The power of social media

Having recently started a new website, wwWebevents.com, a webinar and virtual event listing service, part of my marketing campaign involved the setting up of a new webevents LinkedIn group. To start to populate it, I sent out invitations to the 10,000-plus people I have in my first level network.  As a result, more than 150 people joined my new group.

Some of the discussions we”™ve had in this group have been very interesting and informative. As a result, I have had a sufficient number of very positive communications with a number of the group members, several of whom have become friends and trusted colleagues.

What makes this so unique ”“ while also demonstrating that the world truly is flat ”“ is that one of these group members, Jonathan, lives in the United Kingdom (he doesn”™t like people saying England), while another new colleague, Stephen, lives in Thailand. We communicate via Skype several times a week, as needed, and have a scheduled meeting every Thursday morning. Both Jonathan and Stephen are marketing wizards and in fact, Stephen has conducted and run many successful Mastermind groups. A Mastermind group is a small group of individuals who get together on a regular basis to help each other improve some aspect of their business.

Once wwWebevents.com went live, I asked several of my friends if they could help me. A good friend of mine who is an award-winning graphic artist, helped design my logo. Another friend, gave me some feedback on my home page display. Several friends congratulated me on the site, but said they were too busy to help or even comment on it. However, one friend who absolutely refused to help me because she was too busy then announced on that same phone call that she was looking for new clients. As a result, she is no longer a friend but merely an acquaintance. I can understand if someone is too busy or unable or even unwilling to help. That”™s fine, just be honest. I try to help friends and even people who I barely know whenever I can but I can”™t excuse that type of obvious non-sharing attitude.

In contrast, both Stephen and Jonathan have provided me with some outstanding feedback on my site and I have already incorporated several of their suggestions, which have helped spur subscriber growth. In turn, I have provided them with feedback on their endeavors and all of us have exchanged recommendations and testimonials. This is an example of social media at its best. Because of my interactions with Stephen and Jonathan, my website has been improved, my marketing paradigm has been altered and I will (hopefully) be more successful. Likewise for Stephen who redid an entire presentation because of the feedback Jonathan and I gave him and Jonathan who revised his marketing campaign.

Social media is about sharing. Through its ability to reach all parts of the globe, it has for all essential purposes, helped flatten our world. While disregarding the problem of time zones, social media can provide the platform through which we can interact and improve both ourselves and our endeavors while likewise returning the favor for those people who give.  When I answer a question on LinkedIn, I will do it professionally and try to add whatever value I can provide. Offering even a little help in LinkedIn can sometimes make an enormous difference to the requester, possibly resulting in the beginning of a relationship. That”™s what makes LinkedIn so powerful.

I will help both Stephen and Jonathan however I can so they can be successful. And when my ex-friend calls again with yet another social media question or problem that one of her clients has presented her with, I will wish her well and suggest she use Google search or Bing to uncover the answer.

Bruce Newman is the vice president at The Productivity Institute L.L.C. in Carmel. He is also a social media strategist and the designer of a new service, wwWebevents.com. Follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and the Productivity Institute blog. Bruce can be reached at bnewman@prodinst.com.