Social Media should not be stressful.
This issue brings more questions to my door than any other.
The question usually takes the form of:
- How much time should I spend on Social Media?
- Should I be on ALL the networks? If no, which ones SHOULD I be on?
- Should Social Media be part of my marketing plan?
- What should I be getting out of Social Media?
- I don’t get Twitter, should I be on that network?
- How do I approach Social Media?
- I don’t get FaceBook or Twitter, but I’m afraid I’m missing out on something!
- I’m spending too much time on FaceBook, what am I doing wrong?
- How can Social Media help me get jobs?
- How do I build social media relationships?
- Which ONE network should I stick with?
SO MUCH ANGST about something that’s supposed to be just…effortless and relational!
You have relationships in real life, right?
Cutting Through the Clutter
OK, so here’s my take on all the questions and all the angst:
“Doing” Social Media is a personal case-by-case decision, and you can’t make a wrong choice… whether you’re all in, not in, or somewhere in between.
If you’re not in, yes, you might be missing out on some pretty cool exchanges of information, but that can be hit or miss. In the meantime, the person who is NOT spending all day checking out FaceBook groups and LinkedIn forums, is getting done the important work of mailings, marketing, accounting, invoicing, and cold-calling, etc.
Personally, I think most voice actors enjoy the interaction. Before social media, each voice-actor was an island, and if you saw anyone, it was in a line-up at an audition in a studio. Sure, there were phone calls, but nothing like the hive-mind that exists online.
On the other hand, Social Media can be a real time-suck…even addictive. Not good.
Finding the balance is the important thing. Just like anything else in your business. Do what’s important, not urgent. Moderation.
If you find you’re spending hours/day on FaceBook, and it’s cutting into workflow… try to be objective, and cut back on Tweetdeck overtime.
If you feel like you’re missing out on the camaraderie and the flow of ideas… ramp up your social media experience.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
As many of you know, I’m the poster boy of going “whole-hog” on social media…. or at least that’s what people say is their perception of me. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, but it’s given me a certain…shall we say…perspective?
Hang on, ’cause I’m going to be brutally honest and transparent here: Social Media is not a big jobs generator. It CAN be… but GETTING there takes an incredible amount of patience, hand-holding, and TIME. One must consider (as in all things involving your business) the return on investment (ROI). So if you’re thinking this new media stuff is going to replace all other lead generation, you do so at your own risk. It should be just one part of a multi-pronged approach.
Moreover, Social Media alone is not a Marketing Plan. Social Media is great for (1) boosting your level of recognition; (2) for growing your SEO; (3) for making connections; (4) doing background research on individuals, and (5) for solidifying your persona online. For all that, Social Media is hard to beat.
But while new connections, leading to possible jobs WILL happen… in my estimation those many offers you get in your mailbox describing sure-fire ways to bend Social Media to unlimited growth of prospects?… is a phantom. — OR — it would require so much dedication to the task of lead generation as to take all the fun out of Social Media.
Social Media IS:
- fun
- edifying
- relational
- breaking (news)
- giving and getting
- community-building
- organizational
- mind-blowing
- mind-opening
- connecting
- worldly
There are no online sources for today’s blog. I am not relying on empirical data. I have no survey numbers to back me up. This is original content, not to be found anywhere else, based on my own expeirence.
I’ll have more on this tomorrow.
CourVO
