Thinking About Friending Your Boss on Facebook? Think Again.

18Nov09

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

Many professionals struggle with how much to share on Facebook and whether to “friend” or connect with co-workers and clients. Many users question whether a colleague or customer will know if they “deny” a connection on Facebook. While Facebook will not notify the user making the request that they were denied, they will see that you are not a friend in their friend list. So confirm and deny with caution.

A recent survey from OfficeTeam shows that executives are very uncomfortable with being “friended” on Facebook by subordinates and superiors. Executives were randomly selected form phone interviews from the nation’s top 1000 largest companies. The survey highlights include:

  • 32% were “not comfortable at all” being friended by their boss
  • 33% were “not comfortable at all” being friended by subordinates
  • 33% were “not comfortable at all” being friended by clients
  • 38% were “not comfortable at all” being friended by vendors

Specific concerns include:

  • Being tagged in an embarrassing photo.
  • Really enjoying Facebook games and quizzes.
  • Wanting to join non-professional groups or fan pages.

While I use Facebook for both personal and professional use, I am in the process of setting up a fan page for professional purposes. I hope that this helps shift my friends interested in my professional endeavors to another area of Facebook. I encourage anyone using Facebook among colleagues or customers to familiarize yourself with Facebook’s privacy settings and use them.  They will give you peace of mind and will I hope help you avoid any sketchy situations.

The moral? You might want to think twice about friending your co-workers on Facebook. While you might be comfortable with the connection, they may feel otherwise.

Beth J. Bates consults with Hinge on social media tool selection and strategy and helps its clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.


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Insurance Firms, Lawyers and Accountants Are All A-Twitter

17Nov09

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

As social media use grows, professional services providers such as finance professionals and attorneys have found themselves turning to tools like Twitter to grow their customer base and stay on top of industry news. Some have even taken sharing to the next level, telling tales of taking the bar exam or describing how they kickstarted their own careers. Many of these professionals are finding other creative ways to use microblogging:

Lawyers

  • Interacting informally with other lawyers
  • Republishing and sharing content/knowledge
  • Following government bodies online
  • Attracting media attention

Insurance Firms

  • Resolving customer service issues
  • Making announcements (rate changes, etc.)
  • Reaching a younger audience
  • Enhancing accessibility and personal engagement

Accountants

  • Commenting on recent industry news
  • Following financial regulations and changes in IRS guidelines
  • Using their experience in financial issues to attract new clients
  • Interacting informally with other accountants

By finding effective ways to use Twitter and other social media tools, professionals are connecting with new customers, keeping up on trends and keeping the public informed.

Find lawyers, CPAs and insurance firms on Twitter:

 

Beth J. Bates consults with Hinge on social media tool selection and strategy and helps its clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.


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Case Study: Using Twitter to Generate Leads

10Nov09

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

Twitter can be a tough concept to wrap your head around. Many business owners I meet are either overwhelmed by the conversations (or lack thereof) or can’t figure out how to use the service as a business tool.  Connie Benson, Community Strategist for Techrigy, created a comprehensive slide presentation about how Twitter can support lead generation.

The primary points of the presentation include:

  • Engage people as people first and don’t push your sales pitch.
  • Listening is a critical key for engagement on Twitter.
  • Establish goals and challenges and assess how Twitter can support your efforts.

Benson began her journey into the world of Twitter with 5 eager team members and no budget. She notes that once she began engaging in the Twitter community:

  • Within 3 months her customer base increased by 57%
  • Within 6 months her customer base increased by 269%
  • Within 1 year her customer base increased by 840%

I hope that you enjoy this presentation as much as I did. It’s quite inspiring and says a lot about the viability of Twitter as a sales tool.

Beth J. Bates consults with Hinge on social media tool selection and strategy and helps its clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.


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Social Media ROI Superlist

04Nov09

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

We’ve talked a lot lately about the ROI of social media and how we measure success. There are a variety of theories on the most effective way to assess social media ROI, and Interactive Insights Group has created one of the most comprehensive list of resources I have ever seen.

Social Media Metrics Superlist: Measurement, ROI, & Key Statistics Resources

This enormous list is broken into two categories:

  • Social Media Measurement, ROI and Monitoring
  • Key Social Media Statistics and Research Studies

This list ranges from the very basic to more complex theories of assessing ROI data points. There are also a variety of tools including:

Also, check out my previous posts on ROI:

What are the most critical points of social media ROI for your firm?

 

Beth J. Bates consults with Hinge on social media tool selection and strategy and helps its clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.


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How to Lose Business

29Oct09

By Aaron Taylor

This week’s Pivot newsletter article on expanding the client relationship seemed to resonate with many of our readers. In the article, we submit evidence that most clients aren’t aware of the range of services provided by their professional services firms.

Why do clients who are pleased with the job your firm has done in the past occasionally turn around and buy services you offer from a competitor? Usually it is because they don’t know all that you do. If you aren’t actively explaining your services to clients, you are probably missing a lot of opportunities. According to our study — and reader’s responses — clients want this information and they want it delivered personally.

David Galen, a commercial photographer (who doesn’t shoot weddings), put it this way:

“I am always educating clients about different services we offer. Despite that, I still get the stereotypical response from businesses that have known me or at least known OF me for years — “Oh, you do weddings, right?” I quietly excuse myself, go to my car and scream, regain my composure and return to my meeting. Those experiences teach me that businesses who I thought knew me obviously don’t. Nothing beats the personal contact. Despite our websites, print ads, direct mail, etc., we need to be reminded that a personal meeting or phone call beats EVERYTHING else.”

Don’t get so caught up in the details of an engagement that you forget to educate your clients. Existing clients are, after all, a professional services firm’s best source of future business. Just because you work with people on a regular basis doesn’t mean they know you — according to our research, they probably don’t. And they’ll go elsewhere for a service they would have been happy to send your way.

One IP attorney explains,”We have patent clients that don’t know about our trademark and corporate services, and my experience has generally been that the personal visit is the best way to educate the client as to the range and breadth of services.”

Ignorance is bliss only if you don’t need a lot of repeat business.


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