Three Ways to Use Social Media!

People often make fun of me when I tell them about my #DWTS (Dancing with the Stars) twitter activities. And they wonder what Twitter has to do with growing my business. I am the first to admit that I am a #DWTS ‘addict’, LOL – however, social media has played a large part in the growth of my business and with relationships. I first connected on Twitter and learned about chat rooms about 5 years ago. I didn’t really take advantage of it at first. It’s a different story now. I have developed some close and strong relationships as a result of using social media, both personally and professionally. And you can, too. Social media is free and I understand that many people just don’t know how to best utilize it. Let me give you 3 ways that it has been a benefit to me. 1) LINKED IN. I was watching ‘Undercover Boss Canada’ one Friday night. The company that was featured was ‘Purdy’s Chocolates’ out of western Canada. I am very familiar with them and an avid fan as well. As I watched the show, I heard them say that Purdy’s wants to expand their brand awareness in eastern Canada and so they were going undercover to learn what it would take to make that happen. I was in the process, at that time, of planning my major 3-day event for women entrepreneurs in Toronto – ideal clients for Purdy’s chocolates! I caught the name of the VP of Marketing who was going to be featured on the show. I went on line to LinkedIN to see if she had a profile there- and she did. I sent an ‘invitation to connect’ along with a personal note explaining that I was watching UnderCover Boss, heard their ‘issue’ and offered a solution in that I would welcome them as a sponsor to my event in Toronto. In that way, I could support them in their efforts to expand brand exposure. This gal responded within 24 hours on LinkedIN – we connected by phone soon thereafter – they offered some product (chocolates! Yum!) for my audience at the event and have done so since then. Amazing! A total Win-Win for all. Creative and Innovative use of LinkedIN!!!! 2) TWITTER This is one of my favorite social media tools for connecting with people. I am an avid fan of Dancing with the Stars TV show – and also watch Good Morning America regularly. GMA created a chat room for GMA DWTS fans so that we could all congregate there and share our comments, feedback etc. on the tv show, the dancers and so on. A few years ago, I connected in that chat room with Staci – we have become close ‘Twitter’ friends as we both watched DWTS every week and commented all the time – back and forth with each other. She has strong connections with GMA. Over the years, Staci would comment if/when I didn’t show up in the chat room wondering where I was, how I was, etc. …….it was so nice to have that connection. When I was in NYC recently to speak at a conference, Staci and I met for the first time in person. It was magical! So very nice to have those close and strong connections via social media. Another benefit that came from my consistent presence on Twitter was a recent message from a ‘connection’ with a very popular TV show. He was reaching out and asking me if I would consider tweeting for their show – he had come to know my personality, my style, my consistency using Twitter. This has been so much fun. Lastly, on Twitter, there are regular #chats that occur. A very popular one for me occurs on Tuesday nights and it is for #speakerchat For any entrepreneur who wants to connect with others who are interested in learning more about professional speaking skills – that’s the place you want to be on Tuesday nights. You’ll learn a lot, make great connections and get some exposure for your own business. There are a variety of #chatrooms – #mompreneurs, #leaderswithin, #customerserv and more. 3) FACEBOOK This tends to be the most popular social media vehicle for most entrepreneurs. You can have a personal page and/or a business (fan) page. For me and most of my clients, this is where ‘our people’ hang out – you want to be connected with your people, with prospects, on a regular basis. It’s important to be ‘visible’ on a daily basis. You can advertise on Facebook to a targeted market as well. It’s also a place where you can show more of your personal side (use discretion) – so prospects and clients come to know you as a person, too. It’s powerful. These are three ways to use social media that will assist you, as an entrepreneur, to attract ideal clients, gain exposure for your business and stay in front of people – so, when they have a pain, a need, a problem – YOU come to mind.