Return of the missing blogger

It has been even longer since the last time i blogged a piece.  Even though lots of ideas flow for bits and bobs, I still find little time to actually write the pieces.

And so as an advocate of social media and online networking, i have committed the cardinal sin of, well, not updating (much).

It is the main investment anyone or organisation will make in the realm of online interactivity. To constantly update.

Sounds easy.  In many ways it is, as it can become a process, just like everything else you do at work.  You do not need to be the most creative writer in the world (it can add to the content, but not necessary), or creative at all.  Most content you will want to put up is already in existence. The real issue is time.

Time is the trap that people can fall into using social media.  It is just like networking at an event.  there will be lots of people there but you will only be able to concentrate on maybe 3 to five people to network with and build an initial relationship with.  

Online, you are not just at one networking event, but 3, 4, 6, 10 events with hundred of thousands of other people.  Now quake at the time left in the real world for real things!!

So how do you use cope with it all?  

I have chosen  only a few of these online (and ongoing) 'events', or platforms, to attend.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Lookaly, a few forums and a few NING sites of interest to me.  

As lots of social network sites vie for your attention, and maybe money if you go down the route of promoted content, the first question is of demographics and where those 'publics' you want to target hang out on line.  There is no use building a presence on 'BEBO' if you want to reach people in their 20's or older, take it from me - they will be on Facebook.

Then invest in time to produce results.  Depending on who you are, what you are doing and what you are trying to sell, you will need to invest time online to reflect who you are and what you are doing.

It will not be an overnight success.  You will not go to bed and find 30,000 people following you on Twitter the next day.  Investment in time and effort is required.

It is best to choose a couple of platforms to concentrate on and evaluate how they can add value to what you are trying to do.

You can also ask others how they use their own social media or even invest a bit of money engaging someone to do the research for you [hint, hint :) ].  

Remember, whilst many social media platforms, or events, or sites (whatever you want to call them) are free, your time is not.  And if you are able to dive into social media you may have one of the best sales teams in the world at your finger tips.