Road Map to Social Media

Do you need a road map for all the Social Media Sites? For most business owners this on-line world is most likely making your head spin and just when you mastered the use of Facebook or Twitter you “StumbleUpon”  about 10 other sites that are up and coming and need your immediate attention.  Are you on Pinterest, Google+, the new and improved MySpace and let’s not forget Vimeo which is competing with Youtube!  Or, are you being left in the dust and worry that it is negatively impacting your business?

The key to success with “social media” for your business is to be social! You can set-up accounts on all of these sites, but if you are not connecting with others and spending at least 80% of your time commenting on what others post, then these sites will not offer the results that many business owners are looking for.   At least 5 times a week I hear a business owner tell me they do not have the time for all of this and they just want to work their business and forget all about social media.  They struggle with a world that wants to know more about them and not just their business and they fight with the reality that this is the new frontier for marketing and it is not going away.

I remember when TV commercials shifted from having famous actors talking about products to when CEO’s stepped boldly on the screen and allowed the world to see who the man or woman was behind the product.   It was hard for me to get local business owners to be in their own TV commercials, but eventually they recognized that by being part of the message they increased the level of exposure for their business and brand and saw a positive impact on sales because they were willing to get in front of the camera and connect with the audience.  On-line social networking is requiring the same thing from owners and CEO’s, you can’t stand in the background and expect your targeted audience to embrace you like someone who steps forward and is willing to share more of themselves with the world.

Road maps on which sites are best suited for your business and directions on how to use each site are easy things to share with you, but as a marketing coach I will tell you that you can’t be absent from the process and to get the same results.  Create a plan on when and where you will participate on these sites, learn some of the tools that make these sites easier to manage, and connect with your future customers!

All my best to your success,

Charlene
“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”