Social Media Value

In the last week I’ve heard two different successful entrepreneurs say they don’t get Twitter, thinking it is just a vacuum of trite platitudes. Of course, I beg to differ. There’s a chicken and egg problem with new users of platforms like Twitter whereby a good bit of value comes once you have a decent number of followers to converse with. Here are a few examples of value from social media:

• Seeking recommendations (e.g. a friend wanted to get a hard-to-find item quickly, called several stores with no luck, and posted it online and had an answer in 10 minutes)
• Monitoring conversations about competing or complementary product names and chiming in with value, including that your product should be evaluated (this is looking for leads — it works)
• Learning more about people before you meet them (e.g. for a networking lunch) so that you can develop a stronger relationship and have a better conversation faster

My recommendation is to start using social media and join the conversation. There’s a good bit of value, but it doesn’t happen without effort.