driven by such content. Therefore, if your company and its employees don’t have a presence on the Internet they won’t be found. If they can’t be found then the general public either doesn’t know you exist or doesn’t have a level of trust because there is no information substantiating it.
Customers and clients no longer want to talk to a barley speaking individual overseas through an 800 number. The process of making the phone call, being placed in a cue, providing standard information, being forwarded to the “correct department”, sitting again in cue and then repeating your issue to an individual who can not understand you for the mere purpose of cutting corporate costs overseas is no longer acceptable. These so called customer service representatives are programmed individuals without the ability to conduct a conversation that yields results and often ends up causing frustration.
echain community is a combination of Social Marketing/Media/PR coupled with the ability to build proper relationships with companies and individuals. We are not about having you enter a black whole in the worldwide web. We are about helping members properly showcase themselves and their products/services through bios, profiles, blogs, community interaction, social media (sharing of videos/pictures), while simultaneously helping members build relationships for long term results. The online interaction dictates the offline face-to-face and facilitates the process, it does not replace it.
It sounds simple to say, I have a profile online or I belong to all these different social networking sites. Unfortunately, it’s not simple and it’s not enough to say I have a profile online. In order to be successful you need to understand the different sites and their uses. Then you need to understand how to become an active participant. Everyone needs to be on board and if you’re not, you are late to the game. The good news is we are experts who have been deep into this space way before it was even termed in the marketplace and are available to help you build your presence. It requires time, expertise and the willingness to be an active participant to make this work. If there was ever a time to call on an expert it’s now. This is a game where the winners will emerge and the losers will be non existent. The only thing separating the two is working with an expert to build your Internet presence.
GSN: How can services like echain, etc. help businesses?
CP: echain community utilizes a proprietary platform to build client relationships via an online community. We bring together the latest techniques in social networking, social media, and online collaboration.
The echain community process provides proven methods for building relationships. Member generated content is combined with advanced Community administration, privacy, and security to create an effective community environment.
Social networks like MySpace, Facebook, Dating Sites and YouTube have already introduced billions of people to the phenomenon. Our same tools enable intergenerational collaboration as we tap the energy of our diverse youth, the productivity of our middle-aged workforce, and the wisdom of our elders.
The echain community has a solid process in place. Built into one software program are a number of social networking techniques and collaborative tools, packaged with the best practices for building relationships among members. By using proven tools and process for community engagement, echain provides the shortest path to building a strong business community.
echain utilizes such features as Front Page Community BLOG, BLOG Roll, Panel of Experts, Featured Member List, Recent Visitor List, RSS Feeds, Community Streams, Third Party Widgets (ie: Social Media), Polls, Bookmarks (community favorite sites), Q/A Community Participation, Member Profiles, Company Profiles, Member Mini BLOGS, Photo Galleries, Groups, Events, Agendas, Jams, echain Connections, echain Introductions, echain Message Center. These features have been proven to be of highest value across many social networking sites.
After login, social networking, collaboration, and real fun happen privately. Community Members help grow the network. They add content through comments and their own blogs, interacting with other members through introductions, referrals, connections, group activities and events.
GSN: Where will social networking be a year from now?
CP: It is important to understand the cycle of the web in order to understand Social Networking, where it falls and where it will be a year from now.
The turning point for the web came in the fall of 2001 with the dot-com bust. Common patterns dictate that technology generally crashes round one to make room for a big splash in round two, allowing for a separation between those with the ability to succeed and those that are set to fail.
Web 1.0 was informational and the sites that simply provide information are at a brick wall. The one-way model of submitting content and awaiting its arrival to a site is no longer acceptable. Web users are demanding more content delivered at a faster pace to include real time interaction with other visitors allowing for the building of relationships, sharing of knowledge and advice.
Web 2.0 brought about what is now known as “Social Networking”. Collaborating among web participants is the now generation for what was formerly referred to as “stale content”. Instead of one-on-one interaction - user to web site, a new level has been added removing the barriers to sharing information - allowing for a many to many exchange in what is now commonly known as a “community”. The Internet is content driven. Without content, we have no Internet.
Social Networking results have provided the ability for more people to contribute with a much wider variety of content. Experts can now gain recognition, showcase their products and services and utilize the Internet for both learning and a marketing tool. The more content and knowledge a web site holds, the more visitors and members it will attract.
We are at a stage where in addition to individual users joining several social networking sites, most corporate websites will have a social networking component to it. These sites will be used for bridging the gap between virtual employees, market research, measuring consumer product awareness, product introductions, testing customer reactions, and tracking how customers use products and services.
These communities will reach across corporate boundaries as rapidly forming partnerships require the capacity to build trusting relationships through the virtual world.
echain community’s experience involves both on/offline Social Networking, Marketing, PR expertise in addition to being a technological liaison between companies and technology. So whether you are an entrepreneur, small to medium sized company or corporation we can assist you with both your web presence or building your inter office social community.
For further information, visit www.echaincommunity.com.
With many businesses struggling to make a go of it in today's tough economy, social networking is proving more valuable than ever. 
No comments:
Post a Comment