Really? Another article on social networking? But I already have a Facebook profile! I have 82 friends and I’m a fan of all my favorite bands, coffee shops, and really bizarre things that I can’t even remember adding! What else could there possibly be to say about social networking?

You probably already know that sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter have business benefits as well. Many of us have tried this, and some have given up. It seems safe to say that a majority have not seen the tremendous boost in revenue that we were hoping for. It’s time to examine what really brings people in, and once they’ve declared their online love for us, what gets them to actually participate.

More importantly, no matter how many fans (Facebook), friends (MySpace), or followers (Twitter) you amass, this doesn’t necessarily bring business in the door. It’s true that social networking sites are a great way to engage your customers or members, and keep them informed, but it’s also true that you have to spend money to make money if you want to see substantial results. Social networks give you the ability to get the word out for free, but it may still take some investment before you’ll see a decent return.

Social networking success definitely depends on your industry, where it’s easy enough to plug your margarita flavors or lunch specials at opportune times and see some benefits, but those of us with more complex client relationships find it harder to lure in the fans, friends, or followers. Half of Humboldt County might add you on Facebook if they like your clothing line, but these kinds of organizations enjoy a lot more customer overlap with their competition. If your company falls into the professional services category, such as the legal, financial, media, or medical fields, you’ve generally got fewer customers but more loyal relationships. This is great, but makes it harder for you to reap the benefits of social networking sites. When you reach that plateau where you think you can’t reel in any more of your existing customers and you aren’t bringing in any new ones, you’ll find yourself back to the old familiar solution: money.

It’s a no-brainer that when things slow down, advertising can boost business, and the Internet is a really fun place to do that. I set up a Facebook profile for the company I work for (Coast Central Credit Union) back in mid-2009, and we used it to announce promotions, upcoming events, and the like. Come 2010, we found that our Facebook fan base wasn’t growing anymore, and occasionally fans would even drop off. We added the “Find Us on Facebook” logo to some advertisements, but growth was still minimal because people seemed to be asking, “What’s in it for me?” A financial institution can’t give you a free sandwich, but they can give out free cash. So we started doing pretty frequent cash prizes for trivia questions ($60 each since it’s our 60th year), and we’ve nearly doubled our number of fans in only a couple of months. Statewide and national companies, and those with more established Facebook profiles, have enjoyed even more dramatic results.

As opposed to working up yet another general print ad or TV commercial, contests and giveaways can cost the same or even less, depending upon how you plan it, and are much more fun and engaging for your clients. What makes social networking promotions particularly successful is the ease with which a reader can share it with someone else. With literally two clicks of their mouse button, they can repost something from you on Facebook, or “retweet” something you’ve posted on Twitter. You can only reach a certain amount of people directly, but social networking sites let those people advertise for you as well, which has some amazing potential. Plus, that part is free.

This is where you break away from advertising only to your own customer base. Generally businesses who dive head-first into social networking find that it’s hard to make any new money that way, but the potential for information sharing is what will kick your promotion into overdrive. Even when you have very dedicated client relationships and it’s hard to get people to “make the switch,” this may be all the persuasion they need if they were having any doubts about their current service provider. If they’ve heard of you but never went so far as to look you up and see what you’re all about, they might respond to a special online offer. If you know you’re going to be spending money on advertising anyway, shake it up a little bit. The Internet gives you the ability to spend that money on something to give away (or discount), rather than on the advertising medium itself.

Try some local social networking of your own by joining and becoming active in the Redwood Technology Consortium.

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Christi Coffman is a Marketing Assistant with Coast Central Credit Union specializing in web design. She is a member of the Redwood Technology Consortium.

Copyright 2010 Eureka Times-Standard Newspaper. The print version of this article first appeared in the 4/29/10 edition of the Times Standard.