I get load emails with questions about social media. Here is just a small sample of questions I’ve received recently, paraphrased:
- How do I get more “likes” on my Facebook page?
- Should I start a Facebook business page?
- How do I prepare for the Timeline switch on Facebook?
- Do you recommend using Facebook ads?
- Do you prefer Facebook or LinkedIn groups for finding new business leads?
- What’s your take on G+?
- You get the idea…etc, etc.
Interestingly, my favorite social platform of all (Twitter) is one I get the fewest inquiries on. Go figure 🙂 Anyway, you may have noticed I don’t talk too much about social media here. I’ve covered a few topics on occasion, but for the most part I’m pretty quiet about it. So what’s up with that?
Why I’m not a social media advocate
I just don’t have time to advocate social media. And I don’t see any purpose really. There are bazillions of consultants out there harping on every day about the value of social media, and the world doesn’t need another social media lackey talking about how social media is the way of the future, blah, blah, blah. None of this means I’m AGAINST it. I use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn daily. I get business from social media. I’ve met good friends using these tools. I find social media pretty invaluable actually. It’s also fun.
But that’s not what this website is about. And it’s not what my business is about.
The focus here is getting ridiculously impressive results from your website. So my company builds ridiculously effective websites. Pretty simple 🙂 And that’s where my focus lies. This doesn’t mean that social media isn’t valuable, it just means that I focus where I’m able to provide the highest value.
Blogging and email rule
From day one I’ve pretty much focused on blogging and email. These are the tools of my trade. This doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to chop down a tree. This is just how I do it. And it’s what I teach clients how to do. There’s a pretty high appeal to this approach, because to be honest…most people are pretty overloaded with info and all this pressure to use social media incessantly. The marketing world is filled to the brim with cats talking about how you need to be using every social media site out there, be everywhere all the time, etc. It’s pretty exhausting if you ask me. Not to mention the fact that it’s all bullshit.
Not only do you NOT need to be everywhere, all the time…you also can’t. There’s not time. And even if you were, 90% of it would be a complete waste of your time. Most of my clients are pretty relieved when I inform them that I’m not going to give them a bunch of rules about how they need to be on the internet all day long. I like cutting through all the B.S., so we can get right to the heart of things. What’s going to get RESULTS for your business?
My two weapons of choice
Blogging and email rule. These are the two tools I focus on. Since the late 90’s, this has been my focus and it’s served me well so far. Yeah, social media has blown up. And yeah…I use it. There’s a lot of value there. But you know what no one seems to recognize?
Even though Facebook has completely exploded and taken over the entire internet, guess what remains the internet’s NUMBER ONE most used platform for consuming and sharing information? That’s right…frickin email. Good ole email.
You know how Facebook ads have tripled in price over the past few years? You know how Facebook changes their TOS and silently exploits their users personal information every time they get a chance? You know how Facebook regularly changes their platform, throwing everyone for a loop, so they have to completely relearn where everything is and how to use their website? Email doesn’t do any of that crap.
After all these years, email has quietly remained on top. And for good reason…it works. And blogging remains one of the most accessible and effective ways to show up in search engines and build a highly engaged, powerful email list.
Where do we go from here?
So where do we go from here? If you want advice on social media, I’m always happy to give you my feedback on whatever I’m doing. Those of you who subscribe and talk with me know I respond to your questions. And I always love hearing from you and sharing what’s working for me. I just don’t go in depth on social here, and if you have super technical questions, I’ll usually refer you to one of my friends who focuses on that. For me and my clients here, I find a lot of value in simply focusing on what works best. Focus on blogging and email, because that’s where you can get the most substantive long term results. From there, use social as much as you can and have fun with it. Just don’t stress it. Life’s too short 😉
Questions? Then subscribe, and talk to me! That’s right…via email!