Now there’s a question I’m asked at least several times a week; especially from those not in the communications business. What they’re really asking is: “How do you find the time to do all that social media stuff?” And that first question is usually followed by: “I know I should be using it more for business, but I just don’t get how it can help our PR and marketing efforts.”
For someone who hasn’t used much social media, the idea of actually using it can be daunting. Telling them to just jump in and “do it” doesn’t cut it. They’re looking for a bit more concrete advice and information. I view it as an educational opportunity; not just to talk about what we do here at L&F, but to also give them some advice on how to get started.A little prodding about how they use the internet, and their cell phones, at work or home gives me a pretty good indication as to whether or not they’re actually using social media and how they’re using it (i.e. having a Facebook account or posting reviews on a site such as TripAdvisor.com) or if they are totally out of the loop. Then we can discuss how to leverage some of the platforms / outlets to their advantage.
But still…they inevitably come back to the question about how much time I spend on social media. As someone in an industry that uses social media a lot, from both a client and company perspective, I try not to answer that question because it just scares them off! (And to some, justifies their fears that social media will consume their life.) What I do, is discuss the importance of starting small, using only those platforms best suited to help them achieve their PR / marketing goals and then learning about tools that can make their social media life easier and more efficient.
So how do you answer the question: How much time do you spend on social media? (And by the way, I spend a lot of my day on social media because it’s something I believe in and something we do for many of our clients.)
1 comment:
Between accessing my personal and professional social media accounts at work and from my smartphone while I'm "on the go", I would have to say that I spend at least one hour a day on social media. However, with the way social media has evolved, I have to say I get the majority of my local, state and national news from social media now. In addition, I rarely visit a company's website anymore. If I want to know what restaurants have specials or am looking for a new place to go, I turn to social media instead of Google or Yahoo!.
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