The Secret to Finding Time For Social Media

Keeping up with social media can be a taxing time consuming task.

Here's the secret: Pick a couple of social networks -- mine are Twitter and some ning groups, MerchantCircle and MySpace -- and concentrate on those. You can't be everywhere and you don't need to be everywhere.

Because social media is one part of my business, I do try every new platform that comes along. I will open an account in each one so I can see how they work, who's using them and what kind of usefulness they could have to me, my business and/or my clients. But I don't go back to most social networks and work them unless there is something on them picks up is a productive use of my time. And I know when that happens because Twitter's open on my desktop almost all day.

E-mail comes second (after checking for voice messages). Anyone who knows me is more likely to get a quicker response from a phone call rather an email but my emails are (usually) responded to with in an hour of being sent. But I like the phone. I know: phone calls! What a concept!

There are people (like Robert Scoble, who follows 21,000 people on Twitter and has 38,000 followers there) who manage to be superstars in every known social network.

For us mere humans, the key to effective social networking is to be selective. Then listen, link, respond and give more than we take. And, hey, Rule One is still that social networking is fun and if done right can be profitable.

Larson note: You need to keep yourself under control. SM can eat your time faster than reading and sending out emails. Pick your time and places carefully. I like to play the part of big fish in a small pond (except for MySpace).It works, I’m noticed and that is what is important, and in doing so customers come to me more often than I going after them in a more aggressive fashion.

Howard Larson
Larson & Associates
Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition
Making good businesses great and great businesses even better
847-991-0488
larsonassoc1975@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/larsonassoc1979/1
http://larsonassociates.blogspot.com
http://member.merchantcircle.com/larsonassociates
http://businesswarfare.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
http://teamcircle.ning.com/profile/HowardLarson
https://twitter.com/LarsonAssociate

P.S. Need help getting started or actively working SM’s try our Social Business Networking Marketing service.