What people do in their social spaces, their social relations has always fascinated me. That’s why I spent such a long time in school learning to be a sociologist. It’s also why I am a true believer in social media marketing, especially for small business.
What social media technology/software does so effectively is tap into a social phenomena called “strength of weak ties.” This article from Fast Company, Unexpected Way to Use Your Social Network Strategically, reminded me of it.
Here’s an excerpt:
If you use a straight-ahead business-development plan, you’ll develop a laundry list of leads and opportunities to be followed up. While this can be useful, the truth is that a great deal of such business comes in via the referral of others. And how can you increase your access to such referrals? You guessed it–by concentrating on your weak ties, rather than on your strong ties. By developing your own network of industry colleagues and blog or Twitter followers, for instance, you get access to their connections with others. And one of my favorite strategies for B2B competitors is to prepare PowerPoint decks about the benefits of the firm, and then make those decks freely available on your own Website for download and unlimited use. However, this isn’t a tool for persuading the people who come to your site to buy, but for helping them to persuade others within their firm. In effect, you are arming these weak-tie prospects with the tools necessary to appeal to their own networks.
If you are of the old “think linear” school, you are probably struggling to find the value of social media marketing for your business. The new way of thinking about marketing your business must focus on sharing content, your expertise, your knowledge, your personality so your “strong ties” will share with your “weak ties” and you get your extended social network working for you. This is why LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook Insights (on your business page) boldly shows you what your “reach” is or how many people you are connected to through your direct connections.
How to think and act more social online? Start sharing. If you aren’t giving, you won’t get.
