Technology

BY PAMELA BIR

Fearless Social Networking

Let’s say I attend an industry dinner for designers. I introduce myself as Pamela Bir, owner of Your Computer Lady, and I indulge in the usual networking-dinner small talk: discussions of sports, joking about the rubber chicken or listening to the horror story about the building project in Tucson that one of the designers at our table is working on. If someone asks me a computer question, I’ll give them an answer. Hopefully the person sitting beside them will listen in and think, “Oh, that’s a good answer. Pamela knows a thing or two about computers.” Down the road when either of those people have a computer project, they’ll think of me and give me a call.

Let’s say I set up a LinkedIn account. I introduce myself as Pamela Bir, owner of Your Computer Lady, and I indulge in the usual networking small talk: discussions of sports, joking about the rubber chicken or listening to the horror story...

Clear away the hype and fear of doing something new, and social media boils down to plain old networking. You’re doing it on a grander scale (eight people at the dinner table versus 58 LinkedIn direct connections or 252,600-plus with three levels of connection) but it is still networking, hence the phenomenal success of social media sites such as LinkedIn, FaceBook and MySpace, plus Twitter, where short, brief posts let you follow an individual, company or organization.

Just like networking at, say, an IIDA or AIA dinner, networking online takes a little time. Joining a new organization means you’re seeing more new faces. You’re taking time to build the relationships. You’re gathering business cards and inputting them into your contact management system. But after those basics are done, maintaining the relationships is relatively easy and doesn’t require a lot of time. But you have to be consistent. If you only show up every six months, you’re always at square one. Once you’ve set up your online account, filled out your profile and started connecting with colleagues, you can switch to maintenance mode. Show up once a week and respond to invitations, send some messages, add some info.

You want to use social media sites for the same reasons you network at an ASID, ASLA or IFDA meeting. Get your name out there! Do some marketing and public relations! Get a project! We live in a big, high-technology, information-explosion world. We want to-- need to-- connect with people. Social media gives you and your company the ability to do that. You can humanize your design firm. You can reach out person to person.

eMarketer reports that there was an 11 percent increase in the use of social media in 2008. Some 41 percent of all internet users visited a social media site at least monthly. They predict 79 million people (40 percent of all internet users) will put content on a social media site at least once a month in 2009.

Your firm can start small. Encourage your employees to participate. All of the Fortune 500 firms have social media activities; 499 of them have vice president level and above participants. But any employee can assist the cause. Build your presence. If you need to get to more in depth, locate your target audience or increase your presence quickly, you may want to contact a firm that specialize in social media for marketing and public relations purposes. This is an emerging technology. A guide can get you to the destination faster.

To start, choose one or two networks to join and build. Get that network to the maintenance stage before you take on another one. Tie your networks together. A post on my blog shows up on my LinkedIn page. A Twitter message shows on my Facebook wall. Measure your activity and success. There are tools like TwitterGrader that help you measure what you’re accomplishing.

My recommendation is to start with LinkedIn. It’s a pure business site that is simple to use. You can make good connections. Then add Twitter. Those little 140 character messages have potential. Then expand into Facebook, Yelp or some of the other sites.

If you’re in Phoenix, the Arizona Small Business Association is doing a series of social media classes in May. Check www.asba.com for details.

See Who’s Twittering
Check out these design-oriented Twitter sites:
www.twitter.com/aiaarizona
www.twitter.com/aiacolorado
www.twitter.com/architects
www.twitter.com/asid
www.twitter.com/iida_hq

Connect With Pamela Bir
www.LinkedIn.com/in/YourComputerLady
www.twitter.com/pamelabir
Pamela Bir on Facebook

Pamela Bir is president of Your Computer Lady, Inc., a firm that provides computer support including marketing literature, e-mail marketing, Web site design and maintenance, PowerPoint presentations and more. Visit www.YourComputerLady.com or email Pamela@YourComputerLady.com.