Social Media: First Answer … “WHY am I doing this?”

My sister Tina, aka Red, and I are often asked why we do not use social media as a marketing tool. We believe that social media decisions, like all decisions, should be driven by your values and priorities. And the first question you need to ask yourself is “WHY am I doing this?”

• Red was a stay-at-home mom, but now is a single mom who has to juggle her #1 priority – her girls – with all the other demands of her time as a teacher, public speaker, columnist, author and whatever else I throw at her. In the scheme of things, spending time on social media is never going to make the cut.

• I, although an entrepreneur who understands the value of social media, also realize that there are a limited amount of hours in the day and I have to prioritize. Sometimes the decisions are very difficult, such as printing in the United States although it doubled our cost. Do I develop an online “presence” when that time could be spent working with a school to develop a financial literacy program? Do we create and “feed the monster” of a blog versus providing content for other people’s blogs?

• One of my “hot buttons” is words and actions should match. If Red and I are telling our readers and audiences that they need to prioritize how they spend their time (and money) and then we turn around and spend our time doing what we personally (not from a business perspective) believe is a waste, then we become hypocrites. Do NOT take this to mean I am passing judgment on people who use social media. All I am saying is … do not tell me you wish you had more time to spend with your children or loved ones, yet you manage to find the time to spend hours on Facebook or Twitter.

Am I forgetting the power of social media? No. Many of our followers (readers, speaking engagement audiences, students, media) use social media. If they talk about us it has much more credibility than anything we could ever “tout” about ourselves.

Bottom-line: regardless of the topic – you should always ask yourself, “WHY I am doing this?” before you decide what or how you are going to do it.

Mandy Williams, aka Black led the 2011 Texas Conference for Women Expert Exchange: Taking Control of Your Money…and Your Life! www.redandblackbooks.com