It’s an age-old question: is it better to have lots and lots of contacts or just a handful of good ones? Gina Schreck and I just talked about this on my radio program. This question is especially pertinent for people who use social media for business. Is it better to have thousands and thousands of connections…or to really focus on connecting with just the “right” people?
My answer is “yes”! Confusing, right? Let me explain.
Connecting with people just to say “I’m connected with 10,000 people” really isn’t beneficial—especially if 9,999 of those people have absolutely no intention of ever doing business with you or telling their connections to work with you. One of the biggest scams are the companies who will sell you a “list” of Twitter or Facebook followers…usually in the thousands. They may qualify it by saying they will give you names of people in your area, but with so many people using social media, this is worthless. This would be like calling every single number in a major metro area telephone book, hoping that you’ll get lucky with some of the calls. It’s a waste of time…and money.
As I’ve said over and over again, to be successful on social media, you have to develop relationships with people…AND these people need to be interested in you to start with! Just randomly connecting to simply drive your numbers up isn’t the way to go about this. You may get lucky with some good contacts, but the majority won’t really care about you and your message.
Developing quality connections is what you should strive for. Mind you, the actual number is a totally personal decision. For some, it may be under a hundred, but for someone else, it may be much more.
In determining who you’ll connect with, be sure you know who your target audience is. What are their demographics? You may only want to connect with people in a specific location, in a specific industry or so on. For example, a quick look at the people who “Like” my Facebook Page shows that 69% are women and 55% are over 45 years old. This is great for me…but I’d also like to have more younger people like my Page, too.
However, I caution against focusing exclusively on specific demographics. While it’s great to be focused, it’s also good to remember that you never know who your connections are connected to! While someone might not buy your product or service, it doesn’t mean they might not know someone who would.
As I said, confusing, right? The key is to figure out what works best for you. You may have to tweak it and make adjustments, but don’t be swayed by someone who is going to give you a “quick fix” or insists that their way is better. It’s just like building your network in the real world—some people have thousands of business cards from people they’ve met while others have just a select group of people.
I’d love to get your thoughts on this. Please comment below!
Good topic – better is what works to transport you forward. Numbers are important, but the smaller the business, the smaller the key numbers to view. The most important number – cash in bank. Know thyself – do you retrieve a lot from the few or a little from the many. Pursue what works best.
Rich
Rich – You’re so right. People get caught up in the numbers and forget what’s really important. Or, they are unsure about how to proceed and follow good advice. “Gut instinct” should always be the best guide!
I have a small business, Columbine Embroidery. I do all the work myself. Since there are a limited number of hours in a day that I can work the equipment, there are a limited number of customers I can service. So I want to spend my limited time on the few great customers that I can service in the best way possible. That means there are times when I’m not quite as busy as I could be, but then I usually have the capacity to meet the needs of my great customers when they do need something. Quality over Quantity!
Susan – Your strategy is great! The worst thing for you would be to have “too many” and have to turn business away. The best thing is tthat you have quality contacts, in the exact quantity you need!
This is also a relevant question when it comes to other social media efforts; blogs, website, etc. I think it depends on the individual and the business. What works for me, certainly may not work for you other women business owners. From my perspective, I have found a level of contacts that allow me to continue grow my business while still being fully involved with my family (my post important goal and focus in my life). Great post and discussion, like always.
I think we get hung up on thinking “quantity” means some big number. It really should just mean a number that we’re comfortable with! Clearly, you’ve found the quantity – and quality – of contacts that work best for you.