Are you using social media?

The title is a pretty obvious question isn’t it? Pretty much everyone uses social media, and if you are actually reading this blog, you of course are on it right now!

So, why even ask?

Because there is a difference between “using” social media and “being on” social media.

Everybody is “on” Facebook, but are you “using” Facebook?

Small businesses everywhere need to be on as many avenues of social media that they can be.

Facebook, Twitter, Texting, Blogs, Flickr, etc…

Now, I say all of this not meaning that you use social media to try to make as much money as you can off of it. That is the absolute wrong way to go about doing it.

Can you make money off of it? Yes. Is that the point? No.

Social media is an extension of yourself. It is an extension of your company into the world so that you can interact with your friends and fans.

Don’t use social media for yourself.

Let your fans interact on it and talk to you. It’s for building relationships, carrying on conversations, providing feedback, and most importantly customer service. The only type of promoting that should take place in social media is something that will be of a benefit to your friends and fans.

Even with this blog, the purpose is to not promote Chick-fil-A, but rather to talk with you about the community, give tips and insights that we have learned, talk to you about what you want to talk about and not ever shove promotions down your throat trying to force you to give us money.

That’s not what Chick-fil-A is about and that’s not what social media is about.

Social media is about reaching out and building relationships.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a small business or someone who only has Facebook, everyone can use it to reach out to friends and create a community.

Comment below and let me know how you are using social media. Are you taking your passion and building a community around it?