Our Hotel in Orlando |
Last weekend I traveled to Orlando, Florida to attend a conference on Social Networking. Anyone who knows me, knows how interested I am in Social Media. I love reading blogs, I enjoy blogging myself, I find facebook to be a great way to communicate, Google+ looks promising, YouTube is most entertaining and I’m still trying to figure Twitter out. I post to Twitter on a routine basis, but still don’t have the hang of it. There are hundreds of other sites that can be included in Social Networking. It is a big, broad field and it is still in its infancy. I expect it to continue growing for years to come.
About six months ago, I started thinking about what I want to retire to when I leave my current job. The first thing that came to mind was something with social media. I could get lost reading blogs all day and post to facebook all night….but thought I needed something a little more substantial.
Michele Scism and Robin Smith |
So I did some research and I followed a few people online that I felt were doing things that I would like to do. People like Michele Scism, Martha Giffin, Michelle Shaeffer, and Jo Barnes. After a few months I decided I wanted to start an online business helping people and small businesses get themselves online and be successful. You see there is one thing to just using social media for fun and posting what you think today….it is another to be using it as a business and try to drive traffic to your business and make a profit. Not only do they need a fan page, they need a welcome page, a squeeze page, and they need to use facebook, blogs, and other social media in a strategic manner. I learned how to help businesses do that at Take Action, Get Profits in Orlando.
I’m starting to build my own business and business pages. Then I hope to help entrepreneurs and small businesses with their pages. Social Media Management is a growing field and I’m thrilled to be part of it.
Some of Our Presenters |
While in Orlando, I met many people who are in various stages of their business. It was great to meet with people who have already gone where I want to go an those just getting started, like me. It was also wonderful to meet so many people with the same interest in social media. Many people were there for different reasons from different types of businesses, but we all were learning how social media could contribute to our success.
I’ll be sharing a bit more about my experiences and things I learned on this trip in the future.
So tell me, what do you feel is most interesting about social networking and how it can impact businesses? Leave me a comment and share your thoughts.
I guess if I had to pick one that springs to mind, its the power of referral to boost your business!! unlike outbound marketing, social media and inbound marketing allow us as consumers to buy based on referrals from people we trust...
ReplyDeleteLook forward to reading more and good luck to you on your business journey!
With your technical background and warm personality, Social Media will be a natural fit for you, Robin.
ReplyDeleteI like that social media marketing and social networking allow you to communicate with your network and get quick responses. For small business owners it allows for greater customer service interaction if applied correctly.