I’m eating lunch with two friends. One asks, “Do you actually do business with any Facebook Fan Pages you’ve Liked?”
I pause and think about it.
“I don’t know,” I answer.
He explains he thinks Facebook serves its purpose, but people overhype it and consider it more critical than it really is.
I infer from the second friend at the table that he is skeptical Facebook truly helps build his business. He assumes most potential clients don’t care what he posts. He seems doubtful Facebook would significantly convert Fans into new clients.
Loren and I have several clients I believe we obtained through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I tell my friends at the table that I don’t believe social media is a strategy necessarily leading to immediate results. We hope to post useful information, positioning ourselves as experts and leaders in our industries. Our hope is when our fans and followers need our services or know someone who does, they will remember and consider us. Aren’t these some of the same reasons business people, now and decades ago, meet prospects at bars, restaurants and golf courses? They don’t expect to sign agreements on the 18th hole. They hope the social experiences eventually pay off.
I practice what I preach. Most of the accounts I follow on Twitter offer information I find useful. Those accounts keep me up-to-date on topics affecting me.
One of my friends at the table explains he searches for information on Google when he needs it. He doesn’t follow people for that information on a recurring basis. Our approaches differ. But I tell him I still think if his Facebook page offers useful information on a regular basis, clients and potential ones will view him as a hub of expert advice and a leader. The other friend agrees that may be true, but that doesn’t necessarily mean people later choose his business when they need his service.
OK. I understand that point of view. But I argue to them the one key reason we at the table are conducting business with each other is because we like each other. There is a sense of trust. And because we don’t have time or don’t want to eat lunch with all prospects, social media helps build trust and relationships in the long term. And if we work at it genuinely, we hope some of our followers will eventually hire us. If not, hopefully we at least offer sound advice. I may not click the mouse and Like everyone’s Fan Page who provides strong posts, but I might consider them the go-to guys or gals when needed.
I’m not sure if the three of us solved anything. But my Caesar salad was pretty good.