Last month, I ran a poll asking what everyone thought about befriending competitors on social networking sites.  Despite the fact that many businesses fear competitors or malicious copy-cats who watch their every move online, 66% said “Yes,” 26% said “It Depends,” and only 8% said “No” to befriending competitors on social networks.

If you are not engaging with competitors online you are missing the real point of social media and its many benefits.  You should be embracing the opportunity to converse and establish relationships with competitors who could help leverage your success online.

Below are three major reasons you shouldn’t ignore competitors on social networking sites:

Market Research

Monitoring what your competitors are doing online will help you figure out their strengths and weaknesses as well as identify any opportunities and threats.  What better way to discover what they excel at and what holes they have in their strategy than befriending them on social networks. (more…)