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PM Forum - Manchester
How to win clients with social media
Can professional services firms get clients through social media? The answer is undoubtedly, yes, according to Ian Brodie, founder of The Rainmaker Academy.
Ian addressed the North West PM Forum on a typically rainy afternoon in Manchester and set out to lend some advice as to how the mysterious world of social media can be harnessed to generate new business.
Ian, a self-confessed Twitterer, began by emphasising the value that social media can provide firms that wish to expand their networks beyond conventional face-to-face contact. With social media, connections are visible, making people easier to find and make contact with no matter their position, geographical location or sector. Being time independent, Ian suggested that social media has complemented the 24:7 working culture that has developed in recent years with the advent of the Blackberry and other smart phone devices.
LinkedIn is the cornerstone to networking and can be everyone’s ‘little black book’ for networking. Recalling some successful cases studies and personal examples, Ian emphasised that LinkedIn is the ideal platform to promote yourself or your firm, as well as connecting with others in your industry or sector.
However, Ian warned that, given the nature of the website, it is important that users tailor their profiles to fit specific objectives, which can be self-promotion, business development tool, or a digital CV for potential employers, amongst others. When building a network, Ian outlined two distinct strategies; selective and open. Whilst an ‘open networker’ can gain access to a wide network of contacts by adding people at a whim, it does not develop deep personal relationships as with someone who is more selective.
Meanwhile, Twitter is a great tool for communication that should be explored more thoroughly by the professional services community. As with LinkedIn, Ian advised that there are a number of strategies that can be adopted when using Twitter, but there is no best way and encouraged users to explore the platform and use their own judgement.
To develop a healthy Twitter following, Ian said that users should Tweet interesting and useful things, as well as directly communicating with others, but also noted that Twitter can be a useful method in driving traffic to your website by posting links to news items, press releases and other content.
With all social media, Ian warned that it takes real time and effort to develop a good network of contacts. Although many will be keen to portray a formal image to the social media community, it is more productive and better received for users play into its informal nature by also taking part in small talk. By developing a personality, the individual or firm will appear more approachable and have a better chance at developing quality contacts and generating the much-anticipated lucrative business leads.
Alastair Henry
MC2
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