One Entrepreneur On Social Networking: Arsene Hodali

This is part of a series called "The Entrepreneurs on Social Networking."  This interview is with Arsene Hodali.

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.)?

Social networking is by far the best answer to that age old question "How can we get my customers to LOVE our business?"  No matter how big a business is social media is the conduit to be able to connect with customers on a personal level – to make them feel and know that the company cares.  Over time, if you show them enough love, they’ll become life long fans.  It can be compared to your local small coffee store manager; you know, the one that knows your name and your favorite order by heart. Why do you think you visit it so often?! Because they took the time to know you as an individual; you aren't a number to them, and that means a lot.

Social networking thus is a great way to build a web presence. Once you've shown a few customers that you care about them (and not just about their money), they'll spread the word, building your web presence for you. They'll tell all their friends and colleagues just how amazing your business is and how great it was working with you.  And trust me, it's not a fad. Hugh MacLeod said it best when he said "Business is socializing with purpose."  To keep and attract customers, companies need to build a “tribe” of people that become “super fans”.  Take 37signals for example. They're a tech business, but they blog about their innovations and discoveries on a daily basis. Yes, even their competition has access to their information. But it doesn't matter. With this sort of openness, their customers will pick them over their competition every single time.

Of course some social media tactics are exaggerated, like "follower counts" on Twitter and Facebook.  A high follower count is useless if none of them are interacting with your business. I'd take a business with 500 followers that interacts with 400 of them, over one with 500,000 followers that interacts with 300 of them, any day of the week.

What have been your biggest challenges with social networking?

It takes an ENORMOUS amount of time before seeing any return on "investment". One day without realizing it, you have the best ROI in your industry because of all the time you put in, but sadly, few are willing to put in that much time.

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

Perseverance, passion, and heart.

You'll need perseverance for the long hard road you'll have in the beginning with no ROI.  You'll need passion when you're talking about your company/products because people will be able to sense when you really care about your products, and when you don't.  And you'll need heart when your talking with your customers. You're going to have to see things from their perspectives, and most businesses can't do this because their too busy thinking about their own profits, their own margins, their own costs, etc. etc.

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

A dedicated one hour a day on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (Twitter the most); mandatory. Nobody is going to listen to you if you show up once a month. You have to show up and talk with your customers/fans every single day. They're the ones supporting your business with their hard earned money. An hour a day helping them and answering their questions isn't too much to ask.

Any final thoughts on social networking?

Connecting with millions, if not billions, of people a day is pointless if you have nothing of value to offer them.  Build a great company. Build great products. Have great employees. And then focus on social networking.  If you focus on social networking without these things, people will tell that your blowing smoke and that you have nothing to offer… sand then they turn to your competition.

Arsene Hodali is, in few words, a social media addict. Self-taught, he is the social media manager at RemoteStylist.com (the global hub for home decor). He blogs daily and shares way too much information on his twitter account.

One Entrepreneur On Social Networking: Derrick M. Guest

This is part of a series called "The Entrepreneurs on Social Networking."  This interview is with Derrick M. Guest.

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.)? 

Social networking is the best way to advertise and market your events, products and services.  A great way to build your brand and your customer base.  A great way to find your target market.  I believe that having an online presences is the best way to market your business it is vitally important to the survival of your business.
 
What have been your biggest challenges with social networking?

Not having enough time to be on the sites everyday and run the business.
 
What have been your keys to success when it comes to social networking? 

Building my online presences, building a core group of business owners and entrepreneurs that will pass on my information, sales coupons, events announcements and recommending my business to their core audiences.   I built up a online relationships with people that I've never physically met but have done so much for my business, because of this my business was in Black Enterprise and Essences Magazine just on building relationships online.
 
Do you have any techniques or routines that help you succeed with social networking? 

I'm on it almost every day.  I make sure that I answer my networking friends post.  I send referrals.  I give advice, and I engage in personal relationship.  Very rarely do I sell on line.  I make sure that I get my friends contact information and ask them if I can put them on my newsletter mailings list.
 
How important is social networking to the success of your business?

It is vital.  If you are not building an online presence, you are playing business owner.  You are not serious about building your business.
 
Any final thoughts on social networking? 

Social networking has helped my business tremendously.  Marketing and advertising online is going to be around a very long time.

Derrick M. Guest, CEO and Founder of Griot’s Roll Film Production & Services Inc.,  started Griot's Roll in 2004, which focuses on video production, video editing, video marketing and video consulting.  Mr. Guest teaches small business owners for Project Enterprise a organization that helps start up business owners and entrepreneurs learn how to marketing, advertise and grow their business.  Derrick is a volunteer for Pencil Partnership and the Eagle Academy for Boys, helping young people learn the art of making videos.  You can view all of Derrick Videos and Blogs on his Ning network or on the Facebook fan page.

One Entrepreneur On Social Networking: Adrienne Graham

This is part of a series called "The Entrepreneurs on Social Networking."  This interview is with Adrienne Graham.

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.)?

I believe social networking is whatever you need it to be. For today’s business owner, I think it is vitally important that they be part of the process. While it isn’t necessary for each and every business to be involved in social networking, the companies that are have a distinct advantage. They get to see what their customers (and potential customers) are saying about them. Social networking allows you an observers view into the conversations about your business and gives you a chance to publicly fix problems and request feedback. It can also serve as a platform to test new products and services. It is no longer just a way for unproductive people to kill time waiting to clock out at the end of their work day. People are having real conversations and collaborating to create new business ventures and opportunities. The important thing to remember is to remember it is a tool and an ever changing one at that.

What have been your biggest challenges with social networking?

My biggest challenge hasn’t been with social networking as much as it’s been with the people who use it. One example it getting people in my social networks to have dialog beyond the initial sign up. A lot of people are either new to or afraid of social networking and don’t know how to navigate for fear losing privacy or being overwhelmed. It’s up to me to educate them and make them comfortable in using the social networks as a tool to communicate and ask for what they need. Another challenge I have is stepping out from the masses. There are so many new social networks popping up all the time, the onus falls on me to keep my networks active. People are on overload and because the so-called experts keep telling them how to monetize these networks, they feel like they’re being sold to. People like me have to continue to show the value in being part of a solid and active social network and disregard the “background noise”.

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

My keys to success with social networking have been building real relationships and remaining authentic. It’s hard to do that when you’re constantly being told “she who has the most followers is queen”. I position myself as a thought leader and I open myself up to my audience (followers, listeners, friends, etc).  I mostly ask what they want/think/feel/like. I keep the conversations going and in some cases, I start the conversations. I segment my connections. Some are business leaders who I share interesting conversations with about our similar experiences and thoughts. Some are people looking for help or advice who I give of my time to provide answers to their questions. Some are peers who I challenge when I disagree and have meaningful dialog so we can understand one another’s position. Social networking has lead to many media and speaking opportunities for me that would not have happened had I not been as actively engaged.

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

Yes. I set aside specific times during the day to dedicate solely to social networking. I implemented social networking into my overall networking strategy. I make sure that my message is consistent across all of the sites and tools I use. Using tools such as Ping.fm, Hootsuite and other tools that allow me to log in to fewer site, I can post a message, update or a blog post that can be transmitted to various sites. For example, when I schedule a show on my radio show on Blog Talk Radio, I have it set to automatically send a message to Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and my blog. I also make sure to check out what people are talking about and come up with questions or responses to those conversations. That helps to keep the dialog moving. I also make it a point to follow up and continue dialog. Each quarter I send out an update email to let me connections know what’s going on with me. I invite them to update me about their happenings as well. I recently implemented Talk to Me Tuesday. I go on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, etc and ask people to give me a call I they want a quick networking chat or a brief help session (if they have a pressing career or business problem). I also do something called TweetMeTuesday where I invite recruiters to tweet me their jobs so I can retweet them to my followers. In all that I do, I make sure to keep the dialog flowing. It is a process that you have to map out to work for you. Not everyone’s process will be the same.

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

Social networking is very vital to the success of my business. The foundation of my company is networking, social media and technology. So it  is crucial that I maintain the brand and the authenticity that comes with it using social networking. It allows me to keep the company in the forefront of my target audience’s mind and to introduce it to new people I may not have ever met (or not have met as quickly or easily). I practice what I preach and maintain authentic social networking relationships.

Any final thoughts on social networking?

Don’t over think it. You don’t have to join every site or use every tool. Figure out where your audience is and go there. Be cognizant of the conversations and make sure you’re  providing valuable contributions and not just trying to shove information or your products/services down people’s throats. Be part of the dialog but don’t dominate it. Pay attention to what people need then deliver. Don’t be afraid of it because you can control how much and what you share.

Adrienne Graham is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of TWO companies. She is the CEO & Founder of Empower Me! Corporation, a media, publishing and professional development organization for the upwardly mobile professional woman. She is the voice behind Views From the Top Radio Show and the creative social media visionary responsible for creating Empower Me! Radio, Empower Me Institute, Fearless Woman Magazine, & Empowered Woman TV. She has taken what started as a small professional network for women, and turned into an international multimedia and networking power brand. Graham is also CEO of Hues Consulting & Management, Inc, a diversity recruitment consulting firm.