I recently attended a two day conference known as Social Media Camp. For a self-proclaimed introvert who works from home, the itinerary of workshops, which included scheduled “Networking Breaks” was a little daunting. But by the end of two days worth of speakers, discussions, information, and yes, networking, I was really happy to have taken the time and opportunity to be there, to be part of the conversation. I want to share with you just a few key points and observations from my time at Social Media Camp. This isn’t a list of specifics, but just my general take on social media as it relates to small business. First things first. Despite the use of the word “camp”, there were no fireside sing-a-longs or s’mores. I couldn’t possibly be the only person disappointed by this.
What’s in it for me?
While social media is clearly all the rage with the cool kids these days, does that mean I need to jump on every bandwagon that passes by? That depends. The question we all have to ask ourselves as business owners is this: What’s in it for me? The reason “everyone else is doing it” doesn’t fly with me. Just because everyone else jumps off a bridge, even an awesome one, that doesn’t mean we need to follow.
Know what you want.
With that said, social media provides a myriad of possibilities to promote our business. We just need to approach it with a plan. When it comes to social media strategies, we need to first ask: What am I trying to accomplish with this particular tool? For example, I am a huge fan of Twitter. I use it daily. But I don’t expect it to drive truckloads of business to my front door, because that doesn’t really suit the nature of my business. As someone who works from a home office, I approach Twitter as if it were the office water cooler. Twitter is where I find out what’s happening in the world. I also use Twitter to find and share ideas for web design, communications, social media, and other topics related to my field. My twitter peeps (tweeps?) are like a giant office full of really cool co-workers.
Lastly, I use Twitter to share my own work, but that’s not my main focus when I get on there. I don’t want to be the guy at the water cooler who only talks about what a great job he did on his last project. I like to be the girl who is interested in what other people are doing, the person who shares information that will be helpful to others. It makes for a much more interesting exchange.
If you’d like to join the conversation, follow me! @midnight1003
