Is Your Head Exploding from Social Media?

Back in 2012 I blogged this about finding balance between your work, social media and your personal life. Well, it still continues to challenge me.

In 2002 a friend suggested that I start a website. Okay. Done. That was great. Now I have my own domain--an online shop to sell my goodies.

Then shortly after came the suggestion from my web designer to start a blog. What's a blog? Oh, a journal. That's kind of cool, I thought. Okay, I was off and running. Started slow and then full force ahead. Juggling an online shop and blogging about my latest finds was keeping me busy.

then it begins..

friend: Lynn, you should try Linkedin.

me: What's a Linkedin?

friend: Oh, it's great site for connecting business-to-business. A networking site.

me: Okay, done! I'm onboard. Not too hard. E-mails and requests are coming, but I can do this.

fast forward a year...

friend: Are you on Twitter?

me: What's a Twitter?

friend: It's when you "tweet" with others using 'hashtags' that look like this #, and things that look like that @. 

me: What the heck? I thought a tweet was a bird.

friend: Aw, you'll love it. Great for business.

me: I'm so confused! I don't know who I'm responding to. And, what's an 'FF'?

friend: Oh, it's a Follow Friday, silly! Every Friday you put those @ symbols in front of people that you want to give a shout out to.

me: Why?

friend: Just because, it's what you do on Twitter.

me: Okay, I'll do those "Follow Fridays" and try and connect, but it's a bit confusing.

a year or so later...

I'm at a funeral for a friend's mother and have lunch with a friend after. She insists that I register with Facebook. I kind of knew what it was, but was adamant about not going on. And so it goes...

friend: You must go on Facebook. Great for catching up with friends, and good for business too.

me: I already have a website, blog, I'm on Linkedin and have a Twitter account.

friend: But, this is much different. Please, just try it.

Later that evening, I sign up and I'm off to the races. Scanning and posting photos from the 1970s, tagging everyone and anything. It becomes a new addiction. And so it goes...

fast forward a couple of years...

Get a request from Victoria at SfgirlbyBay to be a part of a new site called Pinterest, a visual bookmarking site. A group of 300 bloggers are requested to select images of what "home means to them" and then, kind of like a domino effect, everyone is "pinning" these lovely images onto their "inspiration boards". 

I was completely hooked. Sat at the computer for hours just pinning beautiful images. Little did I know that years later it would become a main source of traffic for my shop.

Well, thanks to Victoria, Pinterest went viral! What started out as a small little group of bloggers, turned into one of the most successful forms of social media out there.

two nights ago at dinner...

brother-in-law: I like Instagram.

me: I'm signed up on Instagram, but don't use it.

brother-in-law: Why not? You can see your nieces and nephews on there, and it's a great tool for your business.

me: Really? Let me see if I'm still registered. Oh yeah, my last picture was from 2012.

brother-in-law: Start taking pictures!

So here I am today, trying to figure out Instagram... who to follow, how to get followers, how often to post, what to post, and when? Although, I must admit, I do love to taking pictures. What a great way to share my treasure-hunting with my customers!

Are you getting my drift? Currently, like many of you, I have a website and a blog. I'm on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram. Have I left anything out? What do I focus on first? Can I just connect them all together? Are my customers getting annoyed? "Follow us here! Follow us there! Join us here! Read about us there!"

If you've read this far, I'm so very flattered. Now I get to ask you questions!

How often do you use social media?

Do you have a favorite?

Has it helped your business/occupation?

Are you overwhelmed with the many different media outlets out there?

How do you balance your work/social media world with your personal life?

Do you find yourself constantly checking your phone to see who's posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. etc?

Would love to hear from you!!