Still Afraid of Social Media?

I avoided social media for as long as I could.  I’d heard people talking about how much they loved Facebook and Twitter, but I dreaded the idea of adding another time commitment to my already overflowing schedule.  Well, whether I like it or not social media is here.  Maybe it’s because of the current atmosphere of fear about the U.S. economy.  People are looking for ways to promote their business without investing so much money.  You probably are, too. 

Social media becomes exponentially more effective as more people use it.  Like the yellow pages.  If only 10% of the businesses in your industry are listed in the yellow pages, most of your customers aren’t going to start with the yellow pages when they are trying to find someone that does what you do.  If nearly everyone in an industry is listed (think pizza delivery), then customers will go there confident that every possible option is presented to them.  If your name isn’t there, you don’t exist.

Because everyone is jumping on the social media bandwagon, that means your customers are going to start viewing the social communities as a complete listing of everyone in your industry.  So like all the plumbers who must pay to be listed in the yellow pages, you must get involved in social media.  Does that mean you need to spend an hour a day on every one of the dozens of sites available?  Thankfully, no.

I suggest sticking with the major players, and if there are niche sites that makes sense for you, join one or two of those as well.  In my world, LinkedIn is one of the top professional networking services, and it’s a must for just about anyone.  Twitter can be very important if your customers are reasonably tech savvy.  Facebook is good if you offer personal services or if a large segment of your customers is under 30.  (Or if you want a large segment of customers under 30!)  MySpace is a must if you are involved in music, but otherwise I advise taking a pass.

It can also be helpful to identify one or two niche communities to get involved with.  I’m involved with a community that defines it’s niche geographically, Smaller Indiana.  On a smaller stage like this your voice carries more weight, and a larger percentage of the participants can be either customers or referral sources for you.  Are there other social media sites you’re wondering about?  Ask me in the comments at the end of this post.

Once you know where you’re participating, just set aside 30 minutes at a time to be online.  If you can do it everyday, that’s ideal, but you can still benefit by getting on less frequently.  Try to make sure you’re doing this at least once a week.  Go to your account and enter information about you and your business.  Invite friends to join the community.  If you find an interesting person, leave them a comment.  Don’t worry that you won’t be able to fill 30 minutes.  These sites are successful because they make it very easy to get involved.

So you’re convinced of the importance social media is going to play in the success of your business over the coming years, but you still aren’t sure how to get started.  Silver Square can get you started with our social media package.