This is not rocket science.

I read an interesting MarketWatch commentary by John Dvorak today titled “Social Networking: No Sale”.  In this article Mr. Dvorak explains that the majority of the interaction on social networking sites is about being social and not about selling.  He further breaks down the results of click throughs on his Twitter follower list, which were less than stellar.

There are hundreds of very intelligent individuals that share in Mr. Dvorak’s opinion.  And he is correct:  these people will have limited ability to sell through social networks.  They will not drive followers for any other reason than people want to say they are connected to this writer or that one.  These are the same individuals who have never understood the millions of dollars that are generated through networking marketing opportunities.  They believe that only four things sell a product: price, product, promotion and placement.  And they miss the most important P of all:  people.

I do not care who you are or what you buy, you have emotions.  Unless you are an auto responder or a robot, there is always a reason behind your choice to purchase, invest, spend or sell.  As the consumers we sell to have become increasingly savvy to the tried and true ticks of the marketing trade it takes more to capture the attention of the same audience that three years ago could be influenced through a  Super Bowl ad.

How many times have you been at a soccer game and while standing around with the other parents you talk about this product or that service?  People do business with people and not with companies.  I like Macy’s as a store, they have a good selection and I can find what I want in a hurry.  I do not shop there just for that reason – I go there because I have come to know many of the sales people and prefer the service.  I use a specific pharmacy for the same reason. 

And when it came to looking recently for a virtual assistant, I asked for recommendations on Twitter and Facebook.  The response was positive and made my search much easier.  What I challenge those who believe there is no selling happening with social networks to understand is that a “following” of 55,000 individuals is nothing if you are not listening.  People do not want to be broadcast to and you must ask for input and conversation, not just blast information and expect a response.

I can name 100 of my “friends” on Facebook and a good 225 “friends” on Twitter who are very successful due to their participation with both traditional marketing and new media.  I think the figures speak for themselves:

• 200,000,000 active users on Facebook.
• You can select or target your message by: age, location, keywords, gender, education, workplace, language and relationship status.
• Facebook is no longer about your kids:  as of March 2009 in the US alone, there are now 6 million users 13-17, 19.5 million 18-25, 13.4 million 26-34, 9.7 million 35-44, 4.6 million 45-54, and 2.8 million over 55. In other words, there are more Facebook users 26-44 than 18-25 today.

There are some basic rules to marketing that social networking has learned from and taken to the next level: 

• You can monitor easily what your competition is doing and how their customers are reacting to them
• It is easier than ever before to target your customers, listen to them and adjust on a dime
• Social networking is about customer driven products and sales.  There is no longer a “build it and they will come” option.
• New opportunities are presented everyday.  There is no reason to not know what the “next big thing is” unless of course you are not participating in social networking for business.
• Social networking is by design all about brands and communications.  Each user is their own brand and they want to associate with brands they like or want to be know for liking.

Smart companies already have social networking evangelist keeping up with the hundreds of feeds, friends and followers.  They are able to take in more customer data in an hour than research groups used to take months and hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect.  Like it or not, social networking is here for business and it is “the next thing”.  It is just a matter of how you want your business to profit from it.