If you haven’t heard of Social Media then you probably do not have a computer, blackberry, iphone, ipad, do not read any newspapers or watch a television. To be honest it is everywhere. In the past few months I have heard facebook and twitter referenced in movies and TV shows. Most notably, in the last six months the queen of all things cool, Ms Oprah Winfrey, has reinvented her website and it is using Social Media extensively. 
According to Wikipedia…
“Social Media is the blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value”.
In plain English it is a tool to connect and network with your clients or potential clients to give some sort of information or value with the intent of creating a business relationship. There are several types of Social Media that you can use as a business owner or someone working in a business to connect with others for the purpose of attracting clients.
Common Social Media Types
The most commonly used Social Media types would be blogging and Social Networking sites like Linked in, Facebook, twitter and youtube. The question then becomes, what Social Media type is best for my situation. As we know, all networking or social media is not created equal. As in any marketing plan, it is important that you use the right medium to send your message and social marketing is no different.
Attracting your Ideal Client with Social Networking
Identifying who your ideal client is will help to narrow down the choices of social media that will be most effective. For example, if you are targeting the 35-45 year old female, then facebook is your spot. If you have a niche product or service, a blog will attract potential clients quicker. If it is connections for business you are seeking out then Linked in will fill the bill.
Finding your Authentic message in Social Networking
An important consideration is how you want to present yourself in all of these platforms. Will you be presenting yourself or the company? Create a 140 character or less bio and an avatar (picture) to upload to all of the profiles you will have to create. Make sure the person or company message you are presenting is an authentic representation of what you want people to see.
Tools to help you Manage and Organize your Social Web
There are many tools available to use that make Social Marketing quick and efficient. For instance by using a tweetdeck you can manage multiple twitter accounts in addition to keeping a finger on the pulse of any specific topic or person. In a few minutes each day you can scan and choose which conversations you want to be involved in. Linked in, youtube and facebook actually send weekly update on your account to a specified e-mail address so you can quickly scan what is happening with your connections, the information comes to you instead of you trying to find it.
Time blocking and Batching tasks are great techniques to keep the time you commit daily to your social networking at a minimum. By picking specific times during the day and sticking to them you are in control of the amount and frequency rather than it pulling you in and distracting you from the other important things that you need to accomplish daily.
Why do I need Social Media?
Some people are questioning the whole Social media thing and asking why they need it. Here is my question….If you are not monitoring and managing the messages who is?
Like most people you are already feeling time deprived and the thought of adding another thing to your already busy schedule may seem more than you can handle. However, creating a social media strategy to fit into your already busy schedule is possible and with a these time saving Social Media tips and shortcuts you can be friended, followed and connected in no time at all.
Excellent pointers, You mentioned using tweetdeck is there a reason you would reccommend it over hootsuite?
Thanks for Stopping by Suzanne, I am glad you found some value here. I am such a creature of habit and I was using the deck before I found out about hootsuite. I find it easy to use and for now it serves its purpose. Now I have friends who use hootsuite and love it…it is a matter of preference I think.
I am the same way. I considered switching to Hootsuite because the idea of pre-scheduling tweets was appealing, but I found I didn’t like the interface nearly as much. Now we can pre-schedule in Tweetdeck as well, but to be honest, I haven’t even tried it yet.