The challenge of social media (blogs, twitter, Facebook, etc.) is that at first glance it seems like a free and relatively easy way to connect to potential customers, but as Jim Smith at yChange.com explains:

If as a small business you are trying to use social media to get the word out to your customers and prospects about how great your product/service is then you are frankly wasting your time walking down a blind alley. If however, you are using social media to listen to your customer and learn what his/her problem or pain is and what value your business can bring to the table then you are on the right path.

Social media today is for listening. It is not a mike or a megaphone to be used to drown the customer out.

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With everyone on Facebook, MySpace and blogs, sooner or later one of your employees is going to mention you online. This can both help - and potentially hurt - your business.

On one hand, if a graphic artist writes online that they did a cool project for you and links to your website, it is great marketing, and it will improve your Google page rank. On the other hand, if they get in an online fight with one of your old customers, it makes you look bad.

The typical business owner’s gut reaction is to ban ANY mention of your business online by employees. However, if handled correctly, employee participation in online social media can bring you new business. The trick is to take the time to make it clear to them what is considered “good” and “bad” behavior online.

Below is a 10-point set of guidelines that has been circulating around the web. I suggest you copy and paste it, replace (COMPANY) with your studio’s name, and have every employee read it and sign it.

Oh, and by the way, these rules should apply to you too

SOCIAL MEDIA PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES FOR OUR COMPANY

These guidelines apply to (COMPANY) employees or contractors who create or contribute to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of Social Media. Whether you log into Twitter, Yelp, Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook pages, or comment on online media stories — these guidelines are for you.

While all (COMPANY) employees are welcome to participate in Social Media, we expect everyone who participates in online commentary to understand and to follow these simple but important guidelines. These rules might sound strict and contain a bit of legal-sounding jargon but please keep in mind that our overall goal is simple: to participate online in a respectful, relevant way that protects our reputation and of course follows the letter and spirit of the law.

1. Be transparent and state that you work at (COMPANY). Your honesty will be noted in the Social Media environment. If you are writing about (COMPANY) or a competitor, use your real name, identify that you work for (COMPANY), and be clear about your role. If you have a vested interest in what you are discussing, be the first to say so.
2. Never represent yourself or (COMPANY) in a false or misleading way. All statements must be true and not misleading; all claims must be substantiated.
3. Post meaningful, respectful comments — in other words, please, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive.
4. Use common sense and common courtesy: for example, it’s best to ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal to (COMPANY). Make sure your efforts to be transparent don’t violate (COMPANY)’s privacy, confidentiality, and legal guidelines for external commercial speech.
5. Stick to your area of expertise and do feel free to provide unique, individual perspectives on non-confidential activities at (COMPANY).
6. When disagreeing with others’ opinions, keep it appropriate and polite. If you find yourself in a situation online that looks as if it’s becoming antagonistic, do not get overly defensive and do not disengage from the conversation abruptly: feel free to ask me for advice and/or to disengage from the dialogue in a polite manner that reflects well on (COMPANY).
7. If you want to write about the competition, make sure you behave diplomatically, have the facts straight and that you have the appropriate permissions.
8. Please never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties (COMPANY) may be in litigation with.
9. Never participate in Social Media when the topic being discussed may be considered a crisis situation. Even anonymous comments may be traced back to your or (COMPANY)’s IP address. Refer all Social Media activity around crisis topics immediately and directly to me.
10. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and (COMPANY)’s confidential information. What you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully. Google has a long memory.

NOTE: All media inquiries (TV, newspaper, radio, blogs) must be directed to me. If I’m not available, politely tell them you have no comment, and get their phone number.

I read a great article this week entitled “Eight Ways to Ruin Your Social-Media Strategy” by Catherine Taylor on bNet, and of all the ideas she writes about, I think this is the most important take-away point:

“It all begins with listening…Just as you wouldn’t walk into a cocktail party and start bragging about yourself, you shouldn’t just jump into the conversation.”

I see many small businesses like studios that treat their Facebook or Twitter accounts like little mini-billboards. “Call today for holiday photos” or “mention this ad for a free 8×10 print.”

Social media isn’t supposed to be about you. It is about your relationship with your customer.

Don’t believe me? Download this free report (PDF) at Rainmaker.com. They interviewed hundreds of people after sales presentations and the #1 reason people gave for not buying was…not listening.

Here’s the new rule: you need to make at least five comments or blogs or posts or tweets that are personal or thought-provoking for every one that is an ad.

For example, how about posting one of these your Facebook page tomorrow:

• What’s your worst experience with a professional photographer?
• Which of these two senior yearbook photos do you like better?
• Did you ever take a photo you thought was as good as a professional photographer?

The point is to start a conversation with your customers. That’s what social media is about. If you’re treating it like a cheap way to advertise, you’re not just wasting your time with social media - you may actually be hurting your business.

I read a great article entitled, “How to Market Your Business with Facebook” in the New York Times Small-Business guide, and thought you might like a story I found in it.

Some guys use Facebook to find single women. Chris Meyer used it to find women who are already engaged.

Mr. Meyer, a wedding photographer in Woodbury, Minn., had had little luck with traditional advertising. A full-page ad in a bridal magazine generated zero leads and a trade show yielded only four bookings, barely covering the cost of his booth. But Facebook proved a digital bonanza.

Mr. Meyer aimed at women ages 22 to 28 who listed their marital status as engaged in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. He estimates that he has spent about $300 on Facebook ads in the last two years and has generated more than $60,000 in business. He says about three-quarters of his clients now come to him through Facebook, either from ads or recommendations from friends.

Bottom line: If you are a wedding photographer, your prospective customers spend more time on Facebook than they do reading newspapers, e-mails or mailers. You need to go where your customers are. Learn more.

This is part 2 of a 2 part series on using social networking to promote your business. Read part 1 here.

Getting Started - The presenters all made the same point: the only way to get started in social networking is to jump in. If you haven’t already, start with a Facebook business account. If you already have a personal account, read these instructions.

If you are looking to update your website, a blog is a good way to get started with social networking (you are reading a blog). Use it as a “portal” for your entire website: portfolios, services offered, prices, and contact information combined with links to your RSS feeds, Twitter and Facebook accounts. After researching many types of blog software, I can recommend Wordpress.

Takeaway Points - As I sat through several presentations, I wrote down some common ideas that every presenter emphasized:

• Think “build community”, not “communicate with.”
• Social networking requires your most passionate people. It won’t work if you just give it to an employee as one more task to be completed on a daily basis.
• Avoid the “if you build it they will come” syndrome. Setting up a Facebook page is only the smallest first step. Plan to work with it every day or at least every other day for several months before you see real results.
• Measurement is hard. The number of “clicks” or “friends” or “eyeballs” you receive will not necessarily translate into sales. Instead, you have to trust that as social networking grows, the businesses that are part of it will grow too.
• People support organizations or businesses they love. The strength of social networking is that it allows you to develop these relationships.
• The technology is easy. The human empathy, passion, and commitment is hard.

This week I attended a conference on Using Social Networking to promote businesses, and of course, I kept trying to think of ways it could benefit professional photographers. In case you haven’t been keeping up with the latest internet buzzwords, social networking refers to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, instant messaging and chat.

While social media is simple to use and free to implement, it will cost you time and diligence in order to make it work to promote your business.

When you think about ways to promote your business using the Internet, you usually think of websites and e-mail. While these are important, they are designed to “communicate with” a customer. You might tell a customer about your services or about a sale, for example.

In the last few years, marketers have discovered that people don’t want to use the Internet just to get information – they want to use it to make 2-way or social connections too. Instead of “communicating with” a customer, businesses use social networking to “build a community” with their customers.

Let me give you an example. A local pub in Flint advertised their St Patrick’s Day specials, then asked their friends “who is coming over after work?” Several dozen people I knew answered online. When I asked them why they went to that particular pub, they said it was because they saw on Facebook that all their friends planned to be there too.

Let me give you another example. Bob Fish, co-founder of Biggby Coffee in Michigan, uses social networking like Facebook and Twitter to let his customers know when he’s going to be visiting one of the over 100 franchises. If you meet Bob at a Biggby Coffee shop, he will buy you a free cup of coffee. This virtually free social networking is considered a critical part of Biggby Coffee’s success according to Entrepreneur Magazine.

Next week I’ll give you some specific steps that you can do to implement social networking as part of your marketing.