National Lumber's Blog

If you want to keep in touch with old friends and aunt Nellie you can friend them or tweet them, BUT, if you own a business, Networking ain’t just social, it’s mandatory. Communications is a-changin’ (see this article which has a better explanation then I can give you!)

We’ve all heard about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and WordPress for blogs among many other ways to communicate. How about Google+ and social media platforms like Twylah, Klout, and so many more flying into our lives? They are coming, and coming faster then we’d like to believe. If you aren’t on board now, and learning more every day, how will you keep up? The pace is frenetic and there is a lot to know.

The days of “surfing the web” are over. It’s now “join in the revolution or “get left in the attic with grandma’s trunk.” Your business can start off slowly with some basic applications and programs like Facebook’s business pages and LinkedIn for your personal networking, but whatever you do, DO SOMETHING! Hire a kid to get you up and running, research what your competitors are doing, take courses through your trade associations, work with a consultant to get you going, and lots more you can do. Above all, hire someone to be the voice of your company via all of the tools that you choose to get involved in. Ideally, it should be the owner doing the writing because personality clearly comes through when doing this stuff.

Any other thoughts or ideas you’d like to add for our readers? What is working for you? Who is using Google+ and how would you rate it against Facebook?

As my drill sergeant used to say at 4 am when he was clanging his trash barrel cover in the darkened barracks, “Up and at em, boys! Up and at em!”

Steve Linsky
Marketing and Sales Specialist
Green Initiatives Coordinator
Past HR Director at National Lumber
National Recruiting Manager at Wickes Lumber
www.national-lumber.com