Recently C2 embarked on a very lofty goal of implementing more social media outlets into our marketing and community outreach. This includes Facebook, Twitter, our blog and other outlets. In talking with others in the “socialsphere” I’ve found that many seem overwhelmed by Twitter or Facebook and I was left scratching my head until I finally asked someone – why?
Come to find out many people simply mismanage their accounts. Which made me think, social media is what you make of it.
Meaning if you choose to use Facebook for business rather than personal use, keep that in mind when you post or subscribe to things. I do admit that I have old classmates and friends on Facebook, but I try and keep the newsfeed traffic streamlined by blocking quizzes and watch out for junk. I do the same with Twitter – after a trip out to Adobe HQ, I ended up following over 40 additional people in my feed. However, after a few days many of them were unfollowed because of an abuse of useless posts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the Twitter Czar, but I do like to be able to keep up with my feeds daily and not spend hours sifting through updates.
I also found that if you manage your time on these outlets to important posts or for contacting others, you can really expand your effectiveness and networking capabilities.
You can also increase your online credibility – I post only when I want to, not because I feel that I have to fulfill some unseen need to entertain. I have something to say that I feel is important so I share. Granted, there are businesses out there that have people that do nothing but monitor Tweets and postings, but I am one person and its up to me to control how I use my time. If I feel that Tweeting and posting on Facebook is time well spent (and my employer agrees – ha) then that’s my prerogative.
If you take control of your social media you can make the best of it. If you choose to let it run wild, then you have no one to answer to but yourself. Choose how you will use these great networking social media outlets and then stick with it.
If you still need help with how to manage these outlets, check out this great article from MacWorld.
