From time to time…like, nearly everyday..someone asks me to explain to them what Social Media is all about.  Yes, I know it does seem strange there still being that many people around who do not get how social networking works for business.  However, since I deal a lot with the golf industry there are still a large number in that industry who are struggling with understanding how to use social media correctly.

Frankly, I am seeing a large number of people online still not grasping how to use social media effectively.  WHY?  Well, social media is not an easy concept to grasp for many who feel doing business is a battle between the business person trying to get the consumer to buy something and the consumers not interested in complying.  Things have changed and changed drastically.  Trust is a mandate and those without it will simply go out of business.

For many, understanding concepts unusual to their mainstream thought processes, of taking action in doing something and not having any guarantee they will receive something in return, is hard for them to do.  As a result, many people give up on there being a need for understanding anything that does not produce an immediate return.  In other words, there are a lot of people who give up on using social media since they do not see it immediately accomplishing their goal…making money right NOW!.

Now that the economy is crumbling around them many people are scrambling to using social media as part of their survival.  This is good they are coming on board, but there are things they need to understand about social media before they go too far with a misunderstanding what social media cannot do.

13 Things To Know About Social Media

1. All social media is not the same. Being social on LinkedIn is totally differently than being social on Facebook, which is far different from Twitter, which is all together different from Google Plus (G+).

2. It takes patience and a significant frequency of posting content to build trust with social media.  Take the time needed to build a relationship, not pitching a potential customer.

3. Social media is a tool, not a toy.

4. Use your social spaces as a Business Development communities.  Over time you will be able to target potential clients/customers.

5. Social Media is near worthless if you do not have a Blog. The BLOG is the center of social networking and is where the rubber hits the road.  Blogs are where consumers go to find out who they are dealing with and get a flavor of how they do business. Your blog posts will and should reflect the personality of your business.

6. Use LinkedIn to establish serious business relationships.  Use Facebook to highlight your personal side of life, but keep it professional.  Use Twitter as a reference point to communicate your interests in an effort to draw people to your blogs.  Use YouTube to express your creative talents.  Flickr can be the place to show off your visual interests.  And Google Plus..well, fasten your seat belt when you get to Google +, G+ is just getting started.  With G+ having direct feed to the internet’s only real search engine, it will more than likely be the place to be to get the most recognition of what it is you do and who you are.

7. Join groups in all of your social networks.  Joining in with discussions on common interests draws attention to your intelligence.  People like other people who have something to offer as far as solutions.  Groups are not a place to Sell or pitch a product.

8. Be original or you won’t last very long.  There are a large number of people who says otherwise.  They will tell you should only be focused on pushing a product and not to get caught up in conversations since they don’t produce sales. All these people are trying to do is sell you something.

9. It is okay for your customers to disagree with you in your social spaces.  There are people who are going to disagree with everything anyone says since it draws attention away from your content and reflects it back to them.  Best practice: Have a policy on how to deal with negative comments.  Make sure to reach out to those who support you.  Building a solid customer base should be the goal.

10. The life of a Tweet is about one hour so don’t expect every Tweet to be read.  The best practice on Twitter is to make your presence meaningful.  For now, being on Twitter is part of a business’ collateral.

11. Use tools like Hootsuite.  These tools make it easier to keep track of who may be mentioning you in your social spaces.

12. Make sure you are listening to communities in all of the social spaces you participate in!  Make no mistake; consumers are now in charge more than ever. Pay attention to product ideas, feedback and problems. The best information will come to you through your social network communities.

13. Use all your social spaces to cultivate business leads.  Don’t be shy in asking someone you have gotten to know online if they have any business leads.  Just make sure it is someone you have grown to know, not someone you just met.

There is much more to understanding Social Media.  These are just a few of the things you Should Know if you want to accomplish anything online.

Let me know how I can help

Contact Scot Duke for a Complementary 30 minute Evaluation Session.  When it comes time to check your business’ direction it’s time to talk to someone experienced in business operations.