I want to talk about social media, honestly and openly.
Anybody looking to launch a business wants to use social media for connecting with others, networking and advertising.
Makes sense!
It's there, it's free, it's easy.
Wait a minute ... "it's easy"?????
I have had a love/hate relationship with social media since the beginning.
I have met some really wonderful people, have enjoyed the support and have increased business from social media.
However, it is also time consuming, confusing, frustrating and stagnant at times.
The inherent dilemma is working my job 40-50 hours per week, spending time with my husband, taking care of my pets, household, personal responsibilities, and deciding which aspect of the business to work on in my free time. Social media is a full time job itself!
Let's break it down:
Twitter:
I love it. I started on Twitter before we launched Living Stress Free®. It's friendly, supportive, and really quite easy to use. I've enjoyed success with Twitter and highly recommend it to everyone. The automated tweets really help with time constraints (we use TweetAdder).
Facebook:
I hate it. I was on it for a while but struggled with how to use it properly. I did not like the lack of "boundaries" with family, friends, work colleagues all having access to my stream. The ways to screen out sub-categories of people was not clearly explained. I felt pressure to accept people as friends. Everytime we posted something pertaining to our business it was not responded to, but personal "goofy" comments were loved. It took a lot of time with little benefit. Since time is a rare commodity, Facebook had to go.
LinkedIn:
I'm on the fence with this one. I'm not sure how to use it fully. I do not find it to be user-friendly. I can't wrap my mind around how to use it beneficially so it sits in waiting. Meanwhile I feel guilty I'm letting down my LinkedIn network by my silence. Not healthy .... !
YouTube:
It's great. It's easy. I have no complaints at all. Great way to organize our videos too:)))
Google +
So far so good. It's much simpler to figure out. I like the interface. I like how it connects to Blogger. I'm using it to advertise my blogs!
Pintrest:
I have an account but have not done anything with it yet. Time ... time ... time...
Here are only six social media sites and I'm already having a panic attack! How can I keep up with it all and still have time for new articles on our website, daily subscriber list emails, new videos, working on a new book ... HELP!
Enter Living Stress Free®
- Just do the next thing.
- Where my energy is naturally directed is where it should be focused.
- Meditate.
- Use the different social media sites for different aspects of the business instead of rehashing the same stuff everywhere.
- When in doubt, do nothing.
- Be authentically me.
- Meditate.
- Slow down.
- Don't take it so seriously.
- Manage the stress, not the situation.
Here's a great time management article we posted on our site a while ago: The Relentless Mosquito
Till tomorrow,
Marilyn
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