What about Social Media - Is it Business or Personal?

My Social Media Class is starting out with a discussion and our own personal review of what’s out there for Social Media Tools (SM); what we think might be the best for our personal use, and what we think would be the best for business use or promotions.

There are many – hundreds – of social media sites or tools that are available online, some are more obscure than others, such as Orkut (bit.ly/2iheLU) which is a social site operated by Google. And some are very popular as you may very well know such as with Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Some sites are very useful collaboration tools for sharing and manipulating documents online (like Evernote, Stixy or Google Docs http://bit.ly/I6Ipx6 ), while some are more useful for communicating between two or more people across distances (Like Yahoo Instant Messenger or MSN/Outlook - which has just been combined with the Skype communications website earlier this year). These messenger tools can also be used with video feeds so you can see the person(s) with whom you’re talking too.  All these web tools as well as many more can be used both personally and/or professionally for your business.

Another site you may be familiar with is “YouTube” which is used both personally as well as professionally. It has become almost like another television network (online), where both professional business, as well as an amateur video enthusiast can create content for an audience.   A popular website often used by professionals in a very personal manner is called "LinkedIn." When my social marketing student-team developed a brand awareness campaign (during my first social media class) highlighting a small microbrewery in San Marcos, Ca. (Stumblefoot Brewery); my analysis and contribution profiled how LinkedIn could be used by Stumblefoot to attract sales leads for soliciting wholesale accounts at restaurants, hotels and other hospitality or  beverage outlets. 

I have to admit my exposure to a lot of these SM tools has just begun – although I am familiar with some of the most popular social media websites, I am still a novice and a late adopter to most of them. I am going to be creating my first Facebook Page as I take my 2^nd course on Social Media; because I now know it can become a crucial tool for the development of my career in the not so distant future.   

I think most of the social media sites online can be utilized for both your business and for personal or professional use. But it will be those businesses that can find and utilize the most relevant or key social media tools - the tools which are important to their target customers - who will be the most successful with using social media for promoting their brand and increasing their profits.