Hi,
I've already set up a facebook page and LinkedIn profile for my VA business. I've also been recommended to set up a twitter account but I haven't done this yet. How effective do you believe these methods of "free" marketing are? And do you think it is worth setting up twitter as well? Are there any other social networking sites that are worth investing time into?
I don't work on it consistently enough to be a good judge. I love twitter, but can easily spend too much time there if I do not set the timer or limit myself to 15 minutes per day. I do it for my clients and when done every day consistently there seems to be a rapport built among your followers. It helps create a buzz for my clients, but not necessarily sales....still, I think it helps their businesses.
I just don't have time to garner any results for my own business. Sigh....need my own VA again....
Oh, I also wanted to say that different social media sites attract different people, so those using Twitter may not be the same ones on LinkedIn or Facebook, so there is an opportunity with social media. The results will depend on the content you post and the kind of followers you get.
I am looking forward to hearing what kinds of results others have seen.
Great advice, thanks Robn. I can see how social media can be effective though I am finding it hard to actually find the time to invest in constantly updating Facebook, LinkedIn and then Twitter. Limiting yourself to a set time sounds like a plan though I so easily get caught in it so not sure how that one will go for me.
I think you should try maybe in the mornings post up a status on your FB something to put you into peoples news feed. That way they are reminded of you each day and if they think later on oh i need something done they will remember you.
I'm just skimming through this and not sure if anyone has already stated this. Most of the major social media networks have a way to sync all of your social networking accounts. That way, what you post to one can be posted across the board. For instance, what I post to my FB Fan Page is posted to my Twitter, LinkedIn, MerchantCircle, and even Myspace and my personal FB page. I also have a Ning account and my featured blogs are posted to my FB Fan Page automatically, I believe at least once a day.
Just a thought!!
__________________ Shellye L. Lyons, Business/Marketing Manager ~~ The Lyons Group, LLC
Well, I have just pulled the plug on my Facebook page as it was doing nothing for my business. Twitter and LinkedIn I find much more effective, and I love the conversational nature of twitter.
Personally I would be wary of linking all your networks to post the same content. I found it much more effective to share different content on my Facebook page than I shared on twitter and I rarely share my tweets on LinkedIn.
How effective is social media?
Shellye L. Lyons, Business/Marketing Manager ~~ 
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