A very wise man once said “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” (Alan Watts, British philosopher). How can this sentence apply to you? Do you accept change or do you fight it?

Arguably, one of the biggest changes we have seen in the business industry within the last few years is social media. Social media has been around for a fair while now but the importance of it crept up on us and it soon became a standardised service that marketers were offering. After understanding the importance of social media, more and more businesses slowly but surely started investing in it. However there are still a lot of business leaders that do not see the value of it and refuse to even look at it.

Nowadays there are so many social media platforms available that it almost becomes overwhelming for the user to know which to use. Could this be the reason business leaders are not keen to interest in social media? Too much choice? If that is the reason for you then here’s a quick summary of the main social media platforms that we use for ourselves and our clients.

 – A good platform for consumer based clients. Using engaging techniques like posting tips or posting photos you can really interact with your audience and enforce your brand. Facebook can also be very effective for events as you can set up an Facebook event, send out invites and gain a following.

– This micro blogging website allows you to post updates (no bigger than a 140 characters) and retain an audience. Twitter is a brilliant platform to show off your expertise and start a conversation that could lead to work.

–  LinkedIn is the host to a thriving business community from around the world. Depending on your business you can engage and interact with people in your local area. Through LinkedIn you can start discussions to a mass audience, share expertise and gain valuable advice through other members.

– YouTube is a video sharing website, you can upload, watch and share videos from all around the world. Videos can prove to be a vital part of business so uploading them to a site visited by millions of people a day can prove very effective.

This list goes on and on but these are some of the main social media platforms that we use. We are always looking at other social media platforms and keeping up to date with the new updates or new platforms. The ones listed – among others, have proven to be the most effective for us and our clients.

Remember that using social media does not mean posting updates about what you had for breakfast, or what you thought of the latest football scores. It’s a marketing tool that you can use to improve your relationship with your clients and show professionalism and expertise to potential clients. It is also another platform to use to get relevant people to visit to your website/get in contact with you and then convert them to a client/customer. So instead of battling with change, just accept it and join the dance.

For more information on social media or if you would like further tips on how to use it in business, send me an email. Does your business use social media? If so what social media websites does your business use and which ones are effective? Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn?