ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

Forward this issue to a friend

In today's emerging economy, social capital is replacing monetary capital as the most valuable asset to grow your business. In The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business Tara Hunt explains this trend...

"...There is a great deal of competition in the marketplace. Having lots of social capital will help you stand out: You've really connected with many of your customers, who spread the word in their network, people talk about your product because it is notable, or you have a record of having the best customer service, and customers who have bought elsewhere now go to you because they know they will be treated better. Having high social capital will help you win customers and sell more product.

"It used to work more in the opposite direction. Those with lots of money had more influence. When you had money, you could buy more advertising, which was more influential before the Internet because your message could reach a wider audience than word of mouth. Money still carries clout and you can still buy your way in front of large audiences, but this doesn't guarantee influence.... Those with social capital have tremendous influence. The myriad of social media tools [Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc.] have given people without much money, but with lots of whuffie [social capital], the ability to broadcast messages to large audiences. And because they already have relationships with these audiences, they are more likely to have influence.

---

In this week's Exchange Insta Poll we are surveying readers to see what technology driven social networking tools our field is taking advantage of. Please share your high tech tools and then watch to see what tools the field as a whole embraces.

ExchangeEveryDay

Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.