(Why do you use BizSugar.com? We wanted to get the answer to that question and to how BizSugar fits in with other social media used by our members in their daily business operations. So, when we saw Pat Henry’s blog post listing BizSugar as one of his favorite social media tools for business, we decided to chat with him a bit about his use of social media and how BizSugar fits in to his overall business strategy.)
I work in accounting for a software company, and I’m also an MBA student (I’ll have my master’s degree in Marketing this December). This year I started my freelance business, Precision Consulting, to help small businesses grow by helping them to develop and execute a marketing strategy. I think eMarketing and social media are important parts of that strategy, but far too many businesses use them without structuring them properly.
I wasn’t a fan of social media at first. Like many people I thought it was just a fad. Then last fall I took a class taught by S. Anthony Iannarino (a regular BizSugar.com contributor). He would regularly share his insights into the business implications of social media, and I began to take more of an interest. I decided that my job in 2010 was to immerse myself in social media and I haven’t looked back. Today I’m focused on building quality connections with people via LinkedIn, Twitter, and of course my blog.
While my blog had been my primary means of communicating online LinkedIn has been surprisingly effective in reaching new people and making genuine connections. I had a LinkedIn account for years, but I thought it was just a way to connect to former coworkers. Since updating my account and joining several groups LinkedIn has helped me promote my blog and communicate with great people. Facebook has been my least effective social media tool, but it’s my own fault for not giving it the attention it probably deserves.
I first read about BizSugar.com on a blog post, though I don’t remember what it was. I clicked a link to the website and knew I’d found a great resource! I like that I can read the most popular posts on the site or look at a specific category, depending on my mood. Also the layout makes it easy to scan through and choose which articles to read. I very much appreciate how easy it is to post links to my own blog posts and for my readers to vote and share what they like.
BizSugar.com accounts for a small portion of my blog’s traffic (about 4%). LinkedIn in particular allows me to reach a large audience with every post, while BizSugar.com has a much smaller reach. It’s not going to replace LinkedIn and Twitter as my primary social media tools, but I love that it allows me to be a part of a very smart business community. Also the number of well written, thought provoking posts on BizSugar.com make it one of my favorite ways to keep up with what’s new in the blogosphere.
(So how about you? How do you use BizSugar.com and how does it fit in with your regular social media usage as a tool to grow your business? We’d like to hear from you. Leave a comment below or tag us on our Facebook Fan Page to let us know how BizSugar.com has helped you!)
(Shawn Hessinger is chief moderator and blogger for BizSugar.com, a social media site providing news and information to the online small business community. For more on BizSugar community how to submit your own small business content to the group, check out our “about” page or visit our BizSugar signup page to create your free account today.)
Shawn,
Again, thank you so much for all you do and for the wonderful opportunity Biz Sugar provides.
I myself have found Biz Sugar to be a very valuable addition to my overall blogging and marketing plan. I have found a lot of my website traffic comes via Biz Sugar, Biz Sugar Tweets and through the other sites which pick up articles via Biz Sugar. I have already had three writing jobs from Biz Sugar readers as well as numerous referrals placed by Biz Sugar members.
Anyway, I have several impressions of Biz Sugar. The first is that you get out of it what you put into it. There is definitely a correlation between how active people are on the site and how active people are towards them. People who post articles but don’t vote for others seem to get the least out of it. People who take the time to read others’ articles, post comments and feedback and cast votes seem to do quite well. It is about showing interest in others: that is where the connections and networking happen!
I have found many of the articles of others on the site to be extremely valuable, insightful and educational. In Biz Sugar I have found a place to be part of a community!
Yonatan (Yoni67)