Be a Social Media Success Story

What seems like time-suck could actually be a goldmine for your business if you have a strong strategy for engaging people through social media.

A survey out this week from Nielsen Media confirms what everyone pretty much knew: Social media, barely a blip on the screen a few years ago, is dominating the time people spend online. They’re playing games, chatting with friends, updating their status, and tweeting. The winners are obvious—services like Facebook and Twitter. The losers are search, e-mail, and big web portals like Yahoo!

But, says Salty Waffle founder Nicole Donnelly, another winner could be your business, assuming you have a well-crafted strategy for taking your brand social. Donnelly is one of several entrepreneurs Portfolio.com is following this year as they make their way in the global economy, and she founded her social media strategy company Salty Waffle earlier this year.

Here’s what she had to say about how entrepreneurs can take advantage of the time others are spending with social media:

“Other's time wasted can be productive for your business. If you are providing fun games or sticky information, people will waste their time with you. They may even feel it's productive if you give your readers information that they feel smarter for reading. Whether popular topics or innovative research, your brand has a voice that resonates with a particular audience.

“At Salty Waffle we work with companies to define their voice and provide authentic writers who can provide engaging content in easily digestible formats on social platforms. Most companies do not have a defined voice or defined customer, nor are they producing anything socially valuable online. That is good news for companies that are active, or begin now! You can get ahead of competitors and stay ahead with your foundation of followers and meaningful content.

"The key is emotional connection. Where and how can you connect with those that matter to your business?”

So, find that emotional connection and communicate it well enough, and your business could be a social media success story.