A frequent complaint I hear about Martha Stewart is this: “She thinks we have unlimited time to spend on all her elaborate baking, crafting and decorating projects.” No, she doesn’t. She’s simply presenting options from which her audience can pick and choose. It’s no different than walking into a department store. The retailer doesn’t expect us to buy everything; it’s just giving us choices. And so it is with social media.
The platforms are many as are the social media experts. With all the options and opinions, small business owners can be led to believe that their enterprises must be fully engaged in powerful, all-encompassing campaigns coordinated, of course, by a dynamic, highly specialized team. Not so.
For one thing, it’s just not possible; there isn’t enough time. Next, not every platform is appropriate for every business. Furthermore, not many small businesses can afford all of the ever-increasing, highly-specialized and quite costly social media services. Still, it’s very hard to accept these facts. Especially when so many others are talking and behaving as though the world will end if people choose their social media platforms deliberately and discriminately.
As an example, it would have been very easy for many in the conference room to feel frantic and overwhelmed while listening to a panel of professionals at Waukesha County Technical College’s December 2014 Small Business Connections Social Media event. They spoke with authority and had a great deal to share with the audience. Still, with a nod to their impressive individual experience pertaining to Google, Linkedin, blogging, videos, etc., I took notes only on what pertained to my business, what really interested me and what would most help my clients. I did not encumber myself with the rest.
Out of the two hours spent, here’s what I took away from the panelists:
• 90% of blogs should be informative and useful to the reader; the remaining 10% is for selling your service/product.
• “Give them good food.” Meaning your readers.
• Hootsuite.com is highly recommended for social media management.
• Use Twitter to learn about trends.
• Mashable.com is a great source for news, information and resources.
• Don’t be intimidated by the video in your phone. Get out of your comfort zone and just play with this powerful tool. Make a practice video right now.
• Develop a Google+ page for your business.
• Throw away those annoying pieces of paper, filled with notes, and use a social media calendar. There are free templates on-line.
• Have consistency in your message.
• Infousa.com is a key source for mailing lists, direct mail marketing and sales leads.
In leaving, I was pleased with the information I gathered and the contacts I had made at this WCTC event. I did not allow myself to feel overwhelmed or weighted down with data. Instead, I took my cue from the slogan, “Take what you like and leave the rest.” That’s what I’ll continue to do as I learn, along with everybody else, the exciting and uncertain world of social media.