Navigating the thoroughfare in Social Media

 Talk about patting my head and rubbing my tummy. It is easier for me to do that than to navigate the thoroughfares in the social media world. When you look at the social media phenomenon, do you feel like you have your head stuck in a wasp’s nest? There is an incredible amount of experts, blogs, and advice out there, on how to utilize social media to increase ones business. Building a fan base and trending have become important aspects of marketing. Why? I’ve found that for me social media is one of those fads that seem to be running out of steam, finally! Thank God! No sour grapes here!

Social Media Causeway

Here's what happened to me. After successfully running my business long before the social media craze, I was advised that I needed to have a Facebook page to connect with my clients, so I did. This threw me into Linkedin, I am not really sure how I got into Linkedin. It took me a while to get somewhat of a handle on what Linkedin is all about. I'm still not sure. Then my daughter told me that Pinterest is great for finding inspiring images and connection. Sounds good, but what do I do with the things I pinned? Twitter, now that is a bit of a joke, I had a twitter account for quite a while before I knew how to use it. Get a YouTube channel I was told. Ha! I messed up YouTube so much. I ended up with three YouTube channels and I'm not sure how that happened either. I think I might still have them. I recorded several videos deleting them because they were not perfect before my daughter, the one who told me about Pinterest, told me that I had a video editing programme on my computer. Go figure! The YouTube channels threw me into Google+. What the hell is Google+, anyway?

  

So, I'm on Google+. Google+ snuck up on me. Before I knew it I was registered. I am just on Klout, not sure what that is either. I don’t even go to that one. I have a blog on Blogspot now called Blogger. I wasn't aware of the name change until my daughter brought it to my attention after I tried to logging in, to no avail. Through my daughter's genius I got back on and cleaned up my Blogger page. I was told that I should get a Wordpress blogging page. It was so complicated that I added a few more silver strands to my already graying hair trying to figure out that one. I'm sure I am a bunch more social media sites, I just can't remember which. Oh and I am on Hootsuite and dot Me.

Well, back to Facebook. So, I had a Facebook page for my book, and one for affirmations, plus my facebook home page, Then Facebook added a new page which was a duplicate page, still don’t understand the duplication. I do find it easier to browse the original page. Another 'expert' came along and told me that I needed to amalgamate my Facebook pages. So, I did. This put an abrupt halt to the slow rise in my 'likes'. With all these social media platforms out there, it’s a wonder I have time to do what I'm really good at.

Does social media work? Is it effective? My answer at this point is “I’ll get back to you in say, fifty years”. Unless you have brought your business to a place where you are making money to hire little Tyler down the street to keep your social media motor running smoothly, don't depend on it! It is a waste of time and your twenty dollars. I think the experts need to come up with real social media successes of people who have spent real amounts of time on these platforms. Celebrities can afford the time to tweet and browse. Successful people do not have the time to crawl through the Ethernet. I think it's time we unplug and redefine the uses of social media and spare the rest of my pepper hair from turning to salt. Well that is my rant for the day. I now have a new social media person who seems to be on the ball. I will keep you up to date on my progress.

Sonia Nadina Haynes is an Emotional Healing Practitioner and author. She lives in British Columbia.