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Drive Your Way To Social Media Success

Guest post by: Jessica Swanson

Article Overview: Discover why learning to drive and learning social media are the exact same process.

Drive Your Way To Social Media Success

I have a sixteen year old daughter, Alex, so you know what that means. Yep...learning to drive.

And, let me be the first to tell you that it's no easy task being the proud parent of a child with a learner's permit. The first few driving lessons were filled with tears, frustration, arguments and hands thrown dramatically up into the air. The bottom line is that it wasn't a pretty picture.

But, through A LOT of patience and persistence, we're slowly, but surely, almost to the required 50 hours so that she can take her driver's test and become a bonafide Illinois state driver.

And, since I've had hours of time to contemplate life while Alex drives me through the streets of the Chicagoland area, I've also decided that learning to drive and learning social media are really the same process.

1. Practice makes perfect. You can read all you want about how to drive or how to become an expert in social media. But at the end of the day, it's all about "doing it." You're not going to learn Twitter from a book; you're going to learn Twitter once you actually get on Twitter and start Tweeting.

2. You've got to rake in the hours. Many small business owners mistakenly believe that they'll jump into social media and shine brighter than the North Star. But, after the first few days they're horrified to find out that they didn't generate any followers, friends, connections or (gulp) sales. So they walk away in disgust.

Social media takes time. It's not an overnight solution. However, if you consistently and diligently put in the hours, you'll be rewarded with loads of followers, friends, connections, leads and yes, sales.

3. Drive through your frustration. During the initial phases of social media, there's a learning curve. (Think back to those first days of driving!) You're going to feel like a fish out of water, gasping for air. The third day my daughter had her learner's permit, she backed into a bush in our driveway and swore that she was never driving again.

However, you have to drive through those feelings of inferiority and frustration. That's the only way that you can make it to the other side.

So, go ahead and dive into the pool of social media. But, if you don't want to drown, practice, rake in the hours and drive through your frustration. It won't take long before you're a bonafide social media expert.

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Article Tags: shoestring marketing, small business marketing, social media marketing



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Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!
Re: Marketing 2.0 - What Are Your Thoughts - Hi Shri, Thanks for posting this. I also read it and I believe Social Media is here to stay, until the next best thing comes up. Social media proved to be useful for me many times and I think everyone should use it for their business.
Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance - [quote="vbn411":7qciluxl]Social Media is space that you have to be in to succeed in our current climate. People are going to be discussing your brand / product whether you like it or not, so you might as well join the conversation and add value. [/quote:7qciluxl] I think that's probably one of the most realistic way to think about it. There's no real textbook way of understanding Social Media, it's the networks of people and their interactions that will exist with or without your input. As for Jennifer, You can always have 2 Facebook pages. Many people do. There is also LinkedIn, which is like a professional networking version of Facebook. The only way to know is to try it.


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