If you belong to the 1 billion people who scroll through Facebook daily, it’s probable that you have one or more of your clients on your ‘friends’ list or, you’ve at least toyed with the idea of accepting a client’s friend request or sending one yourself.

Either way, whether you love it or loathe it, social media has proven to be a very popular communication tool and is here to stay.
Our survey of over 300 UK consultants revealed that 25% said they’re happy to be friends with their clients on social media and that interacting with them would be a technique they would consider to help improve client relationships and retention, but a further 10% told us they would never go down that route.
Given that 44% of consultants also said they would only describe their relationship with their clients as ‘average’ and that 28% said that they would like to have better relationships with their clients we think that social media could do a lot more good than harm. But, let’s weigh up the pros and cons:
Pros
- As well as being a tool to help you communicate quickly with your clients, it is also a platform to project your expertise and offer advice, which clients and new business prospects may see.
- It can be used to expand your network, attract better prospects and win more business.
- Social media can provide you with a more targeted, cost-effective, easy way to advertise.
- People buy from people, especially when it comes to business services, so what better way to build these relationships than by the use of social media.
- You have control over privacy settings, so you can control what your clients and can’t see about you.
- If your business relationship goes belly up there’s always an ‘unfriend’ button.
Cons
- What if you cancelled a meeting with your client and then they see you were at the local boozer watching the footie that same day.
- You may disagree with one of your clients on many political or religious views. Would the fact that they voted #Leave when you voted #Remain affect your business relationship?
In summary
With social media, it’s always best to do your homework and see whether it’s right for you before you jump in at the deep end. It could be a really great relationship building tool if used in the right way.
If you’re keen to learn more about what social media can do for your business and how you can create a better working relationship with your clients, download the full Better Relationships | Better Business report for free here.