With the advent of social media, there has been a lot of chatter about its usefulness as well as many raised eyebrows regarding its benefits. A lot of people are still left wondering, how and why social media is even important and relevant to what they do. Most people who are skeptical about joining the bandwagon want to first know what the ROI will be for investing their time in social media. Is it even worth the time or is it better left to the teenyboppers who pride themselves on updating their social status by the minute!?

I believe social media has something to offer everybody; it depends on how and to what extent you use it. It’s not a one-size-fits-all glove, but really depends on what you make of it and how willing you are to venture into it in the first place.

My personal ROI for investing in social media over the past several months has been very apparent. The most apparent return is that it has led me to a contract job opportunity at SAS. Here’s how social media helped me achieve that.

My initial escapades with social media started at a curiosity level, while I experimented with it on a trial and error basis. The truth is, I’m still exploring, as I still do not know or totally understand the full impact of these social media platforms. I started with what made me comfortable: I created a LinkedIn profile and filled out my background and skill sets. I also made it a point to upload a professional photo. I figured people register things better when they associate a visual against any data. I started building connections and strengthened my network online. This took a considerable amount of time, as I’d spend hours trying to research people and companies I admired and wanted to connect with.

I made it a point to customize my LinkedIn invite, which typically included a very short introduction, what I have in common with the contact, and why I would like to connect with them. I think it was this approach that gave me a better response rate in building new connections. I always tried to keep my end goal in mind, in this case it was building a stronger and richer network of people that I could emulate and learn from in my field of interest.

Twitter gave me the opportunity to follow these people, read what they tweeted about and even engage in those conversations with no strings attached! Twitter, like most social sites is merely a tool created for us to use at our own discretion. Garbage in is garbage out! If you wish to have fruitful and productive conversations, the onus lies on you to follow the right people you’d like to have real and interesting conversations with. Tune out the mindless chatter by creating lists of people you’d like to follow and focus on those.

Beware, though: What may have started as a 10-minute activity can easily turn into a couple of hours online spent toggling between a dozen or more tabs open on your monitor. So always keep track of time and make a hard stop using a timer (if need be) so you don’t go overboard with it. Time management is key here. Brief focused bursts of engagement online on a daily basis helps keep your profile active onscreen.

I tried to mix the old with the new methods of networking. While these tech-savvy social platforms helped give me the initial leverage to connect, I followed through with the old-fashioned way of meeting and greeting over coffee or with an informational meeting. This always helped make the interactions more human aside from our virtual connections. I’m grateful for these opportunities that social media platforms created for me allowing me to make new connections, while preserving old ones, and strengthening my online brand presence through each of these platforms.

While your goals may vary ranging from brand awareness, networking, relationship building, or strengthening customer connections, all it takes is an open mindset, adventurous spirit and the willingness to invest a small portion of your day on these sites, and the ROI can be huge in the long run.

What has been your experience using social media, how has it helped you?

Photo by Keith Burtis

‘Food for thought’ as you get ready to launch your blog

Don’t be stuck in ‘analysis-paralysis’ get moving with it.
Blogging does not have to be sweat-breaking process that follows the sentiments of a white paper, so don’t over think it, let the creative juices just flow and enjoy the process.

Don’t go for perfection or uniqueness – doesn’t exist.
I kept stressing on what could I say ‘new’ that’s not been said before? Then it just hit me; it’s not what you say but how you say it that brings the novelty in it. People will always welcome your viewpoint on a specific topic. So make it unique by giving it your voice.

Always imagine yourself sitting across your boss sharing feedback over a cup of coffee.
Getting comfortable with this mental visual as you write your blog will help keep the tone of your blog engaging and conversational.

First write recklessly with your heart, then go back and revise it with your head.
Try not to be over-cautious as you write your first draft; just write what comes to you initially. This will bring out the spontaneity and allow your readers to get to know you better. Then, imagine having the same conversation with your boss and revise it accordingly!

Find people you can trust who can call a spade a spade.
Networking is key! Find people who you aspire to be like and can learn from. More importantly, surround yourself with people who are not afraid to give you honest feedback about your work. I thank my family for being my biggest critics pushing me to do better!

Content is still king!
If you do, invest in this whole-heartedly, for the right reasons and don’t shirk on the quality of work. If you want your readers to come back, your content must appeal!

If you are out there trying to venture into this, don’t bother to reinvent the wheel – leverage the one that currently exists! These are few of the blog sites that I admire (listed in no particular order) –

• Chris Brogan
• David B. Thomas
• Ignite Social Media
• Marketing + branding+ design – Chris Moody
• Reid All About It – Deirdre Reid
• SocialWayne.com – Wayne Sutton
• Square Jaw Media – Brian McDonald
• StaceyAlex.com – Stacey Alexander
• real business intelligence for real users – Angela Hall
• Marketing Hipster – Cord Silverstein
• Mashable
• Social Media Examiner

What has been some of the interesting advice you have gotten or shared with others on blogging?