Why Social Media?

It has the potential to eat up tons of time, scheduling it into your day means adding an extra activity into a crowded schedule, and the learning curve can be high depending on how technically savvy you are. So why get into social media? Customers!

Don't think of social media as an online time waster, instead, think of it as digital networking. There are tons of people for you to connect with. By skipping out on social media, you could be skipping out on an enormous number of new customers. Here are some specifics:

-Facebook has more than 400 million users. A bit of perspective: there are 300 million people in the United States. The average Facebook user has 130 friends and is connected to 60 pages, groups and events.

-There are nearly 12 million Twitter users. About 65 percent of them are under 25. Women make up 53 percent of the user base.

That's a huge market! Before you get too excited, remember that this is digital networking, not digital door-to-door sales. Don't spam users with links and useless content. It's like real networking--connect with people and engage them. Send useful links and take part in conversations. The benefit over face-to-face networking is that you can break up the conversation over time, you can connect to multiple networks at once, and you can do it from anywhere.

An easier inventory

Anyone that has to manage a business with a lot of inventory knows that nothing's more tedious than data entry. If you get hundreds of new products every quarter, the last thing you want to do is spend hours inputting each item. Some desktop programs will send you new items to download into your program, but they cost money. Other programs don't even have inventory options, you're stuck keeping track of them in a spreadsheet, or on paper. There are some online programs that keep track of updates for you. You don't have to spend hours updating your inventory every quarter. You don't have to keep using the same old programs and methods just because that's the way you've done it for years. It's time to upgrade! There are faster, better and easier ways to run your business. Ways to save you time and money. Check them out now!

Desktop vs Online

These days you can do just about everything online. From taking care of your finances--using online banking--to writing documents and creating presentations--using things like Google Docs--it's all online. It used to be that when you bought a new computer you also had to buy word processing software, music software, picture editing tools, and more. You can do all of that and more online and keep your desktop clean of clutter. Now you can even manage your Mary Kay business online--every part of it. Why ditch bulky desktop programs in favor of the internet? Here are a couple of reasons:

-With online programs, you don't have to worry about backing up your data. If your computer crashes all of your information is safe. 

-You can use an online program on any computer, and in some cases, on your smart phone.

-Web software developers can push updates and fixes to the program to users faster and more efficiently than desktop developers. Instead of sending out download CDs or new versions every couple of years, web developers can send out updates as soon as they are ready. That way everyone is using the most up to date version of the program at all times.

-Good web developers employ the latest virus blockers and firewalls for your safety. It might seem like a desktop program is safer, but many of them are open for easy attack.

-Your desktop program can't do it all. You might have to use several different programs to do everything one online program can do.

-Desktop software often comes with a set number of (expensive) licenses, limiting how many times and how many computers you can install it. An online computer can be used on any computer.

Those are just a few of the perks of using online programs. The best part about online programs is that most of them let you try them out for a while. So get out there put them to the test.

Keeping in touch with customers

Today's technology enables us to keep in touch with customers in a number of new ways. The next time you get a new customer, make sure you take down more than just their name, phone number and address. Ask them if they are online--Facebook, Twitter, email, LinkedIn, blogs, etc. Some online business management programs allow you to store this information about customers for reference. With their online contact info, you can quickly and easily reach them. Send an email marketing campaign to them, comment on their Facebook status or pictures, or connect with them on LinkedIn. 

Using online communication, you can easily pass on links containing coupons or helpful articles. If you schedule in some time to communicate online once or twice a week with your customers, you'll stay in their mind. A lot of people fear that always being online will distance us from people and hurt our face-to-face communication. I think it actually makes it more special. If your customers see you digitally all the time, either on Facebook or Twitter, imagine how surprised they'd be if they received a phone call or a hand written note. So just because the online world is growing, doesn't mean the older means of communication are going to die out. Here are some quick tips for communicating with customers:

-First, become a friend of your customers on Facebook and Twitter (if they are on those services. If you aren't, stop reading now and join!)

-Next, comment on their status updates, pictures and links. Occasionally send them something useful about a sale, but DO NOT spam them with merchandise--that's an easy way to get un-followed.

-Get to know them--thanks to online profiles, this is pretty easy!

-Every now and then (maybe once a month) send them a personalized, handwritten note. This will strengthen the relationship and make them feel special.

-Keep that cycle going and you'll build a loyal customer base in no time!