(from the Honda Auto Repair Shop waiting room)

As I write this, supermodel and supermom (self-nominated I presume) Kathy Ireland is busy touting Twitter on the Today Show.  “I just love my TwitterBuddies!” she beams, with annoying enthusiasm.  

Interviewer Ann Curry is mindlessly heaping sugar onto an already hyper-happy conversation.  “IT-WAS-SO-GREAT-TO-TALK-TO-YOU-KATHY!”  she spews.  “THANKS, ANN, replies Kathy, exceeding Ann’s volume.  “IT’S BEEN SO GREAT TO TALK TO YOU . . A REAL MOM . . THIS MORNING!”

Kathy’s amped up about her new book (forget the name) – but it’s something about real solutions for real moms. 

Kathy’s spunky energy aside, what was more noteworthy about the interview was the continued talk of Twitter in everyday parlance.  You can’t throw a pebble these days without hitting Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Plaxo, or the glut of other social media out there.

Even though many consumers – and business owners – are still wondering what all the fuss is all about, Kathy has apparently guzzled the social media Kool-Aid, and is banking on a successful campaign for her new book.

SOCIAL MEDIA and YOUR BUSINESS

Why is this bikini-hottie-turned-entrepreneur so excited about Twitter?  Is she looking for meaningful relationships?  Insert LOL.  Her comment about “loving her TwitterBuddies” is pretty disingenuous, because the simple reason for her excitement is that zillions of solution-hungry moms are spending a zillion hours on Twitter today.  Do you think that might impact her book sales?

Kathy’s message – and bubbliness – have become viral through Twitter (viral is good, folks – it means the thing you’re promoting is spreading like wildfire).  To date, Kathy has 4,481 followers – moderate by Twitter standards – but numbers will certainly spike after her Today interview (and Twitter mention).  

Mrs. Ireland’s celebrity, relationships, and ample budget notwithstanding, social media is part of her master marketing plan.  I don’t have her sales projections, but I bet they would be paltry compared to pre-social media forecasts.

PART OF YOUR REINVENTION?

"OSTRICHING"

If you’re not at least curious about Twitter and other social media as it relates to promoting your business, you are “ostriching” (a Kathy Ireland word I just learned).  Yes, that’s burying your head in the sand.  Historically, other breakout inventions that the experts “ostriched” about include the computer, the automobile, and the drive-thru window.

“In a world of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” – J.P. Kelley

I am not saying Twitter is a silver bullet or a marketing savior for you.  I am also not saying that you should engage social media.  I am saying that if you keep yourself in the dark, you may be missing a huge swath of prospects that you serve best . . . who until now haven’t been able to find you.  

Another key question to consider is, “What am I doing to let the world know that I’m an expert in my field?”  Social media technology is a fine medium for this pursuit, as long as your claims are legitimate!  Posers are discovered quickly; and this can be verified by a quick glance at your Twitter dashboard – and who’s saying what in their daily posts.  The people who post drivel should be deleted immediately from your follow-list. 

I’m doing a 12-month trial to see what the use of social media holds for my own business.  It’s too early to tell, but my website traffic has tripled since January.  I’m working on a better net (or conversion strategy), but for the short term, I’m excited about the hike in traffic to me.  

Oh dear I’m starting to sound like Kathy Ireland.

BEGINNER’S MIND / FOLLOW SOME EXPERTS

If you’ve ever seen the Wright Brothers film archives, you know that several failures preceded their historic first flight.  Bumbling flying machines crashed mightily, but the experience provided the expertise they needed.  My good friend and colleague Eric Beck (founder of Total Integration) puts it more succinctly:  ”How many of you, the first time you were on a bike, popped a wheelie?”  

So if you decide to look into social media, don’t dive in expecting the world to genuflect to your internet presence during the first month. Instead, follow some experts first.  This is good for you because you can benefit from their pain.  The best and easiest thing you can do is to find good social media commentators (I love MarketingProfs, Kyle Lacy, and leftlane designs).

What I enjoy about some social media is that there is a focus (albeit scattered sometimes) on building relationships.  Lots of people are talking about quantity over quality, and whether or not 1 of your 267,893 followers is interested in buying from you.

This is was perhaps my biggest objection to diving into the social media experiment.  From a distance, I thought Twitter and Facebook were platforms for people to tell each other what they were having for lunch, or what their favorite song is today. Up front, my main fears about social media and my business were:

1. “It’s not professional”
2. “It’s not targeted”
3. ” I don’t know how to do it” 
4. “I don’t have time to learn” 

I won’t delve deeply into all of those here, but they are all surmountable.  The use of social media can be professional if done correctly.  It can be targeted based on how you use it; there are add-ons (e.g. TwitterHawk) that can help you narrow your search and focus on a particular segment.  

Another huge factor for me, a business consultant, is that I need to know what I’m talking about when my clients, prospects, and colleagues ask me about social media and their business.  They are asking, and often.  If I’m ostriching, I’ve got nothing to say to them!  All that to say, I need to make time to learn it – not to the nth degree (others can do that).  But I must be able to facilitate a good decision for the people who entrust me with counsel.

Maybe the biggest benefit so far has been my writing.  I love to write, and as some of you have noticed, I’m ramping up my volume 100-fold from last year.  This is all because I am building an audience, and building on the assumption – HUMBLY – that I have something to say for people looking for strategic help in creating their dream business.

MAKE THE TOOL SERVE YOU

Your time, money, and technology must serve you, not the other way around.  At the end of the day, this is how I would frame social media, and how I would recommend you use it.  Popular orator Dennis Peacocke once said, “I’m looking for people who think like me.”  This is true, but not the whole picture.  I want to find people who:

1. think like me 
2. are looking for me
3. can help me, and maybe most importantly,
4. think beyond me

If social media can do this for us, the alignment will be sweet.  But you’ve got to start.  Remember, Ober Oberata, which is Latin – “It is done in the doing.”)

Jeff Timpanaro is the president of Oberata Consulting, a 2009 Certified Total Integration firm, based in Kingwood, TX. Oberata is a consulting firm founded on the principles of strategy, process, and transformation, and utilizes the Total IntegrationTM system of business consulting. This system has helped business owners and professionals in the Fortune 100 with definitive, measurable operating strategies that produce unprecedented growth and profitability. For more information about Oberata Consulting call 281.570.4676.