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Has the proliferation of social media tempered our desire to get out of the office and build face-to-face (F2F) relationships? Is social media actually making business people less social or simply modeling the new wave of digital communication?

Global Village

As global communication becomes second nature, are business people defaulting to social media to interact locally as well (at the expense of F2F communication)?

Jessica Routier, a Virtual Assistant with IAC Professionals, feels that the convenience of being able to build online relationships with prospects and clients outside your trading area hasn’t eroded the importance of personal networking.

“Social Media has provided a communication portal for online businesses that do a majority of their business with people so far away from them geographically that they will never see them face-to-face anyway,” says Routier. “But I don’t think that social media is taking away from face-to-face interactions – companies that have a majority of their clients in close proximity still realize the value of in-person contact.”

Lance Cordill, an experimental marketing and promotions specialist based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, believes that Social Media has its purpose but that the more time we spend communicating digitally, the less time we have in front of decision makers.

“For people in smaller markets who are ambitious and confident enough to compete with those in larger markets, using electronic social media may be the only practical way to go,” says Cordill. “But, when all is said and done, when it comes showtime…time to actually perform with your product or service, a digital image of such or text can’t replace the real deal.”

Catalyst or Crutch?

Social Media offers a great opportunity for professionals to develop business relationships online and can be a great tool to help initiate face-to-face interaction. On the other hand, it might be a crutch for some business people…making it easy to communicate without having to get out of their comfort zone and meet people face to face. Are businesses using Social Media to pave the way for F2F interaction or as a tool to help them avoid it?

Oscar Trelles, a Technology Director at Domani Studios, an New York based advertsing agency that is dedicated to digital media, feels that Social Media tools are effective and can be used to help build personal relationships online & act as a bridge for face-to-face interaction.

“Social media has enabled contact that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Face-to-face interaction is important, both within a company and in reaching out to existing and potential clients and partners,” says Trelles. “In my own experience, social networks have allowed me to reach out to more people that I could have ever done in person, while making efficient use of my time. Deals are always closed in person, but social networking tools can help getting there faster and more efficiently.”

Liz Ingle, an Account Executive at MeadsDurket, a San Diego branding firm, believes Social Media has a purpose – to help connect people that would otherwise have a hard time meeting face-to-face – But also thinks that Social Media is reducing the number of F2F interactions between business people. She is concerned about some of the negative effects Social Media might be having on our ability to communicate F2F.

“If business people rely to heavily on social media and other forms of electronic communication, they’ll lose skills needed to build interpersonal relationships,” says Ingle. “Business people need to be cognitive of our actions and not allow our relationships to be primarily type based – We need to balance how we communicate and continue our efforts to build relationships through personal experience with our contacts.”

Resistance

Are some industries more apt to engage in Social Media than others? Do certain organizational cultures resist Social Media because they embrace F2F as being more effective or because they are intimidated by the technology or fear of change?

Casey Rhodes, a Senior Communication Specialist, is part of a team that is facing some interesting challenges implementing Social Media at their insurance/financial sector firm.

“Based on my experience and research within this particular culture, I’ve found that employees are actually less receptive to engagement with peers and managers by means of new social media tools,” says Rhodes. “The surveys we’ve conducted (after implementation) show that employees are resistant, or don’t see the value in it, and would much rather communicate and interact face to face.”

Communication Skill Set

Generation Y (b.1980-1995) are the Social Media pioneers. What are the effects of growing up in the midst of a technological renaissance? Is Social Media improving or eroding the communication skill set of the next generation of business people?

Kaitlyn Smeland, an Account Manager at Search Mojo, a SEO/PPC management firm in Charlottesville, VA, wrote a great blog post questioning whether social media is making us anti-social and effecting our communication skills. Here are few excepts:

Oxford neuroscientist Susan Greenfield believes that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter may negatively affect children’s attention spans and social skills: “I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitized and easier screen dialogues”. Greenfield believes young people are no longer as well acquainted with the more direct work involved in face-to-face relationship building; instead they are more comfortable in the faceless, removed world of tweets.

A recent UCLA study at the Memory and Aging Research Center also concludes that “digital natives” (younger people who spend 8.5+ hours per day online) generally display poorer people skills and empathy.

Engagement

Engaging with your target audience is critical whether you use Social Media as a primary form of business communication or as a tool to facilitate F2F interaction.

Deanna Vincent, owner of Boston based Web Content, feels that Social Media, if manged properly, can act as a bridge to more meaningful F2F interactions – but professionals need to get engaged online and invest the time to learn how to use Social Media tools effectively.

“I’m surprised how many successful businesspeople I’ve met recently can’t translate simple social graces into social media, says Vincent. “In order for social media to be engaging, one must BE engaging.”

Vincent suggests Social Media uses try to incorporate some of the following practices into their online interactions in order to try to become “engaging business posters”:

• link out to resources on the web that help solve problems or help people discover new ideas
• add some personal tidbits that tie-in to a business mission – this will allow you to get to know the person even better than F2F would typically allow
• recommend real world events that you will be attending to help convert social-media followers to F2F

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Word of Mouth (WOM) is enigmatic – fairly straightforward and simple to understand yet elusive and difficult to engage, spread and sustain.

Here is are a few ideas/elements that make up word of mouth marketing (I’m sure I’m just scratching the surface with this post so please feel free to add thoughts and ideas to the list by posting a comment):

Viral Capacity

• WOM + Social Media + Global Connectivity + Inexpensive Publishing Tools =Viral Capacity

Consumer Empowerment

• Technology has enabled today’s consumers to voice their opinions and experiences about issues, products/services or brands.
• As a business owner, it’s important to understand the power of WOM
• Embracing an empathetic approach during individual interactions and across all marketing touchpoints can ignite WOM
• Think about your brand experiences as a consumer – who would you talk to about your product/service and what would you say?

Positive Interactions

• WOM is fueled by positive interactions across all your touchpoints (the places where stakeholders come in contact with your brand i.e. website, tradeshow, retail store, customer service desk, etc.)
• Macro: Experiences that stem from organizational elements i.e. company policies, quality standards, etc.
• Micro: Experiences that are impacted by individual interactions i.e. the accommodating customer service rep, the friendly deliver driver.
• The type of macro/micro interactions stakeholders have with your product, service or company will have a big impact on whether WOM occurs…and whether it will be positive or negative.

Lead Generation

• Delivering on your brand promises builds loyalty and trust
• Loyalty and trust leads to WOM
• WOM translates into referrals and sales leads
• Referrals from WOM are cool because they include some inherent trust in your brand passed on from influencers

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