Social networking isn’t just about reaching a completely new audience, although that is one of the great benefits. You might be surprised to find out just who is a member of the fastest growing social media sensation that is Twitter.

It’s not just old boyfriends and younger siblings. It’s clients, coworkers, business association members and, yes, prospects. If you’re having trouble getting inside the mind of that warm lead, why not find him on Twitter?

“Terrible day. Don’t want to talk to anyone,” he Tweets.  Maybe it’s not the best time to call and see if he’s looked at your proposal.

You spend a lot of time going to networking events, industry dinners and seminars hoping to meet prospects or business connections. Look at social networking as just another one of those events.

Twitter is one big party, or as Havi Brooks (@havi) describes it in her blog, “a fun productivity tool that also doubles as the weirdest but most successful marketing technique ever … and is also a bar.”

There are, of course, rules should you foray into the “business?” “personal?” “both?” realm that is Twitter. Crystal Woods (@crystalsquest) explains them clearly in her post : Top 10 Tips for Twitter … and Life, but the gist is: be yourself, not a billboard.  As explained in my last post, you are on the site to promote your company, but if you use it solely to push your products onto people-just like in real life-they’ll be turned off.

So should you be asking for Twitter handles instead of business cards at your next event? Maybe. Social networking to follow up on leads already in the pipeline just makes you that much more visible, timely and accessible.

All of our discussions about social networking as a lead generation strategy are great, but it begs the questions: Does it work? Can it convert into sales?

Lead generation is all about spending your time focusing on clients who are ready and willing to buy. That’s not really the case with a broad, shot-in-the-dark approach that many take with social networking. It takes time and effort to constantly update your social networks, and to what end?

On Twitter (plug: follow us @bizmanualz), it seems like you’re screaming your message in a giant chasm and hoping someone will hear you. Maybe you’ll drive someone to your website or blog. Maybe, if you’re very lucky, you’ll be “retweeted” by a fellow Tweeter with an expansive network.

On Facebook, it’s much the same. You can target certain people by searching out groups that apply to what you’re selling and inviting them to your fan page. But you really know nothing about your prospects other than maybe they have too much time on their hands.

But the problem is in the approach.

You can’t take the networking part out of social networking. If all you’re doing is pushing your product onto an unknown audience, they’ll quickly be turned off, or “un-friend” you (gasp!). But if you become part of the conversation and offer them something of value, whether it is your blog or simply pointing to an interesting article you read this morning, they’re much more likely trust you and participate.

Of course, as with face-to-face networking, social networking is as much about the relationship and conversation as it is about then leveraging that relationship into something positive for your company. No one wants to do business with an unknown. The more you get your brand out there and form trusting, mutually beneficial relationships, the better.

Social networks simplify and amplify that process. How is it working for you?

We’ve been working on increasing our social networking for the past month or so now, and it’s been a lot of fun. The discussion on Twitter has been great, and we’ve “met” a lot of interesting people. Our Facebook fan page has grown, and we’ve been pleased to acquire quite the international fan base.

And now I present: The Bizmanualz Social Media Page. We wanted a place on our website where users could find all of our social networking activities in one place. Each icon links to that particular social media site and explains a little bit about what we offer there.

Well, maybe it’s not social networking on a full scale, but the implementation of a new blog at whitehouse.gov is certainly a change in communication style and presence. In one of the administration’s first posts, the writer outlines the reasoning behind launching the new blog, and the  benefits are similar for any business starting one.

2) Transparency: Trust is key. And while not every bit of minutia within your organization is the public’s business, the more open and honest you are with customers and blog readers, the more they will come back to you with their needs.

3) Participation: This is perhaps the most important reason I blog often. I want to hear from our customers with ideas, ways we can improve, questions related to our blog and article topics, and simply to put a name with a reader.

In our articles, we try to offer useful tips and advice about business best practices, but here in our blog,  it’s more about connecting with you, the reader. So share your thoughts and ideas, even if you disagree! The more discussion, the better.

TwiTip.com has an interesting blog posted about the pros and cons of social networking giants Facebook and Twitter.

While it doesn’t specifically address using the tools for promoting your company, it does include helpful tips if your company is trying to decide between the two, or whether to enter the social networking fray at all.

Bizmanualz has been experimenting with both, as well as with LinkedIn. You can find us on our Facebook fan page, join our LinkedIn group, or follow us on Twitter (@bizmanualz).

It’s still too early to gauge how much success we’ll have in these social networking groups, but it certainly has been fun connecting with customers and others in the operational improvement and quality management fields.

My advice to other companies looking to expand onto these third-party sites: don’t think about it too much; just start doing it. It doesn’t have to take much time, and best of all, it’s free. Experiment a bit and see if it works for you! And I’ll continue to update you on how it’s working for us.

Stay tuned!

Yes, we’ve gotten sucked into the Facebook world! Become one of our fans here and stay connected to see all of these blog posts, informative articles, training class updates, new products, and, coming soon, photos and videos, all in one convenient place! Connect with the authors of these blogs to continue the conversation.

Coming from a journalism background, I’m a big fan of social networking and I’m excited about the move, as are my coworkers here at Bizmanualz. We aim to find as many outlets as possible to share information about business improvement and quality management, and we love the discussions. But I can understand the hesitancy of some companies to enter into the unknown with all the transparency and percieved amount of control loss that comes with putting it all out there.

What do you think? What are the benefits for your company? And on the flip side, is it really possible these days to not have some sort of presence in the social networking sphere?