One Entrepreneur On Social Networking: Simon Salt of IncSlingers

This is part of a series called "The Entrepreneurs on Social Networking."  This interview is with Simon Salt, CEO of the IncSlingers.

What are your general thoughts on social networking (do you think it's highly important for today's business owner, a great way to build a web presence, a fad, exaggerated in importance, etc.)?

While I definitely believe it is an essential part of doing business today, it is just that, a part of doing business. It shouldn’t become an all consuming time monster for any business. Other forms of communication are still as viable and important in the business world and should not be ignored or avoided.

What have been your biggest challenges with social networking?

The biggest challenge is to stay ahead of the new platforms, we constantly evaluate them to see if they are a fit for any of our existing or potential clients. Given the number of new launches every week this becomes a real challenge.

What have been your keys to success when it comes to social networking?

My biggest key to success has been to never forget that Social Networking is a real life activity. The technology is simply a tool to allow for a broader range of introductions, but to be successful you have to get out from behind the keyboard and meet people face to face and do so on a regular basis.

Do you have any techniques or routines that help you succeed with social networking?

I have all the tools open on my desktop all the time. This  allows me to dip in and out of them as I need to. For Twitter I use TweetDeck and have more than 20 columns setup to filter the stream into the way I want to see it. I also make sure that no matter how busy I am I meet with at least 4 people every week – not business prospects, not pitch meetings, just real people who I have connected with via Social Networking sites. This cements the connections and helps to build my online community faster.

How important is social networking to the success of your business?

Given that we are a Marketing Communications company Social Networking is pivotal to the success of our business.

Any final thoughts on social networking?

Don’t be frightened of it. It’s just another communication channel, all the previously learned principles of good communication still apply.

Simon Salt is the CEO of the IncSlingers, a marketing communication agency based in Austin, Texas. He is a speaker on the topic of Social Media and has a book being published by Pearson Publishing about Social Location Marketing in the Fall of 2010.  He can be found on Twitter as @incslinger.