By Karen L. Monsen Submitted On August 18, 2011
New entrants into the social media realm are likely to feel like Alice in Wonderland, after chasing the rabbit down the hole, who inquired of the Cheshire Cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go?" Not surprising, the Cat responded, "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
Individuals with sparse understanding of the nature of the Web and the potential for using its interlinking capabilities will fare no better than Alice, who replied, "I don't much care where."
Without clear expectations and with meager understanding of the variety of platforms, tools, and media available, the average newcomer will experience the satisfaction and disappointment akin to Alice when the Cat retorted, "Then it doesn't matter which way you go."
Into this newly created and constantly evolving electronic world, the average person needs a guide-a personal promoter of sorts not unlike those hired by athletes, actors, artists, and creative professionals to promote their "persona" and prepare a "face to meet the faces that they meet" to paraphrase T. S. Eliot's poem written long before Facebook arrived on the scene.
Laurie Pehar Borsh, founder of LPBPR, is well ahead of the learning curve on social media, yet she would never claim to be an expert. The novelty of social media and its meteoric rise in usage precludes anyone from expounding to be an expert. Laurie Pehar Borsh is one who deserves our attention because she readily admits that she is learning as fast as she can to keep abreast of the new tools and platforms.
Businesses recognize the undeniable growth of social connections when they cite the posting from Nielsenwire (back in July 2009) that people trust peer recommendations 90% of the time-up from 78% reported in Erik Qualman's 2009/08 YouTube video, "Social Media Revolution." With exponential increases in referrals through social media, consumer product and service companies will quickly be left without a base unless they create and maintain an expanding presence in social networking circles.
By collaborating with an experienced media specialist, small companies can level the playing field as they compete with large, established, traditional consumer industries that have huge marketing and advertising budgets. Small companies and individuals trying to establish a social media presence are usually confronted with the complexities of platforms and terminology that is truly mind-boggling. Unless they have sufficient resources and time to build their own expertise, it is more cost-effective to hire the services and guidance from someone else who believes in the power of social media and who enjoys working with a fluid industry and exploring multiple avenues to transfer information through print, electronic media, social networking, blogs, tweets and multitudes of links and search engine optimizing tools.
In coining the term, "continuous partial attention," (Johnson 2006 posted June 19, 2007 under "Is Multi-tasking Counterproductive") Linda Stone, former executive at Microsoft and Apple, expressed what we know to be true-"If workers are engaged in multiple activities at once, they're performing more slowly and less accurately than they would if they focused on each task until it was finished." Therefore, it is unrealistic for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and creative persons to believe they can focus their energies and attention on their business outputs at the same time they are focusing on managing a Web and social media presence.
Through personal professional branding, using business-to-business and traditional press, online services, social media, and innumerable customized PR promotional tools, Laurie Pehar Borsh and her team of PR strategists take care of the minutia and free their clients to focus on what they do best-manage their own business. By partnering with a personal PR promoter to navigate the entangled Web of social media, business professionals can establish a clear direction of what they want to accomplish and where they want to take their business. They will not be left wandering aimlessly around in Wonderland along with Alice.
Karen L. Monsen is and independent writing and editing professional with over 20 years of experience in designing and presenting training programs in corporate and small business environments. Her specialties include Business and Technical Writing and Presentation Training Programs, Editing and Document Review Services, English as a Second Language Instruction.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Karen_L._Monsen/809719
