Five reasons to Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook: The new PR

March 13, 9:33 AMPublicity ExaminerCarrol Van Stone

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Nathan Egan

Karl Rove uses Twitter but admitted it is tough to optimize. Learning how to use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twiiter, MySpace, or any other new Web 2.0 software effectively is like trying to program the old VCR – it will make life easier but it's too hard to learn.  And, that's the case here. Beyond creating a log-on and accepting invites by others – most of us are stuck.  And, yet these e-networks and connectivity sites have become essential tools for businesses stay competitive.

Nathan Egan, who holds an MBA from Villanova University’s School Of Business and spent the last year working for LinkedIn, believes every company needs to understand how Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and other Web 2.0 platforms can help businesses build credibility, drive sales, lower operating costs, and increase brand equity.  Egan says static web sites aren’t enough anymore – every business must integrate with these communities and systems to be here, there and everywhere. Web 2.0 online connectivity tools are the only way to make that happen.

As a result of this phenomena which is here to stay -- Nathan Egan was recently hired by Value Prop Interactive to build out their Social Media Strategy consulting  & training practice. According to Egan “We help businesses and individual professionals develop the strategies and skills necessary to effectively leverage these new platforms across a broad spectrum of different business applications… from marketing and business development to talent acquisition and resource management and everything in between.”

Below are his five reasons why every business needs to learn to optimize the new PR of today for tomorrow: 

1. They are free!  Yep, nearly all social programming is available at no cost to the user. Egan coined the phrase “freesourcing” to describe the act of leveraging free web-based resources for your business.?

2. Easy to learn the basics but if you are too busy to figure out the advanced stuff or want it customized for your business, find a service that can show you through webinars, conference calls or online tutorials. Take this seriously, it is your business.

3. Recognize that your connectivity in cyberspace is your virtual real estate and it is accessible by the world 24x7. Strategic use can help build your equity overnight while poor use can be a liability.

4. Stay ahead of your competitors. Read as much as possible about how other businesses are using social media and Web 2.0 technology – be creative and think outside the box to apply their usage back to your own business even if it seems completely unrelated. Everyday new and valuable ideas for using these tools are created.?

5. Participation brings ROI.  Get involved! Don’t just join or sign-up and hope that it will do something for you. Built into the word network is the word “work.”