--- title: Connections and Conversations - Business Social Networking Works description: "Social media is a great way to make connections and begin conversations: Business Social Networking works." image: https://www.toddhockenberry.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/business_social_networking-1.jpg --- [![Todd Hockenberry, Inc.](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2015_NEW_Site/todd-hockenberry-inc.png?width=188&height=75&name=todd-hockenberry-inc.png "Todd Hockenberry, Inc.")](https://www.toddhockenberry.com) ## Welcome to my Blog [Blog Main Page](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/blog) ###### Posted by [Todd Hockenberry](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/blog/author/todd-hockenberry) ● Mar 14, 2010 # Connections and Conversations - Business Social Networking Works Many of you are wondering how to make social media work for you and your business.  I got a great lesson in the power of social media a few months back that culminated in spending an hour smoking a fabulous cigar with an impressive guy named Chris Patterson of [Interchanges.com](http://www.interchanges.com/). My manufacturing clients regularly ask me if they should be ‘on’ social media. They want to know what all the fuss is about and I suspect that they are worried that they might be missing the boat on the next big thing.![business social networking tools](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/business_social_networking-1.jpg?width=360&height=253&name=business_social_networking-1.jpg) My answer is that they should participate if their customers are having conversations using social media. “But blogs are a pain in the butt to write.” “How will I find the time, I’m already so busy.” “Isn’t it all just a bunch of kids doing it, no one actually buys anything?” I read [Alan Weiss’s blog](http://www.contrarianconsulting.com/) about consulting and being a consultant. As “King of Social Media” he wrote a recent post mentioning that he landed his 1st client via social media connections, [Interchanges](http://www.interchanges.com/) run by [Chris Patterson](http://twitter.com/insocialmedia).  I was intrigued by the process and contacted Interchanges mostly out of curiosity. Guess what?  We smoked that cigar, made a connection, and now are working on a very large potential collaboration with an overseas manufacturer looking to launch a hot new product line in North America. If you want to make connections that grow your business and participate in conversations that matter then maybe you should stick your toe in and start finding your way in the social media world. 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