Social media is fundamentally about conversations. Blogs, Twitter exchanges, even random comments in response to a Facebook status, represent new opportunities to connect not only on a personal, but also business level. My business is about developing strategies for getting those conversations started and using them to engage clients, constituents, and customers in a dialog that strengthens existing relationships and helps lead to new opportunities.

Clients

I wrote about using social media in my search for work and it is fair to question the effectiveness of it. I'm meeting people, but I don't have a job offer. However, I am developing relationships that are leading to business opportunities. Working with business owners to develop their own strategy for this kind of engagement is how I can help other professionals.

By simply friending people on Facebook or following them on Twitter, I maintain awareness of what they are doing. Do you get holiday cards from your Realtor? Of course. It's all part of their effort to keep you aware of them so you will utilize their services again in the future or refer friends to them. But traditional efforts to maintain connections like that are very limited because they require expense and broadcast approaches that are transparently marketing efforts--a "turn off" to many of us.

Imagine if I friended my Realtor on Facebook. I would occasionally notice her status updates and the repetition of her name would strengthen her brand. In the case of a criminal defense attorney, he is probably hoping NOT to find clients among his Facebook friends! But everyone you have ever worked with or known in person is a potential referral. Everyone knows people in need. If you solicit their help, they may be turned off by it. But if just stay on their radar--your name will be the first name they think of when an opportunity presents itself.

Constituents
My WestwoodBlog has generated a good deal of interest in town, but I have yet to convince the elected officials to participate directly. There is still a desire to control information--out of a legitimate need to ensure official information is accurate. But the blog plays a role in surfacing issues and providing a less official forum for residents to talk about things.

I'm not looking to be hired by the town to blog--in fact, I think an official blog of the town would lose credibility among people with dissenting opinions. But towns should consider all forms of media and develop a strategy for communication that is a two-way street. I've described how towns might use wikis...and I do believe elected officials should be blogging. There may be be a role for Facebook, Twitter, and even private sector solutions like Customer Relationship Management systems, e.g. Salesforce--but relabeled as Constituent Relationship Management.

Towns need to do more that put up websites and broadcast information to their residents. I can help customize a strategy to start a real dialog.

Customers
My first client is a local technology company. I will be blogging for them, setting up a Facebook fan page, and tweeting regularly. My strategy for them is to build awareness of their brand--as a provider of software that helps IT professionals keep their systems running--by telling stories of relevance to their target audience and engaging that audience in a helpful exchange of information. I will be telling my own stories of things I've learned the hard way and tweeting about helpful tips and tricks.

In this case, my own domain expertise in technology is invaluable. But I could just as easily partner with a company who had a story to tell in another area and just needed a strategy and platform to tell it. My eclectic background in technology, media, politics, economics, business, law--and passion for issues of sustainability and creative fulfillment--gives me a flexible canvas upon which to draw.

The goal in social media is relationships. It is fundamentally different from information or even communication...it is the process by which we engage. It's what's been done in other venues for years--on the soccer field, around the water cooler, by word-of-mouth. But the tools we have today give us an opportunity to develop new channels, build stronger relationships, and ultimately, find and create new opportunity.