Oh the places you will go

Social Media is a great tool for single business owners and small businesses.

How many times have you heard the I don't have time for networking, for socialising?

How many small business owners feel like they are doing the same thing over and over without getting the results? And how many of you feel that social media means that you are playing around on the Internet and not in fact working?

When you get into work in the morning you check your phone messages, answer your emails, respond to queries, contact the necessary people and set up meetings.

Then you get to work, coming up with ideas, doing accounts, planning things, meetings, clients, sales and coming up with something, a launch, an event, sales, meetings, a show, a trade show, a buying whatever, accountancy, admin and then planning marketing, designing adverts ... it is a lot of work ... everyday.

So how about this?

You come into work and while attending to queries, you also read the latest updates and trends in your industry. Then you can answer queries and set up meetings armed with knowledge which you got via Google Alerts and general real-time search on Google.

During the day, while doing whatever you need to do so your business can be lucrative, you can also respond to queries via social media and then take things further by suggesting solutions or a meeting via email.

Then when you have an advert or launch or sale or whatever coming up, you write about it as a blog post and send links to relevant social media sites AS WELL as doing the traditional marketing i.e. putting out an ad, sending invitations (if necessary) putting info in the newsletter and sending the invite/details via email.

During the day, you look at updates, Google what people are saying about your business, and respond to all queries via email, telephone AND social media. This is your chance to offer advice, to answer something in public, to ATTRACT people to your business via content and BECAUSE you are using all forms of media, to stay current.

And occasionally now with social media you can see networking opportunities, you get invited to networking events in your industry which can benefit you even further.

It is an hour of work more a day. Writing updates, staying on top of all the media, answering queries, writing content, replying to emails ... it's all work.

But when you look at how beneficial the work is, how more current you are, how you are reading about the latest information in your industry and how you are using social media, to ENGAGE, to RESPOND, to be more ACTIVE in your business then eventually an hour of work will be incorporated into all the tasks you ALREADY do each day.

Social media is not playing around on the Internet. Google your company, look what content is already on the Internet.

Now using all forms of media from newsletters, to email marketing, to Twitter, Blogger, Facebook, YouTube ... try and you will see content and hits and information about your business everyday.

It feels like a lot more work. It helps promote and market your business like never before.

But oh the places you will go!