Seth Godin on the pitfalls of B2B social networking

I came across a set of new videos on Seth Godin’s blog. One of the videos, on using social networking sites for business, was particularly interesting.

With typical clarity Godin cuts straight to the heart of the matter: any networking should be about making genuine actionable connections with people. It’s the quality and depth of the relationships within a network, rather than the size of it, that makes difference in business performance.

But in the same breath B2B social networking shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand since it depends on how a business’s social networking is managed. The central issue is whether or not there’s an online networking strategy in place that can benefit the business in concrete terms. How are you measuring networking success? Do the connections you make online further your overall business objectives? Are there methods in place to leverage the fleeting contact and attention gained by initial contact through an online social network? Is your business’s social networking selective and targeted? Is there some way you can add value to the interactions you and a potential partner have online?

When someone reads your business’s profile or interacts with your content their attention, for a few moments only, is totally focused on your company’s space. It’s up to each business to figure out the best way of maximising the potential of that contact. It’s not a question of whether or not it’s possible to build an online network. Rather, it’s a question of whether or not your business has the framework in place to utilise that network in the best possible way.

(First posted, August 5 2009 on viralmojo.net)