YES, I mean NO, well it can be, let me explain.
You see, Social Media is a bit like chocolate, it can be ADDICTIVE and if abused it can certainly have a negative impact. But in MODERATION, chocolate (and Social Media) have many advantages.
The problem (or one of the problems) with humans is that we often CAN’T CONTROL OURSELVES. Its OK to eat Chocolate, icecream, bacon, or pizza in moderation but if we don’t control those urges it can lead to health problems.
Social Media is not different, it can be HIGHLY ADDICTIVE and can have a negative impact on your life (especially TIME) it you don’t control your urges.
On the other hand, Social Media under control can be fun, entertaining, productive and even PROFITABLE.
As a Small Business owner, the question often arises “to Social Media or not?” In my mind there is no question.
YES YES YES
You see as a Small Business we are always looking for inexpensive forms of Marketing, and guess what, apart from Time, you can’t get much cheaper than FREE.
Be careful however, not to get addicted. Follow these simple rules and enjoy:
- Find out on which sites your customer base likely HANGS OUT (ask them) and start with one or two at most.
- Set some guidelines as to HOW OFTEN AND HOW LONG. I’d suggest once or twice a day for 5 to 10 minutes and be strict on yourself to not get lost in time.
- Pick the times of the day and STICK TO THEM, don’t check it every 5 minutes as it can be highly distracting.
- TURN OFF the applications on your PC of Mobile outside of those times.
- Set some SIMPLE GOALS and measure your progress such as; “I’d like to drive and additional 100 people to my website this month”
- Have fun with it but don’t let it RULE your life.
Are you IN or OUT?
PS. Follow me on Insta 🙂
As you say, it is all about Self Control and being a Master at it…
It obviously has great advantages if it is kept in the right perspective.
You got some great tips, and I like to read everyone of them, they are short and to the point.
Thanks Parminder, I appreciate the comment and support.
Enter your comment here
Hi Jewels.
The problem with Social Media from my POV is that it is becoming the 21st Century addiction- and I see a lot of confused SME owners who try to ‘leverage’ this powerful tool.
The problem is that this is before they even have the rudimentary basics in place- specifically a website ( or if they have, at least one that is optimised and can ‘perform’ in the Search Engines for them!)
We need to persuade SME of the need to have an online presence, as the longer they delay- the more damage they are doing to their business!
A recent Nielsen survey showed that some 46% of Australian consumers now buy from International retailers- up from 14% in only 2005!!
This is a wake up call- Local businesses must provide better value and experiences in E-Commerce here in Australia- or lose out..