Social Media and the Small Business

I had my second of two classes at the Tennessee Small Business Development Center at ETSU today, and our subject was all about using social media! Social media has quickly became a dominate force in our lives... I mean, think about it... How often do you check your facebook? (I'll admit, I check mine often!) Small businesses can use social media to their advantage, if they know what they are doing!

We talked about 5 different social media sites: facebook, twitter, foursquare, linkedin, and youtube. Now, I am already on facebook and twitter, but I was very interested in the other three, as well as learning how to better communicate to (and with!) you guys through the sites.

One thing that I am very interested in is creating a YouTube channel! Back when I was really getting into the art of soap making, I would search youtube for hours, and was very inspired by other soap artists who posted videos of the soap making process, as well as follow-up videos once the soap was ready to cut!
So one of my goals in 2012 is to start a YouTube channel featuring my soaps! My husband and I are currently tinkering around with his iphone's video capabilities, as well as my own camera, and I want to start shooting and uploading videos by January or February! That way, you guys can get sneak previews of what will be coming up in my shop!! :oD

One interesting note that I learned today was the different in posting on Facebook and posting on twitter. On facebook, I try to only post once or twice a day, so my posts do not jam up everyone's newsfeed, so I was doing the same on twitter... Nope! I was doing it wrong! I learned that on twitter, people post more often in order to be seen in the real time feed! So, if you follow me on Twitter, look for me to start posting more often!

And of course, I'll still be on facebook! I love linking my blog to facebook, talking about new products, and uploading photos! Look for more polls and questions about what YOU want to see in new soaps and lip balms, as well as peeks into new products that I am developing for 2012!

Remember, to catch great (free!) classes like this one, and the one I went to a few days ago, contact your local SBA chapter! New classes start up in Tennessee in January, and I am looking forward to taking a few more!

A little help for the budding entrepreneur...

My fall semester of college is getting ready to end (only two finals left and I am free for a month!!), and one of my favorite things to do each week is to grab a copy of our school paper, the East Tennessean. And I bet you can imagine my excitement when I read that the TSBDC is offering training classes for small businesses!

Wait... what is the TSBDC?
It is the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, which is associated with my university AND the SBA! They offer courses and counseling for people who run, or want to run, small businesses. They are also associated with ETSU's college and business and technology!

Well, I called and immediately signed up for two of their courses (I cant take the others because of my silly finals! Dang!). I attended my first of two yesterday, called "So you want to start a small business." I was so pleasently suprised by the class! It was a small class (I was one of 9... and I think I was the youngest there!), and our instructor was friendly and encouraged an open forum... The open forum was fabulous! I was able to ask about getting my sole proprietorship in Tennessee, even though the majority of my sales are out of state.

We also got some cool swag!

We were able to keep the small business workbook, which came with invaluable information, such as local phone numbers, steps to filing paperwork, and help with attempting to get small business loans from banks!
My swag also included a yearly calendar (this is going to be great for tracking my mileage!), a magazine about computers (an interesting read if you are looking to upgrade your devices), and a pamphlet from Google on how to best use Google to your advantage!

So, for all of my budding entrepreneur friends out there, looking to start up their own small businesses, make sure to check out your local SBA branch for classes! My two classes were free to attend, and I gained some very valuable information, as well as getting an opportunity to network!

My second class is next Wednesday, and we will be covering social media... So remember, you can like me on facebook, as well as follow me on twitter! ;o)