The Challenge of Using Social Media for Business

More and more people are trying to use social media for business. The problem with using social media for business is that social media is, first and foremost, social. You will find that because of the social nature of social media, people want to be personal.

Three of the best examples of where social media can be a challenge for business are Facebook, Twitter and Friendfeed. These are great examples because they provide an environment that fosters conversations.

The fact is, people need to be personal. If they don’t put a human face on their activities, others will simply look at them as a spamming entity and will tune them out very quickly.

That social aspect of using social media for business brings a challenge that most people overlook.

Different people use social media for different reasons. Some will use it purely to connect with friends. Some will try to use it purely to connect on business (I think that is why LinkedIn has such a following). Some people will use one platform for business and one platform for social.

I see the most common trend is people mixing their peas and carrots. They are using the same social media platform for both personal and business. In fact, as I see it, this can be the most effective use of social media for business. If I only post business topics in a medium such as Twitter or Facebook, people are not going to see my human face. If I only post personal items, then my business won’t receive any benefit.

There has to be the right balance.

Okay, so where is the challenge?

Social web is a place where people can talk about anything they want. It is a free forum. It is the ability to carry on a conversation with a group of people that is too larger to sit in your living room.

Because of the nature of being able to talk with people everywhere, the conversation can go anywhere. The conversation can be about anything. It can go in any direction.

Usually in business, you want to avoid hot topic conversations such as religion and politics. However, in social web, if you are being true to who you are personally, those conversations will likely come up.

Most people aren’t nearly as tolerant as they claim to be. Whether people are liberal or conservative - religious or atheistic - people really don’t like to hear opinions different than their own. If they did, the whole concept of political correctness would be non-existent.

I noticed on my Facebook page a link to an app from a member of my network:

"Right of Conscience" Rule Will Hurt Women

Source: apps.facebook.com

Our mission: To raise public awareness of the Bush administration's intention to politicize and endanger women's health in the name of "moral conscience".

This can be considered a pretty controversial topic. I might think that the moral decision has nothing to do with the mother. I may think that the Bush administration is right. I may think that the Bush administration has nothing to do with the real issue at hand.

As a follower of that person, I have a few choices to make.

1. I agree and join
2. I agree and don’t join
3. I disagree and ignore
4. I disagree and be vocal about it
5. I stop being friends with the person

If it is just personal, the decision is a bit easier because I can either understand that people have different opinions and respect them for that, argue with them or stop being friends.

Do you see the business problem here?

As a follower, I may not do business with someone because of political and religious beliefs. As a business person, I may alienate a number of people because of political and religious beliefs.

I have had a number of people stop following me on Twitter because of my political views. It is a chance that I willingly take by trying to mix personal and business.

My thought is that people are way too sensitive. However, I can’t control other people.

If you are going to use social web for business, make sure that you understand first that you are in a social platform and not a business platform. But, don’t forget that if you are too controversial in your views, people will turn off very quickly.