Mom is Facebook Stalking Me, but it’s Good for Business.

I opened my personal Facebook account a few years ago when Facebook emerged from the “just for college student” phase. I wanted to see what it was all about and thought it would be fun to connect up with old friends and acquaintances. It should be no surprise to anyone paying attention to social media: Facebook has brought new business to Minds On. It brought more business than all of the other forms of social media combined — more that Twitter and more than this blog.

I look at Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as the other social media tools, as an extension of what I’m able to do personally to network, to connect with people, and to learn about what’s going on beyond my physical horizons. And it’s making unexpected people become great advocates and salespeople for Minds On. My mom is one of the best.

Yes, my mom is my biggest fan. She’s the first to praise any accomplishment I post and she’s always there to spread the word. At first I was a little embarrassed, feeling like an eight- year-old playing soccer with his mom cheering on from the sidelines. But guess what? Mom is a people person and that’s what social media is all about. Not only is Mom singing my praises to my friends, but to her friends, too. And her friends all have friends. The effect of Mom “Liking” or replying to my posts magnifies the effect of everything I do. And because of that, I can connect with people I don’t know — people I might never have known without her cheerleading.

Because of my mom, there are dozens of others like her who follow my posts. Every so often, one of them will find themselves talking with one of their acquaintances and hear that a company needs help with their marketing. Another connection is made. They know about Minds On not because I’ve done business with them, but because they know someone that knows my mom. You might be suspicious about some of the hype you hear about social media, but I can give you direct instances of where it works for us and brings us new business.

Passion is contagious. I’m passionate about what we do, and because of that, so is my mom. And you never know when someone, a stranger to you, but not a stranger to someone in your network, might need help with something you do well. They just need a way to find out about you.

I have made those connections. And Minds On is working with new customers because of it.

The power of social media is the power of the network. You may have heard of Metcalfe’s Law. It says that the value of a network is dramatically increased as its number of connections grows. If you have five friends you can make ten connections, but with twelve friends you can make sixty-six connections. As your numbers of connections grow, both the direct ones and those of your friends, you suddenly have a massive and valuable network.

Some people and business are reluctant to dive into social media and Facebook, but they’re missing out on a huge opportunity. When you have the opportunity to grow your network of customers and fans, you should take advantage of it. You never know when one of your customers, friends, and yes, even your mom, may know your next big customer.

And here’s the Minds On page: http://www.facebook.com/MindsOn
And me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomaugustine

What have you learned about social media marketing for your business? Have you found something that works? Are you still struggling and confused, trying to make it work? Give me a call or drop me a line. I’d love to hear about what you’ve tried and I’d be happy to share what’s working for us and for our customers.