Biz Tuesdays with Kara: The Wide World of Social Media & Get to Know your "Neighbor"

Good Morning!! I’m getting this post started with a phenomenal video:

Any of the facts surprise you? After watching this video, I am always impressed with the way social media has reached billions of people, how businesses can utilize it at such a low cost and how many opportunities are out there. I also feel quite behind in my social media life after watching this. At my day job, we aren’t utilizing social media in any great capacity and since we’re behind, it seems overwhelming, daunting even just to get started. But we need to. Our target market is out there, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Foursquare and everywhere in between.

For small businesses, social media is almost essential because mainly, it’s FREE! Free is of course, relative, as it takes time and effort to post, follow-up and be active. And as many of you know, you’re time is valuable! Here are some easy tips to keep your social media realm active and exciting:

· Make a weekly plan with goals: Draft out what you’d like to accomplish each day. Maybe it’s having a day of the week associated with a different topic. You can blog/facebook/twitter about the topic. This will help you to think in advance of topics and maybe even pre-draft some posts. If it’s too much to post multiple places each day, think about posting on your topic in only one place and then another for the next day. The goal is to keep your content current, start conversations and keep your fans interested!

· Manage and track your social media: Anyone ever use a social media management tool such as Hoot Suite ? This tool can cost you for upgrades in their service, but the free version allows you to manage 5 social networks and 1 RSS feeds. They also provide basic statistics on your posts. Make sure that if you are tracking statistics, take a look at them often to see what works and what doesn’t.

· Connect often: I’ll admit it, I’m definitely a lurker when it comes to blogs (love them!), forums, Facebook and Twitter. But, the real benefits of being involved with these online communities is that it can help you connect with people you have common interests in and things you want to be a part of. Comment on your favorite blog’s posts or tweet someone you admire. It won’t hurt, I promise! You may find a kindred spirit out there!

Let’s all make a goal for today: connect with someone over social media, say hello to a fellow vendor at the Horseshoe, or spread the word about the Horseshoe Market on your Facebook, Twitter, and blogs!

Kara Lundquist is a Colorado native that made her way back to Denver after some time in sunny Santa Barbara, CA and rainy Seattle, WA. She lives here with her husband and little yorkie pup, Mochi. She's currently working on her MBA in Marketing at Regis University but also enjoys time outside of schoolwork with embroidery, quilting and collecting fabric