Social media is a rockin way to promote your business.

• It’s personal
• It’s engaging
• It’s scalable
• It’s effective
• It’s profitable

I could go on and on…but you get the idea.

But so many business owners are not rocking a social media strategy yet. It’s still not mainstream. When will it be mainstream? Soon.

Word to the wise: if you’re not on board now, it’s a good time. sooner the better. If you think things are scary now, just wait. You haven’t seen anything yet. Nothing.

Another word: it’s not about learning every single thing out there. That’s impossible. It’s about embracing change. It’s about diving in, getting on with it. Get used to making things up as you go. Life is fun when it’s a constant learning experience.

Social Media is a Constant Learning Experience

That’s what this is…a constant learning experience. There is no such thing as a “social media expert”, and if you come across someone claiming to be one, run in the other direction. Someone who actually knows everything there is to know about social media…are you kidding me?

Social Media is a Magic Bullet. A Really Slow Bullet

• Can social media change your business inside out? Yes
• Can social media open up new revenue streams you never even thought of? Yes
• Can social media make you more effective, in less time than ever before? Yes
• Can you accomplish all this in a short amount of time by paying someone else to “take care of it”? Not even if you’re the richest person in the world

If there is one concept that many people need but don’t like, it’s accountability. The success of Chris Brogan’s Trust Agents is a perfect testament to this phenomenon. Fact is, building a social media network means building trust. And trust is a funny little bugger. It simply cannot be manufactured. Can’t be done. It has to be built. One tweet at a time. One post at a time. One comment at a time.

Can You Do It?

That’s the real question isn’t it? Do you have what it takes to dive in, work your face off and really build something substantial? Do you have what it takes to build a successful business using social media?

In short, yes.

In a little more detail, you don’t have everything it takes yet. Neither do I. Nor does anyone. Remember…constant learning process! But let me tell you a little of what it doesn’t require:

• It doesn’t require a high degree of techiness or nerdiness.
• It doesn’t require knowledge of html, or any of that web programming crap. They have tools now that take care of all that.
• It doesn’t require that you even know what Twitter is. Just a willingness to learn.
• It doesn’t require that you have any expensive equipment. If you’re reading this article (unless someone printed it out for you, lol), you already have what it takes to get started and go quite far.

And here’s a bit of what it WILL require:

• Paradigm shift, plus go ahead and put your seatbelt on, because you’ll have another total paradigm shift real soon. I experience one at least once a week.
• A realistic budget. I really struggled with putting this on the list. If I’m being honest with you though, approaching a totally new and very dynamic marketing strategy and expecting to do it for free (as many do for some odd reason…go ask your local newspaper for a free ad, and see how far that gets you) is not a strategy I advise. Many of these tools are free to acquire. Acquisition is one thing. Effective implementation over the long term is an entirely different thing. Social media highly effective? Yes. Free? Not usually, unless you’re a veteran and highly, highly competent. And even the vets in this industry get help and use premium tools daily.
• Time. Yes that’s right! Social media is not a space ad. You can’t slap something up and get results. It’s about networking, building relationships. Results will come, and they can blow your mind, but they will not come overnight.
• Willingness to learn new skills, consistently.
• Help. This relates to “realistic budget”, but not all help needs to come from an outside consultant. Much help can be obtained through free sources like online forums and reading other blogs. Looking to others for solutions…people outside your immediate organization, will need to become a regular event.

Can you afford to ignore the fact that almost all your customers are online looking for you already…talking about you? Stepping into the conversation is welcome and encouraged, and that’s all social media is in a nutshell. It’s just people talking.

Do you have what it takes? The answer lies in your social competency. Have you ever shook hands or had a nice conversation with someone? If the answer is “yes”, then yes…you too can be successful at social media marketing!

Does social media marketing scare you? Have you implemented it in your business yet? How is it working? Are you getting the results you want? Post questions or comments…in the comments! I’m happy to respond and will even cover questions in future posts if called for