Ah yes. Social media. It’s all the rage. It can also create some rage if you let it. It has on occasion caused outbreaks of nervous twitches and strange rashes as well (you better see a doctor about that).
I always encourage SMB owners and marketers to get over their concerns and give social media a try. They have pat answers / excuses /reasons / you name it, to derail the conversation. Chief among these is time. I don’t push back too hard on that one because it’s often true. My only question to them is “Have you looked at other areas where you are currently wasting time and thought of reallocating that time to something that could benefit your business? I get mixed reactions there. Some get offended while others go into deep thoughts (which can turn into the “I’m thinking about it” excuse).
In other posts I have talked about my preference for LinkedIn as one of the best social media opportunities out there. Admittedly, I have been pecked by the Twitter bird (@FrankReed for those interested). LinkedIn, though, has a strong place in the world of social media and networking that will continue to grow and benefit users for a long time.
Having said that, I want to reintroduce you to my friend Chuck Hester. Chuck has every right to call himself 
the LinkedIn guru. The LinkedIn ‘go-to” guy. You name it regarding LinkedIn and he’s been there, done that, printed the t-shirts, sold them and more. In part one of an interview I did with Chuck a while ago we learned about his experience with LinkedIn and the value that he has been able to get from it.
Well, I’ve learned that if I give Chuck enough time in between parts 1 and 2 of an interview he’ll just write a book about it. In fact, why don’t you head over to his blog to read an excerpt from the soon to be published book about his LinkedIn life called Linking in To Pay It Forward – Changing the Value Proposition in Social Media.
I can’t wait to read the whole thing. Maybe if I’m nice to Chuck he’ll send me an advance copy (wink, wink, nod, nod).
SMB Takeaway: Social media is not just for techno geeks and people with no actual social interaction with others. It’s for business and the sooner the SMB’s of the world understand this and adapt to the new world order the better it will be for their bottom line.
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Nice article, Frank. Thanks for sharing – Linkedin was one of the first social networks I joined and remains a favorite of mine, even as I allocate more time to twittering.
@ejly – Glad you liked it. I need to utilize LinkedIn more effectively so having Chuck in my network has helped me realize that Twitter is one thing and has its place but LinkedIn can be powerful in many other ways.
Come by again and say hello!
Frank Reeds last blog post..SMB’s Social Media Reminder – Use LinkedIn
Hey Frank – This is great! I am a fan of LinkedIn and your blog. LinkedIn has been such a powerful brand builder for me that I changed the name of my sponsorship consulting business to reflect that of the group I formed on LinkedIn – Sponsorship Insights Group. We have over 2,400 sponsorship professionals and a dynamic forum…