Once upon a time, going to a party or having a drink at the end of the week was considered social networking.

Today, too many marketers, agencies, and advisers think that setting up a Facebook or Myspace page, a Linkedin profile, a Squidoo Lens, or tweeting on Twitter makes them a social networking expert.

Social networking sites and applications are designed to bring people together online, and, employed wisely, they can be good tools for building online communities. However, this is only one element of an effective “social networking” program.

Excepting a few very unique business models (amazon perhaps) – all social networking programs, and in fact ALL marketing programs, must ultimately involve human interaction. Facebook and others are good at sorting people and helping similar birds of the same feather find their flock.

Bringing people together online is an important step, but the next step is to create opportunities for touchpoints. Principals and/or their representatives need to meet, diagnose problems, propose solutions, build relationship, and establish trust.

Trust, is required to inspire action.

It’s fun and easy to join online groups, post comments on blogs, and share thoughts and ideas. But the proliferation of spam filters, firewalls, and virus scanners are evidence that while cyberspace is fun, good sense dictates that you’re not taking anyone home to meet your mother until you’ve checked them out first.

So go ahead, get social. Just don’t forget the feel of a firm handshake.

Posted by: Steve Banis