Do you want to be Social Media Savvy?

Those of us who are social media savvy speak the new language like we grew up in the know.  We forget that not everyone has had the opportunity or the desire to embrace this new Internet technology.  Let’s break down some barriers.

I’ll get sucked in!

Many people believe that if they get involved in social media, they’ll get sucked into their computer.  Stories of people spending hours on facebook or twitter do not help that perception. Let me try to give you some perspective here. Work in batch mode. Use an old fashioned egg timer and set it for 10 – 20 minutes. When it goes off, get out.  You will quickly discover ideas to help you manage your communications more effectively and you will begin to get a grasp on what is and is not so important.

I don’t want to tell everyone what I’m doing.

As I speak and train across North America, both live and via the web, I often am confronted by people who insist they don’t want to “put it all out there”. The truth is that you are on the Internet; being involved in social networking or social media gives you the opportunity to tell the truth about yourself. People will believe what you say about yourself if presented in a credible manner.

I don’t need to be on a social networking site like LinkedIn or facebook.

There is no shame in today’s climate in seeking a new opportunity, or several. It is not if, but rather when you will be changing jobs or starting your own business, or both. Harvey McKay admonishes us to dig our well before we are thirsty.  The same holds true in social networking: build your network while you still feel you have value and resources. When you have such a great need to fill as income production, you tend not to feel as if you have much to offer the rest of the world. That is not really true, but it does feel that way.

Understand that LinkedIn is for business and facebook is about building relationships. Connect with people who you know or think you might need to know on LinkedIn. While you can still confirm your work email – the one on all those business cards – go ahead and confirm them on LinkedIn. Later on, you can change your primary email, but don’t ever delete an email.  Build your network and help people who ask now so that when you need help, others will be there for you.

On facebook, connect with your friends, coworkers, customers and vendors. (You can set different visibility permissions for different groups, but for now, let’s just agree to connect.)  You don’t get on facebook to do business, but business is done on facebook.  If you don’t have any business to conduct, then just post status updates that encourage and promote your network, offer knowledge on a topic you find interesting, or post pictures or video to share what you are comfortable sharing with your friends.

What will it do for me?

I can’t answer that question without really knowing what your goals are. But I can start the answer by saying this: whatever your goals for social networking are, be ready for unexpected results. When you understand that there are real people just like you on the other side of that computer screen, you will be amazed at the opportunities and fulfillment you will find.

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