In the spirit of the holidays, we’ve come up with 12 inspiring and meaningful ways you engage with businesses and professionals in your social media network. Take a few minutes each day to follow through on one of these suggestions, and we guarantee you’ll generate the spirit of generosity among your B2B network.
You can download the full list of social engagement ideas here.
The 12 Days of Social Engagement
ON THE 1ST DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Invite your Facebook friends to like the page of a fellow business owner.
Help spread the word about a great Facebook page that you follow and engage with.
When you are visiting their Facebook page, click on the link “Invite friends to like this Page.” This will bring up your list of friends, and you can send an invite with a click of a button.
Now, it’s not appropriate to invite every friend to like the page. Not everyone will be interested in their Facebook page, and if you do this too often, it will be viewed as spam. However, by looking through your friend list and choosing a select group of people that may truly be interested in their Facebook page, you are sharing value with your network.
This is a great way to pay it forward to a small business that you support.
ON THE 2ND DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Write a recommendation for a connection on LinkedIn.
In our hurried lives, we don’t often take the time to sit down and really let someone know how we appreciate and respect the work that they do. Now’s the time to take ten minutes to write a short LinkedIn recommendation for someone that you’ve worked with recently.
To get to the recommendation section in LinkedIn, it’s easiest to visit the profile of the person you’d like to recommend. From their profile, click on the down arrow next to the “Send a Message” button in their header. You’ll see an option for “Recommend.” After clicking the link, you’ll be asked a couple of questions and given the opportunity to write a free-form recommendation.
ON THE 3RD DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Pin photos from a fellow business owner’s site to your Pinterest Board.
Here’s a great way to help drive traffic to someone’s website if you are a Pinterest user. Visit the website of a fellow business owner that you’d like to support. Look for images that would be interesting to share on Pinterest and add them to a board on your Pinterest site. Pay attention to the description that follows with the image and edit it to reflect your take on the image or resource that you are linking to.
ON THE 4TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Give a sincere compliment or word of thanks to someone on Facebook.
Facebook is a powerful tool in spreading news and here’s a way to share positive news with your network. Think of a person that gave you exceptional service or a business that provided a valuable resource to you. Share the positive feedback and be sure to mention the business or person by tagging them in the post. This will ensure that they see the post as well as their Facebook friends. It’s a fun way to spread some holiday cheer!
ON THE 5TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Introduce two connections on LinkedIn that do now know each other, but should.
The power of LinkedIn is not about who you know, but in who your connections know. Prove this point by introducing two LinkedIn connections that you think could find benefit in getting to know each other.
Maybe, you are just connecting with someone new to the area that you met at a networking event. Look through your network and find a person or two that this person should come to know in the area.
Or, do you know two people that serve the same demographic in non-competing ways? Introduce them so they can share referrals.
These types of introductions are a great way to add value to your network.
ON THE 6TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Write a positive Yelp review about a local business you like.
Retail businesses are at the mercy of online reviews. Often, it is the unsatisfied customer that will take to the internet to leave a review. If you’ve received good service from an establishment, take five minutes to leave a positive review for them on Yelp, Trip Advisor or Google.
Next to frequenting the business, this kind of positive feedback is the best way you can support local business.
ON THE 7TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Send a handwritten card to someone you know, unexpectedly.
In the age of digital, a handwritten, snail-mailed note will stand out with the recipient and add a bright spot to their day. Whether it’s a holiday card or an “I was thinking of you” note, take the time to write and send to someone today. Even better, keep a stack of note cards handy and make it a routine to send at least one card a week in the new year.
ON THE 8TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Refer the services of a business by mentioning them on Twitter.
Twitter is a fast moving social media platform, and one of the best ways to use it is to engage with other users. Mention a business in a tweet that you share. Even better, include a mention of a person on that should give the business some consideration.
ON THE 9TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Invite colleagues who don’t know each other to have coffee with you and introduce them.
You add value to your network by helping them with what they need. So, if you have two colleagues that would be good referral partners or have the possibility of doing business together, invite them both to a coffee meeting. This will make the introduction much more meaningful. The conversation may not get into specifics, but your colleagues can then plan a way to follow up to continue the discussion.
ON THE 10TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Feature a client in a blog post.
If you have a blog on your website, it’s likely that you struggle with content to write about. Consider adding a series of posts that feature your clients. Whether it’s written as a case study of how they’ve benefited from your services or it’s a “Professional of the Month” feature, your client will benefit from the exposure, and you’ll have great content for your website and social media channels.
ON THE 11TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Leave a positive comment on a blog post of someone you admire.
Blog writers spend a lot of time putting together content for their audience. It can be discouraging they don’t see any feedback about what they’ve shared. So, if you’ve taken the time to read a post, take an extra minute to leave a comment on their site. Your feedback will be much appreciated, and you’ll build a stronger relationship with the blog writer.
ON THE 12TH DAY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GIVING:
Help promote an event organized by a non-profit that you support by sharing it on Facebook.
It is the season of giving, and we can’t forget the many organizations that look to this time of year to make their budgets. If a non-profit that you support is hosting an event, share the information on your Facebook timeline. Let others know if you will be attending. Invite others to join you by mentioning them in the post you share.
The Challenge:
I challenge you to do one of these social tasks for the remainder of the month and monitor the feedback that you receive.
- Take note of who noticed what you did?
- What new relationships were formed?
- What old business relationships were rekindled?
- How many coffee meeting results?
- What new leads came your way?
I’d love to hear your results. Please let me know via comments below or by email. Or join the discussion on Facebook.
Will you take my challenge?