We started using more social networking tools for business about a year ago. The learning curve has been steep, but in many ways, quite fulfilling.
Although I do use them as relationship building tools for business, I still consider myself a novice in the Facebook and Twitter arena. Today two things happened that gave me reason to pause and rethink on that point.
First I noticed a link to our blog from a listing on a search engine powered by Twitter. Three Twitter accounts were listed that had ‘tweeted’ our previous blog post, one of which was my account. Each Twitter user on that list was tagged – the other two as ‘Influential’ and my account as ‘Highly Influential’. My first reaction was to have a little ‘pat-myself-on-the-back’ moment. There’s a guilty moment of smugness when you can’t help feeling quite pleased with yourself. But, in reality this is a software generated tag calculated on a range of criteria that are applied to every Twitter account. All it does in fact tell you is that I’m an ‘OK’ user of the tool- not that I can consider myself an ‘influencer’ in any way. But the good news, in real terms, is that it means I’m using the tool reasonably effectively.
My second incident was a conversation I had with Natalie at the Highlands Company. Highlands is great at helping affiliates to use their assessment to grow their business. This is something we’ve always done with consultants who use our 360 feedback and survey services. After all, it makes sense. If your business grows, you’re more likely to be a good customer for us as well. And if we’re in the business of helping people to develop, why not extend that to helping our customers develop their businesses and their business skills where we can do so? I think this shared approach is what makes our partnership with the people at Highlands so great.
Natalie and I discussed themes in their upcoming series of regular conference call sessions to help affiliates. In this particular case, using online tools to market their business. We talked about what we’ve been doing at Engauge, and I was very pleased to be invited to take part in the conference call on Friday 5th to share information.
I was reminded of a post I wrote a short while ago on Imposter Syndrome which was so eloquently described by Suzanne Doyle-Morris on her blog. It’s strange how we drop back into the habit of thinking we are less capable than we are – even when we know there’s a tendency to think this way without cause.
We’re inclined to think that we need to know everything before we take the leap and try something new. I challenge that view. Some people need more knowledge than others in order to feel confident leaping in to something new, but the important point is to actually take the leap. We can all learn as we go along, and in the case of the web, it is a generous world when it comes to providing resource and help to people who are ‘newbies’. You can’t break it. The only way it can harm you is if you post something ill-advised online. (Rule of thumb – if you wouldn’t want to see it printed in your local newspaper, don’t post it anywhere online!)
So in my view, the most critical business skill you possess is the confidence to try something new. Leap in and have a go. It’s empowering. It’s exhilarating. And once you’ve done it often enough, you’ll fall in love with it. The sense of satisfaction in learning a new skill or mastering a new tool that will help your business grow is fantastic.
If you’re running your own consulting or coaching business, you’ve really already done it. You’ve taken the leap and made it work. So, how hard can it be?
Photo Credit: Lepiaf.Geo
Article by Vandy Massey
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