Social Media | the pixel boutique | blog, web & print design

Believe it or don’t, social media is here to stay. If you’re a reader of this and other blogs, I’m sure you already know that.

But it surprises me how many people in my generation and before don’t believe it. If you have a small business and non-profit and the whole idea of social media is just…foreign to you, let me put in very simple terms why you want to strongly consider starting a blog (and Twitter/Facebook accounts).

1. Blogs get more traffic than static websites. Take that fact to the bank. Google likes fresh, frequent content more than old, stale content. You are much more likely to be found on the World Wide Web if you have a blog as opposed to a static html website that doesn’t get updated frequently.

2. Open the lines of communication. Blogs build communication through posts, comments, polls, etc. Communication builds community. And community builds relationships. Relating to your customers personally goes light years beyond simply viewing them as consumers. (And that about sums up the whole “Web 2.0″ term…)

3. Learn what your customers (and future customers) want. You can gain valuable information about your customer demographic with the use of Google Analytics. Learn what your customers really want and provide it for them.

4. Build brand loyalty. Loyalty comes when a customer feels like there’s a little humanity to go along with the quality of a product. Being transparent and responding to comments, questions and concerns helps your customer feel a little more connected to your brand.

5. Expand your reach…for free. Incoming links (links to your blog/site from a customer’s blog or Facebook page) is just good, free advertising.

6. Speaking as a designer…its a much better ROI than traditional advertising/media.

7. Speaking as a woman…I will {reportedly} spend $.60 of ever $1.00 of my family’s budget, so appealing to my “relational” side is good business.

8. Speaking as a consumer…I am looking for your blog (and your Twitter page…and your Facebook page) because most big businesses are figuring it out and jumping on board.

Still not convinced social media is where its at? Take a look at this interesting {not so breaking news} poll on how people heard about Bin Laden’s death a few weeks ago (social media beat out traditional media, yet again)…

Still have more questions on starting a blog? Contact me…I might just know someone who can hook you up.

At BlissDom, there was a lot of talk about the current trend of social media. To be honest, the whole things still overwhelms me a bit, but I can see its value now much more than I could before.

There are a lot of popular social media tools out there; Twitter, Facebook, LinkDin, YouTube and StumbleUpon to name a few. With one simple Google search on “social media”, you could probably come up with more information on the subject than you could read in your lifetime. Rather than highlight the features of each of these, I want to give you some basic ideas on how the use of social media can benefit you. You’d be surprised at all the different ways they can. At least I was.

1. Reconnect – Over the last few weeks, I reconnected with two friends I went to kindergarten and grade school with. Kin-der-garten. Do you realize that was 30ish years ago for me? Because of this, Facebook is one of my favorite pastimes addictions tools. I was leery at first because I thought it was mainly for cool college kids. But quickly realized its the MySpace for 30-somethings.

If you’re into keeping up with your high school and college friends and acquaintances, join Facebook. You’ll be shocked at who you’ll find and how fun it is. Don’t worry…its safe and as private as you want it to be and very well designed.

2. Build community – I think one of the hardest things about being a stay at home mom is the feeling of isolation that can creep in. You’re surrounded by little people all day, doing a thankless (though extremely important) job and don’t always get to have the freedom to spend time connecting with other moms in the same boat. That’s why I love blogging and now, Twitter. There’s a sense of community built when you can pop on and ask a question, tell a funny thing that happened to you, or give your antidote for the day…all in 140 characters or less.

To be honest, I didn’t “get it” for about 6 months. I created an account, tried it, and stopped. But a few months ago, I gave it another shot, but this time I used an application called TweetDeck. And now, I’m hooked.

I’d highly recommend an application like TweetDeck if you’re interested in twittering. It gives you up to date views on your friends and you can create groups for people you follow. So, you could have “mommies” in one group, “family” in another and “people I’m stalking” in yet another (totally kidding).

3. Stay in Touch – When we went to our college reunion last year, I uncovered yet another layer of Facebook. You see, I had been following a bunch of college friends and several of them where at this reunion. It was so great to walk up to them and not have to say, “Where do you live, what do you do, how many kids do you have…” because I already knew! We could skip the small talkie stuff and remember the good ol’ times. Social media is like a Christmas letter all year long.

4. Promote - If you have a blog or website that you want to get noticed, Twitter and Facebook are an ideal space for doing just that. Personally, I don’t quite know the perfectly balance between hiding bashfully in the corner and being completely obnoxious, but I know its there somewhere. Some people feel that sort of thing is a little tacky, while other people love it. There really is no prescription or rules for using social media. Use common sense, be courteous of others, and you’ll be peachy.

5. Opportunities – One thing I learned at Blissdom was that a lot of people find job opportunities on Twitter. They scour the updates looking for marking and networking opportunities that constantly come up. Its like Craigslist meets IM. You can search for terms people are using to find a new opportunity to make a business connection. Certainly traditional communication and media aren’t going anywhere, but social media is definitely something that will only grow in the future.

If you’re like me and feel like you’re on the tail end of the generation that “gets” social media, don’t be afraid to try it. You may just find you love it.