Fear Not Social Media

Luddite: someone who is opposed or resistant to new technologies or technological change. (Dictionary.com)

For business owners, especially those not tech savvy themselves, resisting utilization of social media can be a deterrent to maximizing your bottom line. Tweet that. Let’s Snapchat. Hit me up on Facebook. Pin that. Are you LinkedIn? Google+. Instagram, YouTube, and so on and so forth. There are so many different social platforms out there that it’s confusing to those of us who didn’t grow up from the age of three attached to a smart phone.

But here’s the thing: To ignore technology and new communication platforms is a sure key to hampering your business growth. In some cases, it may be the first nail in the coffin of your continued success.

Because social media is not going away.

Our first tip—don’t try to understand how it all works and the technology underneath it; understand how it benefits your business, and how to effectively employ social tactics. You don’t have to do it; you just have to make sure someone is doing it for your business. And that individual or company had better be knowledgeable and trustworthy. Because social media lives, well, forever.

Here is something even better for your marketing budget:

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, G+— are all free. If you can dream it up, write it, and post it, it’s incredibly economical promotion of your business services and products.

If you can’t, you can hire people to manage it for you.

It’s no different from hiring in-house or outsourced professionals to create and schedule your TV ads, manage your website, voice radio commercials, develop and print direct mail and such. The only difference is once you hire social media people, your overhead is mostly finished; the tools don’t cost anything to operate.

So like most fears—the key is to face it. Channel your inner-Kip from Napoleon Dynamite, and sing “I Love Technology”.

Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and jump—err, post!