How is your Social Life?

No, I am not asking about what you do outside of work.  To the contrary, I am wondering how social you are at work?  If that seems like a strange question then this post is written for you.  I am talking about perhaps the greatest change and opportunity in business since the Internet.  Social Media. 

How connected are you?  How well are you using these fantastic tools and programs to enhance your sales, marketing and branding messages?  If you have to stop and think about it you're not doing enough.  If you think you're too old, technologically challenged or pressed for time to learn I would strongly encourage you to realign your priorities.  Social Media is here to stay and it is how business is getting done.  I am an admitted novice but I can give specific examples of how I have used different programs to increase the awareness and effectiveness of my brand on line. 

As with many new things the first step is the hardest.  Just like the Internet as its popularity increased exponentially at the end of the last century it can be overwhelming to try to figure out where and how to most effectively use and manage it.  Like any other important thing you attempt to do in business (or any other important area of your life) you better have a plan and you need to set some goals or how will you know if what you're doing is making a difference or is a colossal waste of time?  Without specific desired outcomes you can easily spend hours and days wandering in to a trance and getting caught up in all that is available. 

Once you've thought about specific plans the other thing that has to be evaluated is what information can you contribute that your customers really value?  Everyone, especially your customers has plenty to do without wasting their time about information that is neither useful nor profitable for them to read.  Therefore, we've all got to make sure we know what issues are important to our customers and how we can address them better than anyone else.  Answer these seemingly simple questions and you are well on your way to building a network of connections that can pay off in terms of reputation and respect, not to mention financial. 

The bad news is that this can be an overwhelming and daunting project to take on.  There are Social Media consultants popping up all over the place with promises to help you become Socially relevant.  I can't tell you the best or easiest way to take on this project.  I can tell you that if you do it and do it well that the rewards can be surprisingly significant.  I can also tell you if you don't figure it out you're going to be left behind no matter what your title or job description is. 

There is no such thing as a Social Media hobby when it comes to business.  Either you're Socially engaged or you aren't.  It's the new peer pressure.  Don't be a Social misfit!