Using Social Media to Give Thanks

It’s that time of year when many people are posting online about being thankful for their friends and family. While it’s great to see this, I’d argue that it’s a great business practice to do this year round!

I’ve often said that social networking is like “word of mouth on steroids.” Why not use these platforms to tell your friends and followers that you are satisfied with a product or service? If you had a great meeting with someone, attended a good seminar or read a terrific blog post, tell everyone about it!

It’s also important to say thanks when someone pays you a compliment online. Acknowledge those who retweet your posts or share your information on Facebook. It only takes a moment and truly does mean a lot. Not only are you thanking them, you’re showing your connections that you’re a gracious businessperson.

One of my pet peeves is when bloggers don’t recognize people who comment on their posts. People are very busy and are inundated with information from all around them. When they take the time to read a post, and then to respond, they deserve to be thanked. It only takes a couple of seconds, but it’s amazing how many blogs I see where the author never acknowledges a single responder. If you’re a blogger, use this as an opportunity to truly show that you appreciate your readers’ support. They can just as easily go elsewhere for their information.

I post links to my blog posts, my videos and other articles I think are beneficial on LinkedIn. I also post this information to quite a few of the Groups I belong to on LinkedIn. When someone comments, I receive an email and I always thank them for their input—even if they are sometimes disagreeing with me! Because I’m often not directly connected with the person on LinkedIn who responded, it’s a great way to expand my business relationships.

If you’re using social media to promote your business, in order to be successful you have to build relationships. It’s not about just getting as many connections as you can and dumping information on them. You want people to say good things about you! Thanking them for their support is absolutely critical in this process.

When we were little, we were taught to say “Please” and “Thank You.” We’ll all be more successful—in business and in life—if we remember how important these two statements are.

So, what do you think? If you comment on a blog and it’s not acknowledged, do you care? Do you use social media to tell people about great businesses and great people?