Managing Social Networking

Q:  Isn't it overwhelming to manage all the social media outlets? I am on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and I blog several times a week. How do we manage all of this and do it effectively in order to generate traffic and business? I know this is a very broad question, but I have a few different websites and am getting overwhelmed and I think, spread too thin. Any ideas?

Margie

A:  Hi Margie–

It is very easy to get overwhelmed quickly with social networking.  Here are a few key points that might help you:

1. Pick 1-2 platforms that your target market uses. So many business owners spread themselves too thin by participating in several social networking sites. I've discovered that you could easily devote your entire day to this endeavor and never accomplish anything else. Pick the best platform that will get you in front of your target market and stick to it.

Here's how to find your target market on Twitter and Facebook:

Social Networking: 7 Strategies to Finding Your Target Market on Twitter

Social Networking: 10 Steps to Finding Your Target Market in Facebook

2. Work the platform. No marketing strategy will succeed unless you pay attention to it. In order to successfully use social networking, you need to work your platform every single day. Ideally, this means devoting 30 minutes each day on activities like seeking new friends/connections/, commenting on other people's profiles, updating your own profile, and notifying your connections about your current activities.

Here are some ideas to help you with your status updates.  This article was written with Twitter in mind, but the ideas will work for any social networking platform:

10 Secrets to Using Twitter to Attract More Followers and Get More Clients

3.  Use tools for automation and management.  My two fav tools at the moment that help me stay on top of social networking are Seesmic Desktop, , and Nutshell Mail.

4. Be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day, and you won't see results of your efforts in a day, either. This is a slow and steady process, much the same way that face-to-face networking is. You've got to be out there building relationships and helping others before you're going to see your social networking goals realized.

For more detailed tutorials, downloadable audio, and how-to articles
to implement any of these strategies, consider a membership to OnlineBizU.com.

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