Social Media Club | Columbia If you get it, share it

***Meet Anne on THURSDAY Build Your Personal Brand Through Social Media!***

I started Thedailydigress.com a few years ago to prove to myself that my brain hadn’t gone to mush since college. I got a few free-lance jobs from there and realized I loved writing about fashion, food and beauty.

As a long-time resident of Columbia, I love the town and want to keep it exciting. I started the shoptart.com for a few reasons. Promoting locally-owned businesses is very rewarding. I also wanted to make money doing what I love. I hoped to provide inexpensive, effective advertising to local businesses without the same big budgets of chains. I love hearing about it when business owners get a new customer from the Shop Tart or sell out of an item I mentioned. I also love hearing from readers who scored a deal they read about on my blog.

My husband and I live in Shandon – walking distance from so many of our favorite places – with our three sons, ages 11, 8 and 3.

How do you define social media?

Hmmm…What separates social media from other media is that it’s interactive. Social media is personal.

Which social media tools or applications do you use, and why these in particular?

Flickr – My blog is photo-heavy and this has been the easiest way to host photos. I recently learned photos hosted by Flickr must link back to Flickr, so I have stopped hosting my ad images there. Guess I should read the fine print! I use WordPress for my blog because my web designer recommended it. WordPress offers a lot of room for customization. I also use Twitter because I love that instant interaction – I first used it heavily at Charleston Fashion Week in 2009 and it made the experience a lot of fun. I was there alone and Twitter helped me connect with other press at the event. FaceBook is a no-brainer. Everyone’s on it and I get quite a few hits on my blog when people post links there. I also have a social bookmarking widget at the bottom of each post – I want it to be easy for people to share their enthusiasm when they like something I did. Thanks to SMCC, I’m starting to get more into Digg and Stumbleupon.

With increasingly busy schedules, Where do you find time for social media?

I turned it into my job. Ha!

What advice would you give to local businesses wishing to effectively embrace social media?

Use it to connect to your customers or clients and to other people in your industry. If you only want to put out information and don’t want to respond, you’re better off skipping it. People get irritated with a one-sided conversation. It can be a fun tool to help customers feel personally connected you you and your business (and more likely to use your services).

Where do you see the future of social media?

I think during a recession, it’s a great way to personalize your business, especially if you compete for clients. Active participation will help your clients and potential clients get to know you and trust you. I think social media is here to stay, although I’m sure it will change forms. After all, how many blogs did you read 10 years ago?