It’s very time consuming to be involved in the many aspects of social media. You can refuse. You can say, “It’s not for me.” You can fritter away your time, like most people do, or you can wisely use it for the betterment of yourself and your business. The fact that there are so many sites available to you, as a business professional, to take advantage of, should push you on not be a deterrent.
But somehow, it seems to slow most down as they look at it with eyes of woe and wonder how they could ever incorporate it all into their daily work life. Yes, it is a lot. Yes, it is time consuming. Yes, it will eat into your day and take you away from other things that may seem more important. But, just like exercise, you only get out of it what you put into it. So, if you decide to only contribute an hour a week or even an hour a month, don’t expect to get much of a return on your investment.
The idea behind using social media is to increase your network: to reach those you may not normally connect with by just cold calling or attending organizational meetings or conferences. The idea is to spread, virally, information about yourself or about your business. If this isn’t something that would benefit you or your business, then, there you have it – your answer. It’s not for you. However, if there is potential that your business could increase or that you might reach a vendor, customer or client that could help your firm, what have you got to lose? Except maybe a few hours a week. Probably hours you spend sorting through spam email or devising ludicrous ways to reach customers or clients.
Why not invest virtually no money and a little bit of time in something that is new, hip, and is going to be around for a while. Because, guess what? It isn’t going away.
The New Front Porch 