The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media

Chapter 8. Social Networks Strengthen Your Social Graph

People have become more accustomed to participating with each other online. The collaboration between CNN and the social network Facebook during President Obama's inauguration is a example of this shift. Not only did CNN live-stream the event over the Internet, but CNN accompanied the coverage with interaction from Facebook. Nearly 19 million people watched the inauguration via the online channel, while hundreds of thousands of Facebook users posted status updates on the sidebar. At the height of the event, 8,500 updates were being posted every minute.

The aim of this chapter is not to chronicle the history of social networking but to discuss practical, actionable ways businesspeople can use social networks to promote their companies, brands, and products.

A few months ago, the software company I serve as the marketing director was contacted by an advertising agency in a distant part of the country. The ad agency was interested in becoming a reseller of our products. When asked how they found us, I assumed they would say they came across us via search. I was hoping so, because we had spent quite a bit of time and effort trying to generate favorable search returns. However, their reply came as an unexpected surprise: they found us via a social network site where I had created a profile.

I can't recall what prompted me to set up a ...