By Amelia Clark
Okay, so we’ve talked about face-to-face networking, social media networking, and some basics about social media and client interactions.  Now its time to connect the dots and talk a little about how to intertwine your face-to-face networking with your business (or personal) social media interactions.

The idea is for the two elements to feed off of one another and grow into some giant, symbiotic pair of monsters.  People you are interacting with face-to-face will feed your social media monster, and the connections you gain through social media will feed your brick and mortar establishment or your website, until they are both so huge someone has to call in the National Guard.  I’m exaggerating for effect, but you get the idea.

As an individual, whether you are out at Meetups, conferences and happy hours to promote yourself or your business, you must put your social media contact information on your business cards.  This includes your Twitter handle if you are using it in a business context, your company’s Facebook URL, your blog address, etc.  I know it seems like a lot to squeeze onto that little square of card stock, but you want to make it as simple as possible for people to find you out there in the social media world.

If you are in charge of a large brand or developing marketing for your company, consider putting Twitter and Facebook information on your more traditional advertising channels.  Print ads, your company’s website, promotions, and email newsletters should all point back to your social media platforms.  Again, you want it to be easy for people to find your company, your brand, and/or your product.

As I’ve said before, it is essential that you interact with people, follow up, and find the social media applications most suited to your needs. To really get the growth started, you can begin offering special deals to followers and running contests online.  Be sure to tell your established customers and clients about the promotions so they can get online and join in. Use the social media interactions as a call to action for customers by offering special incentives to visit your site or come into your establishment.

And, as always, the most important element you have working for you with social media is the ability to listen to both current and potential customers.