subject: Do you have time for Social Media? [print this page] Do you have time for Social Media? Do you have time for Social Media?
Everyone's on Twitter these days, it seems, tweeting about [/caption] everything from what they're drinking mid-morning to who they're meeting (especially if it's a Very Important Person) or sending out chunks of advice in 140 characters or less. Facebook is everywhere too and what a timewaster that can be (but not a waste of time I may add), with Farmville, Causes, searching for people you hated at school, uploading photos and catching up with your friends' news and views. Ditto LinkedIn, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon and the rest. Not to mention blogging.
Surely there's more to life than social media? Of course.
But it's being used very effectively to disseminate all sorts of messages really fast, such as Hugh's Fish Fight or the recent uprisings across the Arab world. And it can be used equally effectively to spread the message about your business. Tools such as Tweetdeck, which allows you to schedule your tweets for specific times, make the process much easier. You write your piece(s) in your down time, when you've got the space to think freely about what you really want to say, and it publishes your pearls at whatever time you set. A word of advice on this: some tweeters have the same message published over and over again. Don't Do This! It's supposed to ensure that your readers will always catch the message as it flies past on the ether. In fact it bores them silly if, like me, they check their tweets once or twice a day and find their page clogged up with twenty versions of the same message. I un-follow such "communicators" instantly and I doubt I'm alone. The same applies to sales messages - don't keep putting out a sales message to your followers - you have to create and distribute engaging content.
Don't try social media until you get just that - it's not a sales tool!
Your business Facebook page can double as a website, achieving more interaction daily than most sites get in weeks or months. Those who "like" you pass the word on automatically to all their friends and your message goes viral very quickly, especially if you're selling consumer goods (e.g. The Scarlet Bakery). It takes a bit longer for business-to-business service providers, but it provides yet another link back to your real website and helps keep your profile raised. Many people who don't interact regularly on social media sites are still taking notice of what you say and do so remember there are "lurkers" out there watching and listening. Business-to-business providers should definitely have a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a more serious site, with the emphasis on doing business, making contacts, asking for introductions real social networking. It works on the "six degrees of separation" someone you're already connected to is bound to be able to put you in touch with someone else who knows the person you're really trying to contact. There are also specialist groups where information and advice can be shared, though these can be just as time-wasting as any other forum. So do you have time for social media? I don't think that's a valid question any more. Even if you only spend half an hour a day on it, increasingly you've got to be out there, whatever line of business you're in. Ten years ago a website was optional, now you're not taken seriously as a business if you don't have one. The businesses that use social media now will be way ahead of the pack in another five years, when it's become as vital a part of marketing as a website is now. It's not hard to learn the ropes, so just start! Why not come along and learn the social media ropes at one of my Social Media Workshops - contact me for the next dates.
