The Social Media School Yard

I’ve often talked to my clients about how Social Media is like a school yard.

I think there are some distinct groups represented:

  • Friends
  • Enemies
  • Sportstars
  • Cool Kids
  • Nerds

Let’s look at them…

Friends:

This is an easy one; there are many users, businesses, organisations and general peeps who are madly giving you value, ‘how to’ tips and information to help you do whatever you are trying to do….awesome!

Enemies:

Hmmm…just like the world there are people who are using the internet to take advantage of you. Be aware and always ask the extra questions to make your self more comfortable…not so great.

Sportstars:

These are the guys at the gym that are lifting weights in the mirror! Lot of eye candy but not much substance. These are the many ’10 weirdest family photos’ type sites. Spend brief amounts of time to  enjoy the view and not too much that you waste valuable working time…ok in short bursts but serious time waste otherwise!

Cool Kids:

There’s so many of them! Here’s a few of my ‘go-to’ cool kids!

The best thing about these cool kids is they are sharing their coolness with all of us!

Nerds:

There are some fab technical sites or resources out there. Here’s a few that I use:

  • Mashable – has so much other than what you might need but great for getting good early advice!
  • Adweek – quite wide offering but use to pick up some great info
  • Google alerts – perfect for getting current info on the run

Have a great day!

Kathy Smail

 

It’s not who you know..you know? Part 2

Previously I’ve chatted about Valarie Khoo’s article here. She talked about utilising the existing customers or clients that you already have and building your business through them. I agree absolutely that this is vital lifeline for your business and I’d like to expand that thought for those of you who are starting a business.

Starting a business can be hard work. I have clients who have started a business and I’d like to share a strategy that helped them.

  1. Create a customer wish list – Look around you and write down everyone that you know who may be interested in your product or service
  2. Refine the List – Look through the names and place the names in groups. Use the most obvious first. For example; Family, Work, School, Social, Hobby etc
  3. Target your Groups – Target your approaches to each specific group, looking for ways to reach more than one person in a group at the same time

It can be daunting to be staring at a customer base of none so start with those you have around you…after all they have a vested interest in helping you…they might even like you!

Remember, if you need help you can also call me for a catch up.

Enjoy!

Kathy Smail

It’s who you know…you know? Part 1

One of my favoured blogs is Valarie Khoo’s Enterprise, one of The Age blogs, and I’d like to share a column she wrote a while ago. Click here for the whole article but I’d like to share some of her great points.

She says that one of a business’ best assets is their database and that the people that you already know can continue to be significantly supportive of your  business and be responsible for growing your business even further. She advises four points to work on:

  • Ensure that your database is in a format that is easy to use
  • Promote yourself to these customers/clients regularly
  • Implement a referral program
  • Any promotion which is designed to attract new customers/clients captures at least basic contact information

Enjoy!

Kathy Smail

Networking for shy people…

The Venture is one of the biz blogs that I read and recommend. It’s a old article but well worth reading.

Tony Featherstone writes in ‘easy to work with’ language and his blog post from April 9th 2010 was titled, ‘Networking for shy people’ Click here to read the whole article.

His main points were:

1.   Be yourself
2.   Plan your network
3.   Have a networking routine
4.   Listen
5.   Be prepared
6.   Less is more
7.   Give without asking
8.   Don’t waste time
9.   Don’t annoy people with technology
10. Don’t give too much

I absolutely concur particularly with his point no. 2 & 3. It’s crucial to have a plan and routine that you are comfortable with.

I advise my clients to target networking to their industry and sometimes even to their product/s. Which also means that you can change networking oportunities and functions as your business grows and your focus alters. Don’t even forget that you’re the driver, not any organisation or group. The opportunities are there to assist not dictate to your time.

Remember that I can create a targeted plan for you if you need any pointers.

Enjoy!

Kathy Smail

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