{"id":892,"date":"2017-04-17T17:51:50","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T16:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davidwithington.com\/blog\/?p=892"},"modified":"2018-03-14T15:00:16","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T15:00:16","slug":"facebook-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidwithington.com\/facebook-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Waste Time on Facebook"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Social<\/a><\/div>\n

“I’ve absolutely no time for Facebook!<\/span><\/h2>\n

“And why do I need to know what people have had for breakfast, anyway?”<\/span><\/p>\n

I could tell that any attempts to reason with my friend were fruitless.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I wanted to help him see the business benefits. I wanted to tell him how social media had been so useful to me. I wanted to demonstrate the fantastic set of free tools he could use.<\/span><\/p>\n

But no. He wasn’t interested.<\/span><\/p>\n

End of conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"End<\/a>
End of conversation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Listen to these massive Social Media benefits!”<\/span><\/h2>\n

If I’d been allowed, I would have told him about the personal and helpful advice from experts which I’d received simply by reaching out to them on Twitter.<\/span><\/p>\n

I would have told him about the interesting and influential people with whom I’ve connected on Social Media. You know, those sort of people who only a decade ago were beyond the reach of us mere mortals. Some of them, now, I actually regard as friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

I’d have told him about the number of people whose day I’d made, simply by posting an encouraging quote on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>
I found out on Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’d have told him how I found out from Twitter what was causing a recent outage – immediately after it had begun (you can’t even get that sort of instant information with a Google search). And I would have told him how I’d received a personalised reply in response to a brief tweet to say “thanks for fixing it”. A thank you<\/em> goes a long way, doesn’t it!<\/span><\/p>\n

I needed some help!<\/span><\/h2>\n

Last year, I needed some software to perform a specific task.<\/span><\/p>\n

But nothing on the market could do exactly what I needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Actually, there was… but it came with a huge price tag.<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew an expert in the field. We’d been friends on Facebook ever since I met him at a social media conference, heard him speak, and chatted briefly afterwards. <\/span><\/p>\n

And we’ve kept in touch on Facebook ever since, sharing ideas and inspiration.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>
It started with a Facebook message<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So I sent Ian a direct message.<\/span><\/p>\n

He replied and suggested a software package which had just come onto the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

I researched it, trialled it, and ended up subscribing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now I’m friends on Facebook with the co-creators of the software. I send them suggestions. And they incorporate my suggestions as new features. <\/span><\/p>\n

So they get more features added – more selling points. <\/span><\/p>\n

And I get an optimised programme – with personalised features.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s an amazing win-win.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it’s because of Social Media.<\/span><\/p>\n

May I Brag?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Liked<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, there are the brag moments<\/em> too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such as when Gary Vaynerchuk likes your Tweet and you simply have to tell someone.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Hey look, Luv! Gary Vee has liked my Tweet! <\/span><\/p>\n

“And the astronaut, Chris Hadfield, too…<\/span><\/p>\n

“And the author, James Altucher.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Yes, I know, Dear. You’ve told me three times<\/em> already today!”<\/span><\/p>\n

Ah well. <\/span><\/p>\n

You’re allowed to brag a bit, aren’t you?<\/span><\/p>\n

Passive Income from Social Media<\/span><\/h2>\n

But here’s another reason I love social media.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it’s this:<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s generating a nice passive income for me (if you’re interested, here’s my article about how to generate passive income<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pick<\/a>
Pick just a few platforms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now don’t get me wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m not always on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google Plus…<\/span><\/p>\n

Nope. I choose a few platforms which serve me best and try to use them efficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I get it if you’re totally uninterested in what I had for breakfast.<\/span><\/p>\n

After all, The Lidl equivalent of Shreddies isn’t really that interesting.<\/span><\/p>\n

But if you want:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Advice or feedback from the experts<\/span><\/li>\n
  • To connect with influential people in your industry<\/span><\/li>\n
  • A virtual mentor<\/span><\/li>\n
  • To share your passion and ideas<\/span><\/li>\n
  • To encourage and help people<\/span><\/li>\n
  • To get you or your business known<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Then get yourself active on Social Media.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Want to start the ball rolling? You can connect with me here on Twitter<\/a> and we can share some ideas and inspiration.<\/span><\/p>\n