Social Engagement for Beginnners

So. You keep hearing about social networking and whatnot, but you find it all a bit overwhelming. Don’t worry! Everyone does.

The question is: where to start? Here are some ideas, and I’ll go easy so I don’t overwhelm you! Just see what feels right. The main idea here is to engage and connect while staying in your joy. Balance, balance, balance.

Blog or Blog/website. To have something that’s strictly a blog, you can sign up on sites like Blogger or Tumblr or WordPress.com. They are free and easy to do. Lots of small businesses start out with a blog on Tumblr and then move up to a fully fledged website once they’ve devoted some energy to it and built a following. Lots of truly clever individuals start out with a hilarious or interesting blog and get a book deal. This could be you.

Twitter. Speak in your own voice about the things that matter to you (using 140 characters or less). Build community there with other like-minded souls. Follow those that feed you, that are speaking their truth. You can create lists for those that you follow, by categories that make the most sense to you. These lists that you create can be public (so that others can follow your list) or private (so that only you can see them).

Facebook. You are probably on Facebook already. Enough said.

Google+. Google’s answer to Facebook, which was heavily populated by techie nerds early on but may yet prevail. It’s going to be a lot more fun once all your friends are there.

Yelp. If you are a business owner, add your business to Yelp. Clients and customers can go there to give you reviews that other potential customers and clients can read.

Google Places. If you are a business owner, add your business to Google Places. Your business will show up in Google Maps this way, and this will also help your website’s Google rankings. Google Places also has a review function similar to Yelp.

Pinterest. I was a little slow coming to the Pinterest fun but, whoopieeeee! It’s so fun. You can make your own little online scrapbooks of wonder. Just try it.

YouTube. Your tribe is on YouTube. You just don’t know it yet. Yes, it can be overwhelming when the entire planet is there, singing, dancing and waving their hands. But then beauty floats up, like this from my friend Jackie Mancini. Start searching for things that you might love, like “Tibetan singing bowls,” for example. Mark favorites, follow the channels that have videos you love. Have a gander at the “recommended” videos that pop up based on what you’re viewing.

Vimeo. Like YouTube, only quieter.

Okay. You’ve made it through the list. Nicely done.