Social networking has more buzz than a swarm of bees these days. More and More individuals and small businesses are  Twittering, friending on Facebook or connecting on LinkedIn. It’s no surprise that small companies have joined this team of worker bees to sweeten their business.

 But if you want to change from a bee to a butterfly you have to network smart to avoid ending up in a sticky mess.

Even if you know how to use social networking in a way that will get you results, it takes time and patience to manage. It’s something which most people can see the value of, but it often falls to the bottom of their to-do list.

Catalyst-3 Founder Sarah Bruns believes firms must provide value and stay current to succeed.  She has some common sense ideas on how to succeed in this new world.  The ideas are especially to small businesses or individual consultants.

It’s Not About You

She explained: “I know an author who has hundreds of people following her on Facebook, and more on Twitter. She just has lots of people reading what she’s writing, but her book has only sold a few copies and it really isn’t helping her promote herself.

She may not be getting the business results she’s looking for. She has a bunch of “friends” but she may not be providing real value to people. She’s done a good job of connecting lots of people with common interests, but other than facilitating a shared hobby, social networking is not really helping to grow your business.”

Bruns says the old school ‘look at me’  advertising no longer works. “There are so many choices it’s like going into a restaurant with a 12 page menu. You’re inundated with ‘look at me’ and it doesn’t work.

But if you add some value, like sharing a useful article or providing some advice, it’s giving out something for free to show you care. It may be a free advert in a way, but it’s also providing value for people.”

To sum up she adds: “If you can shift your goal from ‘It’s all about me’ to ‘What can I do for you?’ it can do wonders for your social networking campaign.”

For more information visit http://www.catalyst-3.com/.