Eating the elephant

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." John Wooden

Social Media is not a trend. It is here to stay. Those who embrace it will profit while those who ignore it will perish.

Okay, so you know you need to be more active on the social media front. But where do you start? What do you do? I think the entire concept of social media can be overwhelming and the key to making it work for you is to deal with it in manageable chunks. One bite at a time is the best way to eat the elephant.

Social media is a process. Each action should lead to or drive the next action. If you have a Face Book page and don't use it, it's worthless. But on the other hand, what good is a great blog if no one is reading it? Let's start with the concept of the process.

The first step in the process is to figure out what works for you. There are hundreds of social media sites. You can't master them all. You can't. So figure out what works best to move your business forward and focus on that. If you need help to figure this out, call me. I believe everyone is entitled to my opinion.

Let's use an example called Mike. Mike speaks about publicity. He has years of experience, many articles and product. Now what? For Mike I would suggest a blog, Face Book page and Linked In profile. A lot of speakers can benefit from these 3 platforms. They are simple to use, highly ranked in a search engine and each one leads you to the next one. If you have a profile on Linked In, you can use it to announce your blog posts. Once your reader checks out your blog you can direct them to your Face Book page. Another route would be to link to your blog to your Face Book page and Linked In profile. This can increase your exposure immediately.

Now Mike's head hurts because even these 3 steps can be overwhelming. Implement this...write that....connect to them. Keep it simple. I suggest breaking each of the 3 platforms down into smaller bites. Focus on 1 at a time for 30 days. This will allow you to get used to each one before you move on to the next. It also gives you time to connect with other users before you introduce them to the next part of your process. By the end of the 30 days, you are familiar with the platform and maintaining it won't be the bear you originally thought it was.

You can build your social media empire in 20-30 minutes a few days a week. A few minutes each day doesn't sound overwhelming at all, does it? This will help make the process more manageable and make you more likely to complete it. You can do it. I'll help.

Now, let's take the first bite.