Editor’s Note: 2Chicks are really happy to be part of Grandma Mary’s virtual book tour. No one knows how to make running a home business more fun than Grandma Mary! We hope that you enjoy Grandma Mary’s guest appearance on the 2Chicks blog page!
Hi. Grandma Mary here. Thanks Yolanda and CaZ for letting me do a guest post about social media on your fabulous 2ChicksAtHome site. It’s nice to get out and about once in awhile!
For those of you who don’t know me, I have a social media blog over at the Grandma Mary Show website where I spice up my social media tutorials and make learning fun.
Help for your Home Business
How is your home business going? I know it can be challenging. Well social media can help in four fantastic ways.
1. Making Connections. Home businesses can be lonely. Just working all day on your computer and staring at your cat – I know because I’m right there with you. Getting on Twitter or Facebook or connecting in a forum or a Ning www.Ning.com group can help.
Twitter has a lot of solo-preneurs who are very supportive (at least some of them, others can be spammy – you just have to find the right ones). Tweeting can be just like shouting your witty joke over the cubicle wall except it can only be 140 characters. Make it a short joke.
2. New Customers Of course this is a biggie. So many businesses get onto social media for this reason. But Twitter is not your ATM, people! It takes time and you need to develop relationships first. Put the social first and you will sell more.
Facebook can be great for connecting with old friends on your user account but even better when all your old friends can easily find out what you are doing now. You never know what friends may need a designer or a consultant or copy writer – or whatever you do all day in your pajamas.
Plus, if you create a Fan page for your business, and you are giving out helpful tips and connecting with your customers, you are reminding them each day that you are out there. So the next time they need your services, you will be the one they think of first.
3. Finding Joint Ventures. Another thing about running a home business is that your ideas can get old and moldy like last month’s pastrami. Finding a partner can freshen things up.
Connect with someone who dovetails with your expertise and put on a webinar together. Find someone to cross-promote your products and services. This is an excellent way to get new customers.
Or just connect with someone who you do a guest post for like the lovely Yolanda and CaZ. Get out and about and say hi to some new people!
4. Build Your Brand. We hear so much about brand building and we tend not to think of our small business as a “brand”. But it is! Stop thinking small, baby, because you are going to be big!
Social media can really help establish a consistent presence on the web and spread your message. When your picture is everywhere, I’m going to remember you.
So that’s, it. Easy peasy. Remember it does take time, but if you set up a schedule, it can be very manageable. If you have any questions or comments about how Twitter or Facebook can work for you, leave them in the comment area – let’s talk!
Grandma Mary is a Social Media Edutainer. Learning social media is wayyyy more fun with Grandma Mary. Visit her virtual world at http://www.GrandmaMaryShow.com. It’s packed with foolery mixed in with generous helpings of learning that goes down easy like slightly melted chocolate.
Need a step by step guide to Twitter or Facebook? Check out her new books How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business and How to Use Facebook to Grow Your Business.
