by Jane Betters
Here we go – the FIRST Sizzle!Post . . . quite exciting! And that means I get to start blogging so no better time than now.
I know I’m not the only one who’s new to social media. Not long ago I didn’t even know what it was and now, here we are. So, how did it start for me? Well, very innocently, someone invited me to LinkedIn. Easy enough. Over a few months I made quite a few connections and it was both fun and interesting to find colleagues from the past and rekindle old friendships.
Then I started getting invitations from other groups like Plaxo and Multiply. I signed up but wished everyone was in one place. There’s enough to keep up with besides having my computer covered with windows from multiple social networking sites! I could see easily losing control – and I DO like control - so decided to keep just LinkedIn for business connections as I was already familiar with it. Besides, who can keep up with all the passwords?
Ah, but then my son invited me to Facebook. Once again, it was an innocent-appearing invitation. How could I know it would plunge me deeper into a new world! What fun finding high school friends and other long-lost friends, as well as friends – now grown – of my kids. I had a new insight into their lives and also those of current colleagues and friends. There were pictures to upload, pictures to view, emails to send, walls to write on . . . my bedtime got later and later. Then that same son told me about Cities I’ve Visited on Facebook. 1AM, 2AM . . . I’ve got to stop!
Next came Twitter – as if reading about everyone’s lives on Facebook wasn’t enough! Now I needed to know what they’re doing minute-by-minute – just as much as they need to know my comings and goings! Probably not.
And where’s the line between business and personal? Do I really want a client to read the chat between my kids and me? Or see all my friends? How much privacy do I want and how do I interact with both groups?
Yep, there’s still a lot to learn for me, but I wouldn’t change this for the world – I’m learning what works for me, and what doesn’t. I don’t have to Twitter, IM or blog 24/7 – I can choose when, what and to whom just like I can choose to turn off the dang TV. And, since marketing is my business, it’s given me an up-close and personal experience of this new phenomenon. I’m still a new gal on the block, but I’m smart enough to bring on board someone who’s been around the block and KNOWS this stuff and how to make it part of the overall marketing strategy! He’s going to help me make pages for my company on multiple sites - connect them together – set me up to use my iPhone to connect and generally get me up to speed. He’ll do that for my clients too – I’m the guinea pig!
So watch for my next post where I’ll let you know about my progress! Meanwhile, how are you doing with social media? What are you doing? Met up with any interesting people? Do you see benefits to your business? I’d love to hear from you!
