Business development and social media haven't always played nice. Mainly, because the early adopters were open-source evangelists, resistant to pitches, and had a broad definition of what could be considered "spam".

Today? The landscape has changed considerably. Marketing, Public Relations and Human Resources have all found a way in which to utilize social techniques to enhance and diversify their abilities and offerings. Thus, shouldn't business development be primed for a similar reboot?

Absolutely, but it's going to require a retooling of sorts for business development practitioners to become successful. It's in that vein that I've decided to put together a guide for those seeking to make use of these new tools.

Do:

1. Demonstrate your expertise.

Show what you know and how you work through concepts. The more interesting and helpful your content? The more likely a potential customer will come back and seek you out for more information around that particular subject.

"Anyone can show beautiful work or well designed wireframes, but it's when you showcase your passion and enthusiasm that magic happens. Expertise can show knowledge, but passion shows innovation. If you're a geeky tech firm, show the client how excited you about the newest gadget coming out. If you specialize in social media, nerd out about the rise of Tumblr" ~ Mike Germano, Carrot Creative

2. Share relevant case studies and information you find.

If you find something interesting? Share it. This applies to both your own case studies AND your competitors. The source of the information isn't important. What is? Your ability to discern what is helpful and what isn't helpful. Link out accordingly.

3. Target your posts around key client/potential client issues.

Does your company have a point of view on a key issue facing a potential client? Could someone write one or share one if a POV doesn't exist? Absolutely. Research, write and share useful information about relevant sources of information to a potential client. Example: Pitching Sears? Research and write a blog post on how you would handle one of their biggest issues. (Don't explicitly name names though. Write industry wide recommendations as to not tip your hand.)

Whether it be P&G, Skittles, or examples of brands that most of us applaud such as Zappos, I hope you see the writing on the wall here. Brands will actively engage on the social web by doing—and learn in the process. They can't sit on the sidelines anymore. The social web only kicks in AFTER something is put into the space. Just like I launched this blog in 2006. All of the effort came AFTER the launch. Listen. Learn. Adapt. This is what I believe in. ~ David Armano talking about the P&G Digital Hack Night

4. Respect the rules of social engagement.

Communities (especially online ones) are extremely resistant to any attempt to subvert or use them for one's own personal gain. Thus, you need to be careful that you are transparent and honest about your intentions. Any failure to do so will end up causing more harm than good.

All bloggers aren’t the same. Big numbers don’t mean big response. Just because someone writes about X doesn’t mean that your product is actually X to them. Bloggers can be fickle and often work to the beat of their own drum.

I get dozens of pitches a day. I delete almost all of them unread, unless I know the person, and then half the time, I delete those, too. The reason is that people aren’t considering what I write about before pitching to me. I rarely ever cover software here, so if you’re showing me a software story, it damned well better have a human angle. ~ Chris Brogan

5. Show your personality.

You're probably in sales for a reason. It's likely that you know how to deal well with people and engage them on a regular basis. Let your personality come through via your online persona and writing. This way when potential clients call? They'll already feel like they know you.

"Everyone hears how they should set expectations about business, but you should also set them about personalities. Nothing is worse than signing on with a client or agency that has conflicting temperaments. Social media allows you a peak into the attitudes and dispositions of those you're about to sign on board with. Carrot tries to make those matches happen by signing on with energetic companies like The Onion or Crayola. It keeps us true to our culture and our employees stay happy." ~ Mike Germano, Carrot Creative

Don't:

1. Be afraid to not know the answer.

This is huge. No one expects you to know all the answers to everything. However, you should be able to find that answer within a 1-2 day time frame. Utilize internal help and expertise to help you in this pursuit.

If your brand is healthy and people generally think positive things about your organization, well-targeted communications along interruption and destination-based lines may be well received. However, if your brand has little equity and people are distrustful, it may be that you have more to gain from other social media approaches than healthy brands.

Why?

Because the bar is set low. ~ David Fleet

2. Pour gasoline on a fire.

Did someone say something negative about your company? Before you go in and start shooting, make sure that you've asked permission, are authorized to speak on behalf of the company/agency or have the go ahead from corporate communications. Creating a simple social media guideline is often the best solution to solving these sorts of issues.

Example of how to do it right courtesy of Pete Cashmore on Adam Singer's post:

Hey Adam,
I love this kind of post cos it helps us figure out what we can do better. Obviously I’m not in full agreement with your points, but I’d love to get your take (and the commenters’, if they can spare a moment) on what we could do to improve in your eyes. Some questions for you:
–What’s the one thing Mashable could change to make the biggest improvement, do you think?
–With regard to brand identity: what do you see as the opportunity here? What type of content would improve this perception?
–Do you have suggestions for the types of guest posters you’d like to see? Who would add the most value here, do you think? Specific names would be super helpful, but even a broader set of suggestions would give me some action items to work with.
–Do you have further suggestions for improvement not mentioned above?

Thanks in advance Adam!
–Pete

3. Be a corporate shill.

Nothing is worse than a blog that reads like a press page. Press releases aren't blog posts. You need to put your own unique and succinct spin on the topics that your clients are interested in. Also, NEVER have a direct call to action in a post. (Calls to action based off of engagement are fine. Just don't sell in a blog post.)

The worst thing you can do on a social network is just talk about business. Remember that many folks want to leave business at the office. Use social networks to find common ground and get to know each other. When you feel comfortable that a relationship is developing, then throw in the business. ~ Don Reisinger

4. Share inappropriate personal information.

While this should be fairly obvious, it merits mentioning because far to many people are guilty of sharing irrelevant, highly personal information with the world. Your job by its very nature is client facing, think before you type.

The key is to choose your audience. Don’t just share everything to Twitter just because you can – chances are you’ll lose followers and irritate those who stick around. Leo Laporte, for example, tweets his weight from a dedicated Twitter account which you can follow if you’re really interested in what a Californian podcaster weighs.

Give your audience a choice, don’t spam them and you can share anything without worry of people crying “Dude! Too much information!” ~ Martin Bryant

5. Be inconsistent.

Once you start engaging? You won't be able to suddenly turn off the fire hose. Manage your time effectively, be realistic and communicate your humanity to those wishing to engage you 24/7. If you can do so? You'll be incredibly effective.

Whenever your audience clamors for more writing from you, don’t fret. Take it for what it is: a compliment to the quality of work we’ve come to expect from you. Now, stop reading this and go write something. Please. ~ Chris Brogan on "The importance of consistent blog content"

Photo Credits: intersectionconsulting, kk, 27128437@N07

tagged as biz dev blogging, blogging for business development, converting blog traffic, marketing for conversions, social media sales