Social Networking and Business Expansion

Most sales and marketing articles these days will tell you to take advantage of social networking sites in order to expand your business. While this advice is great, an important question that remains unanswered in most How-To articles is just how can you use social networking websites to your advantage? The answer lies in understanding social networking etiquette and is something I personally continue to revisit to refine my own approaches as an individual in business and for my overall business.

We all know social networking websites are an excellent way to make new contacts and keep in touch with old ones. However, most people tend get put off if you use the medium to blatantly promote a product or service. A social networking marketing campaign therefore has to be carefully drafted so it doesn’t look like you are on the site only to serve your business interests. This becomes a fine balancing act, and as a business owner I need to know when enough is enough or when I need to push through. If you are uncertain where that fine line is for you and your business, then consulting with a social networking expert is a great place to begin.

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Downside of Social Media?

A tool is as good as its user; that rule applies to social media as well. Though social media is a wonderful and relatively cost-effective marketing tool, it does have a few downsides. Through my experience I have come to realize there are always two sides to every thing, every experience and every exchange. Social media is definitely not an exception to the rule, and the following ideas are just a few alternative perspectives that have come to mind while I have been exploring the wide world of social media.

Time is Money, Honey
Building your social networking pages and writing articles and blogs takes a lot of time and effort. Your business’s brand value depends largely on the kind of content you create. False information, tall and baseless claims, or overtly promotional language can backfire on your business. Therefore, you must use social media with great care. When creating your content, remember it may be the first impression for some and for another confirmation of your brand and message. If you cut corners on the creation process of your message, it may cost you more than just the time it took to create it.

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Goodwill and Social Media

The Internet has provided us with a free platform to market our products and services. Smart marketing, however, involves subtle techniques of convincing people you truly offer the best products or service because you are an expert in your niche. To build this kind of brand value you need to sound authoritative and knowledgeable. For instance, when you send out newsletters and emails, use a tone that says “I know what I am talking about” without sounding arrogant or pompous. Your posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites should also carry the same note of authority.

Sounds great, right? I know; it sounds wonderful to me too! As Therapy in Transition continues to move through the ebb and flow of its journey, I have come not only to live and breathe but also love the idea of social media and what it means to us as an organization. Originally I joined the world of Facebook to connect with family and friends who live at a distance, only to quickly learn that as a business we can also be connecting with current clients, potential clients and strategic partners. But navigating these new waters opened up a whole new world. Here are three concepts I’ve learned as a business owner and would like to share to hopefully allow you to embrace using social media a little more effectively.

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Twitter: It’s “What Are You Doing?” NOT “What Are You Selling?”

Here is guest blogger Jackie Nees' from Integrity Office Solutions newest submission:
Everyone who knows me knows I’m a HUGE Twitter fan. In fact I frequently tell people that I have grown my business significantly over the past several months from Twitter alone. The problem is, when I tell people that their first response is usually, “That’s great! How can I promote MY business on Twitter?” Ah, see? That’s where they are misunderstanding. I never said I was promoting my business, I said I was growing it. Big difference!

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Where has the time gone?

I can not believe it has been two weeks since my last posting here! Where has the time gone? The summer is not just cruising by ... it is jetting by and I can not get over how much I have actually gotten done.

Over the last six weeks I have been averaging 4 - 6 clients a week and it looks like I will be getting some much needed rest over the next little while. This is perfect timing. It never ceases to amaze me how the universe truly supports my higher purpose and journey in life. The next few weeks looks like I will a little lull in the number of clients coming through my door which affords me the time to revamp my website. I got the bug last week while my best girl friend was here visiting with her son and I happen to be up feeding my own son at 3am one morning.

I signed the contract and paid the fee to have a basic template put together for me which looks like it will be ready for me to start filling in content and configuring the members area. Yes ... you are reading that right. Therapy in Transition will be offering the ability for clients to sign up and access the library of information that is used during their sessions and to exchange information with other individuals as well.

We will also be starting a lending library here in the office where individuals and clients will be able to borrow books which seem to be calling out to them. The exact details of the lending library are still being worked on but it will be awesome when it is ready for our clients.

This is a short one but wishing you all a wonderful day and until next time ... Embrace your inner wisdom!

Namaste,
Karen

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Karen Kleinwort
Therapy in Transition LLC
(877) 255-0761

www.therapyintransition.org
info@therapyintransition.org
follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com/kmkleinwort
connect with me on Facebook: Karen Kleinwort

Is there such a thing as too much social networking?

This is a question I ask myself every time I read an article or see a posting about yet another social network which has been established.

From a business perspective I see the value behind social networking ... there are benefits regarding marketing and public relations contacts and introductions to prospective new clients, it allows for those who may be interested to learn about who you are as a person, you can begin to establish yourself as a professional or expert in your field etc. But how many of these is too many for one business/individual to join?

Currently I belong to the following ... Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ladies Who Launch, Blogger. They are all wonderful and fortunately I am able to 'update' and cross connect but through these connections I am learning about more social networks which are available. I question how much time in a day must I really dedicate to 'updating' all of these social networks I belong to and how much exposure needs to occur before beginning to see the rewards of these efforts?

Right now I spend about 15 minutes on each at least four days a week. We all know time is money so I am expending 5 hours a week on keeping these updated and still I feel I am not updating them enough for a real benefit to occur but knowing my personal situation of finding balance with my new son and rebuilding my clientele I feel this is all I am able to handle. I have seen an increased traffic to my blogger account over the last three weeks since becoming more active and have gotten some good feedback from my twittering but is this still enough? When does the time invested begin to return a monetary return? All these questions are churning in my mind on a daily basis.

I realize these social networks will take time for each to be established in their own way and I need to be patient and enjoy the ride - right? Well, patience is something else I am working on too but then isn't everyone?

For now I am sticking with it and have decided not to add any new one social networks until I see that I am able to be more effective with the ones I am currently using.

Each of us I believe needs to make the same decision based on our own situations. My best advise to myself and others is "it is better to do a great job on a few than a piss poor job a many."

Thanks for reading and until next time ... Embrace your inner wisdom!

Namaste,
Karen