You’ve probably heard so much about Social Media lately that your eyes are glazing over every time you hear about it. You may also be thinking, yes, it’s probably something I need to do for my business, but who has the time? Indeed, who has the time to sit on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn all day connecting with people? …

Well guess what? You need to make the time, and here’s why…
Like it or not Social Media is the future and the future is already here, and your customers and competitors are already savvy. Some futurists are even saying that Social Media will eventually take over from email – in fact, it’s been shown that many Generation Y’s are not using email at all – they do all of their connecting, and eventually all of their business, over social media.

Here’s the skinny from a recent Fast Company article about why should you care about Social Media for your business:

“The Nielsen-Community Engine 2010 Social Media Business Benchmark Study released last month found a total of 63.5% respondents agree businesses should no longer ask “if” they should enter social media, and should instead be asking “how”.
- Read the rest of the article here.

Here’s how to get started in Social Media for less than 15 minutes per day:
It really doesn’t take too much time to get your Social Media groove on – about 15 minutes a day over your morning coffee. Maybe take one of the following steps per day over a 7-day period? So by the end of the week you’ll be up and running.

Step 1: What is Social Media anyway?
I’ve done the first step for you. When I want to know about something I often type it into Wikipedia to get the overall ‘big picture’ definition of it. Wikipedia is a great resource also for any other links to do with any subject. Here’s the link to read over your morning coffee.

Step 2: Facebook
Like millions of other people, you’ve probably already got a Facebook personal account. Now you’re going to open a ‘Fan Page’ for your business. Open up your normal ‘Home’ section – that’s where you read posts from your friends etc. Now go to the top right hand corner and click on ‘Account’ > ‘Help’ > ‘Pages for businesses’ > ‘Facebook pages’: ‘Creating, administering and editing your page’ – now click on ‘How can I create a page?’ and create an ‘Official Page’. If you want a shortcut, you can also click here.

Step 3: Twitter
If you’ve been living under a rock for the last 18 months and don’t know what Twitter is go here.

If you want to get started, go here, and click on the big yellow button that says ‘Join Today’. It’s super-easy, just follow the steps, but remember to put your website link into your profile, as well as some keywords relevant to your business. Then start following people in your niche. TIP: Go to ‘Find People’ and start searching for people who inspire you the most, authors, speakers and other specialists in your field.

Step 4: Linked In
Go to linkedin.com, and let’s go for a definition first, so click on the top menu: ‘What is LinkedIn?’. This section explains mostly everything, then click on the big yellow button ‘Join now’. Follow the steps and then fill in your details with as much information as possible. The power of LinkedIn really comes into play when you upload your email contacts and start connecting with people. Very powerful stuff.

Step 5: Post to all of your Social Media accounts with one click with a Social Media Management application
There are a plethora of new applications coming out that let you post to all your accounts with just the one click; they even post to your web blog or RSS Feed. Here are a few of them:

• twitterfeed.com
• sendible.com
• hootsuite.com – my favourite because it’s so easy to use!

Step 6: Explore, Play Around, and Join in Discussions and Interact
Take 10 or 15 minutes a day to just ‘play’ around on Social Media. This is the best way to learn. Take a look at other peoples’ profiles, see who they’re following, see who is following them. Make comments, interact, send messages – don’t be shy, join in the conversation. Social media is all about connecting with other human beings, and also with those lovely folk we all love – your customers.

Step 7: Follow Social Media blogs
Want to know more about how Social Media can help your business? Follow Social Media blogs, and don’t forget you can follow these same guys on your Facebook, Twitter etc. Here’s a few of my favourites:

• mashable.com
• socialtimes.com
• socialnetworking-weblog.com

Want to know more? Just Google ‘top social media blogs’, or you can contact White Dog Green Frog on 1300 760 850 and chat to our Social Media and SEO Expert Meri Harli or feel free to leave a comment below.

Comments are closed.