Technology is the servant of strategy: Social networking and business revisited

First off, can I draw your attention to this neat Shelfari widget over on the right? Scroll down a bit. There. Secondly, can I point you in the way of Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson? It's a really useful (and easy) read for anybody working on a web project (especially project stakeholders) and its recommendations will help ensure content is not a last minute panic. The Nixon book is most excellent too. I'll try to keep the shelf stocked with interesting web stuff, but don't be too surprised if US politics crops up there too.

'Technology is the servant of strategy' is the mantra of Number 8 Web Management. Do what works, do more of what works and then do what works better. If technology starts to take the lead over strategy, there will be tears.

I was speaking to a local business owner the other day about his use of Twitter. He seemed to have it pretty much sorted. He needs to build relationships with his customers and Twitter offers him a good channel to do this out of hours. A few minutes at the end of the day - a few sales and some useful contacts made. Marvelous.

And that seems about right. A tool which extends a big selling point of the business (customer service), conveys the tone of voice of the brand, and provides useful information. The time it takes is in proportion to the results it achieves.

As I see it, the big problem for small business adopting social networking as part of their marketing strategy is the near impossible task of planning. 'Planning', we are told, is the secret of building a successful business. I heard a speaker on this topic recently talking about how your message on <insert name of social networking platform here> could be seen by several gazillion people within seconds. Great. But I'm going to struggle to resource any kind of response to that.

I hear a lot of people say '<insert name of social networking platform here> is there, therefore your business must be there too'. Not so. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Yes, it makes sense to be where your customers are but do they expect to find you there? Do they welcome you there?

So, to summarise my findings over the past week:

• Yep, social networking sites can work if there's a good match for your business and your brand.
• There are a lot of these sites out there. Be selective on what you use.
• Plan what you're going to say. And what you're going to say next.
• Manage the time spent carefully.
• Can you adapt your tone to the site? If not, should you be there at all?

Okay, I'm not quite the sceptic I was a week or so ago. I guess it's all about proportion. No doubt the Twitterati will take the events in Egypt last week as being proof positive that you can change the world in 140 characters. Yep, no doubt about it, an incredible example of effective communication. Of course the other 'trend' listed on Twitter at the same time as the uprising was about ... tomatoes.

Proportion. That's the key.

More soon.