You own a small business. You clearly don’t have a lot of time. And everyone has been telling you to *do* social media because it will get you clients. But you don’t have the time and you don’t even know where to start. Here are three simple rules to follow when creating any community online. After all, social media is just a created community for your business.
The guiding rule for growing a community online is just like starting a friendship offline (and should be just as fun).
1. Consistency
If you are just building a friendship you would not call that person once a year and expect things to grow rapidly correct? Well, the same applies online. Interact at least once a day.
2. Authenticity
When was the last time you befriend someone who always pretended to be something they were not? That doesn’t interest anybody. Be who you are.
3.Common ground
You form friendships because you share the same values, hobbies, background or any number of things. These people can also be found online. My mother quilts and is always reading blogs and looking at pictures of finished quilts.
When building your business, social media is an important part of your overall marketing plan. The next piece in this series will go over a variety of social media sites, what they are useful for, how to interact with them, and how often you should post. Armed with knowledge you can make the decision about which sites to participate in and which do not work for your business. Minority business enterprises are finding great results by using these simple steps.