As delivered to Business League Falmouth today.

This has been a busy week and an interesting journey into the world of Social Media. I was glad to hear a consensus on the importance of having good content and on developing conversations and also in the development of communication that engages people around their own interests rather than forcing them to move to the agenda of the communicator.

On Friday, I went to Like Minds (#likeminds), a conference (or maybe an unconference) about ROI and Social Media. Social Media has a buzz about it and the event was at capacity (around 200). The speakers had come from the US, from London and from much nearer to the venue in the centre of Exeter. There were equally well-travelled people in the audience.

In the aftermath, there is much debate and not a little confusion about ROI. I thought Olivier Blanchard (@thebrandbuilder) explained ROI very well. It is about cost reduction or profit increase set against the costs of achieving that result. To me, ROI is a much more global concept and is best viewed across departmental or Company performance rather than against one activity.

Social Media covers so many areas of business and personal communications that it is difficult to put it into one box. The value of having ‘colleagues’ who are there with you in real time is difficult to quantify when working in isolation in today’s increasingly devolved work environment not to mention the resource at your fingertips on so many topics and the discoveries that can be made daily from links and retweets.

In a Business context, I believe Social Media comes into the catergory of early stage Marketing – awareness, market research, audience building and R&D – rather than a selling tool. So what we might look at is the Opportunity Cost of Social Media versus other similar activities and against activities further down the pipeline. As an example, Frank Furness talks about having to do cold calls as being the cost of not asking for enough referrals. So Social Media, as Olivier suggested needs to be funded out of one of the existing buckets in this area of Marketing.

In a commercial context, a business has goals for turnover and the sales that make that up come from a pipeline that converts, usually with considerable wastage as people qualify out, contacts into prospects and prospects into sales. So, there should be, across all methods of acquiring, a number of new potential clients that will deliver that turnover. How many new contacts are needed in each method of acquisition and over what timescale will be dependent on the ratio of potential clients to actual conversions and the average time taken to close the business with them.

How effective is Social Media in delivering good prospects into this process? Trey Pennington (@treypennington) at Likeminds talked about engaging people in conversation and then moving those people along a process that might lead to business. Time will tell how effective Social Media is at doing this, but it is something that businesses are, quite rightly, exploring. As they get more data, they will either move further into Social Media use or withdraw and try something else.

For some businesses, the concept of Opportunity Cost is irrelevant anyway as Social Media champions in their businesses are extending their hours to add in their activity rather than doing it in salaried hours and for those of us in self-employment, it is just another unpaid task that we fit in if we believe that Social Media works for us.

Scott Gould (@scottgould), in a blog post, talked about his approach to Like Minds. He described how he builds a platform around the people and gives them a place they can talk. Whilst this is dangerously close to a ‘build it and they will come’ theory, it does seem to work and it is equally true about any communication. You need to know your audience and engage with them on their home ground both in terms of the content and context of the communication.

At Cornwall Social Media Café (@csmc) last night, Lloyd Davis (@lloyddavis), founder of the London Social Media Café (or Tuttle Club (#tuttle) as it is known) also talked about creating a platform, in this case a regular time and place where you can drop in and have coffee with likeminded people. The Tuttle club is a self-organising group with little or no agenda and no obligations placed on members. The concept is, however, developing into consulting where Lloyd takes the equivalent of a Tuttle meeting into a client and uses conversations to explore possibilities around a brief. The process of building such a group and developing outcroppings from it takes time but it is important in his view not to impose any expectations on the group.

I gave a presentation to my Breakfast Networking Group today on the two ‘old cons’ of Marketing – content and context – and the ‘newer con’ of equal importance – conversation. It came from my thinking over years and was informed by many of the things I learned or confirmed this week. I’ve covered some of the ground here and more will develop in later posts.

In that model, I see Social Media (of all types) as part of the Conversation and as just one of the Contexts for delivering your Content to your audience. Content needs to be consistent, effective and engaging and this requires stories. Stories connect with us at a deep level and we learn and are influenced by them all of the time.

All of that is a little undigested and I expect that the learning of the next and subsequent weeks will continue to develop and refine my thinking.

For now, however, it is time to turn this over for conversation. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

This article was written for Fresh Business Thinking back in March 2009. Recent events brought it back to mind and I thought it would be worth adding here.
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During an interview for another article this week, it became clear to me that gardening is a good metaphor for networking and that they are governed by some of the same natural laws. In my view, it is worthwhile paying some attention to them. I’d be interested in your own additions to this list

Starting Out
Getting the measure of a new networking group is like taking over a garden. You need to spend some time working out what is already in place, which parts are worth spending time on and which can be safely left to their own devices. Too often, people join networks and feel that they have to be listened to without realising that being listened to is what others there also need. If you aren’t listening to others, more than you are talking to begin with, you are missing vital information about the best ways to work within the group.

Relationships have growing cycles
In a previous career, I was involved in a number of meetings alongside the Retail Buyer for a large chain of Garden Centres. We were talking to a nursery about our Azalea, Rhododendron and Heather requirements. A 2 year Azalea takes just that – 2 years – to grow and some of the Heathers took 3 years. If we underestimated our requirements for 2 –3 years out, there was no quick way of growing the shortfall. We would have to hope that someone had stock of them at a reasonable price. A large tree, planted now, may take decades to mature. Building relationships also takes time. You CAN force some plants and accelerate their growth but it is almost always at the expense of the plant. Forcing a relationship may result in a short-term gain but at the expense of the longer term.

Relationships need Nurturing
Plants require nourishment. Sun and rain are supplemented by the application of manure and other fertilisers. Now, I’m not suggesting that you heap manure on to your network but I am saying that care and consideration and regular attention will be repaid. Making a contact once at a networking meeting is simply never going to be enough for that person to know you and to be able to refer you. Nor can you know them and refer them properly and it is a two way process. So regular contact, deeper conversation and knowing their needs and characteristics will help you refer them – and referring them is the quickest way to finding that others refer you. If you want or need referrals – lead by example.

Have an overall plan
How do you want the whole garden to look? Where are the pathways, what are the vistas, how does this area relate to that? In the same way, you need to consider what your overall networking will deliver and how that fits with the rest of your marketing. Do the transitions work? Is the overall effect what you wanted it to be? What does each networking group deliver?

Know your plants and varieties
Some flowers are annuals and produce flowers quickly. Some perennials may only flower infrequently or not at all. Some networking groups are close knit and mutually supportive. Some are mixers and allow you to meet an ever-changing cast of characters. Others offer education with some networking. Finally, some give the organiser a platform for promoting their business and offer less to the participants. Have a strategy for each and remember that most people can be found in more than one place. If a particular network doesn’t offer the type of networking that offers the best fit with your strategy and approach, there are always other varieties available.

For most, networking is a long term influencing strategy that will produce results by building bridges to other business people. So whether you are planning a garden redesign or your networking strategy, sustainability is an important factor. Both take time and effort and in both, patience and care bring their own rewards.
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I hope this is useful for those approaching networking and joining new networking groups. Please feel free to add your comments.

This article first appeared in Fresh Business Thinking on 13th August 2009.

The idea of turning your need to network into a business is one that tempts many people but it is harder to do than it may appear. Many try and a few succeed. If you are considering networking as a business, here are a few things to consider before you jump in.

‘Build it and they will come’. I caught the final act of ‘Field of Dreams’ on one of the Digital channels last week and was reminded of the blind faith that the lead character, played by Kevin Costner, exhibits in building a ‘ghost’ team of baseball immortals. There is no question that it is a great thing to have faith and devotion to a goal but first it is worth understanding if it is the right goal and if it is worth pursuing.

As people leave corporate careers or start to look at new business directions, one of the first things they’ll need and one of the first things the advisors will suggest is to build a network. They often start by suggesting you make a list of everyone you know but sooner or later you’ll need to get out and seek out people that you don’t already know and where there may be a synergy. Some will take that literally and think that they will make a business from networking. I know this because new networking groups are appearing constantly – it is a boom time for networks. But is it a good business idea to start a new one?

As with all business ideas, whether it is or is not will depend on your objectives, on your needs, on your resources and on the attractiveness of the proposition. One thing is for certain; it is NOT a licence to print money. The business model for networking groups can be tricky. Your target audience don’t want to invest large amounts in networking unless they can see a clear return, and many don’t have the money anyway. There are too many networking propositions that promise much and deliver less and too many options to network for free.

If money is not the purpose, then doing it to get noticed and to build profile and reputation may be an option but the question then is what will you become known for? Being known as a networking group owner rather than for your main skills may be counter productive. If profile and reputation is your need, then it may be much better – and less expensive – to join existing networking groups and maybe get involved in leading one if the opportunity comes up.

There is a lot involved in the business of networking. It is not just about networking and socialising, in fact that may be the least part of it. Recruiting people for events and following them up afterwards with the intention of converting enough of them to membership and income generation has to be the main focus for most. If that sounds like a ‘real’ job, that’s because it is and it can be a very hard way to make a living.

You’ll need a good proposition, something to differentiate you, some success stories and a ’soft but firm’ sales approach. All of that will need to be backed up by a credible business and income plan.

In fact making a business from networking is like making a business from anything and often (as Michael Gerber observed in E Myth Revisited) it involves leaving behind the thing you’re good at and concentrating on creating a profitable business. The best networks that I know are run by people who have come to understand that they are running a business and that they need to get the dinner jacket off and roll up the sleeves of their dress shirt. It is not something to ‘drift’ into without preparation, determination and a large dose of realism, but if you’re feeling strong enough, and it really is your passion, don’t let me stop you!

I’ll raise a glass to you at your next big event!

Andy Coote is a professional writer and publisher and co-author of A Friend in Every City (2006), a book about Social Networking and Business. As a commentator on leadership and networking, Andy provides writing support and services for a number of Business Leaders. You can reach him at andy [at] bizwords [dot] co [dot] uk.

Original article on Fresh Business Thinking