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Now...if you want to follow our blog, you are more than welcome to do so. If you'd like to invite your friends, co-workers, cousins, distant relatives and long lost high school buddies to 
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Okay - don't forget to comment in order to enter for the 
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*The following article is the tenth in a series of TEN, each composed by Shara Lawrence-Weiss. This series is being posted for the purposes of the Mommy Perks community and our readers and friends. If you would like to re-post the articles you are welcome to do so. Please give credit to the author and include the BIO information along with any links (see below). Thank you!
*This article completes my 10 part business series. Don’t fret, though. I’ll post more articles in the near future. Until then, thanks for taking this ride with me and thanks for all the comments along the way. Your interaction and input has been much appreciated!
Article Ten:
Twitter and Facebook: What’s the Deal? (copyright Shara Lawrence-Weiss)
*See bottom for a few resource links in regard to twitter and facebook
While I realize that the social media map is a never ending travel guide, for this article I will zero in on 2 outlets: twitter and facebook.
I have been using both of these outlets since around January of 2009. I first used twitter for my PCS business and had a colleague set up my Mommy Perks twitter account. I quickly realized how time consuming twitter can be and decided to let go of the PCS page and focus on Mommy Perks (seeing as that’s my location for the promotion of so many clients, friends, small business owners, etc).
It’s interesting to me to read articles comparing twitter to facebook and vice versa. My opinion is that they are completely different forces and each provides its’ own benefits (no need for them to compare at all; why not simply focus on what they are each great at and master those concepts?).
Here is how I see it
Facebook: Personal Page
- Allows you to control who enters your inner circle
- Not an open public source which = safety (especially for kids and teens)
- With each post, you get more than 140 characters to speak your mind
- Can include photos or videos with any post
- Can comment below posts, carrying on longer conversations and ideas
- Full page that allows you to say what you do and who you are (the INFO tab)
- Can link to Groups, Causes and Fan pages from your personal page
- Can search for friends and family members by name and choose to friend them
Facebook: Fan Page
(*I personally prefer Fan pages to Group pages because they are far more interactive regarding postings, comments, link sharing, etc. To each his/her own, though!).
- Easy to set up
- Can include photos, videos, friend links, notes, web site info, events and more
- Can write more than 140 characters per post, including photos, links, video, etc
- Several posts remain on the page long term including any comments made by fans, images, video and so on
- Easier to use for the 40+ generation. Not as fast moving as twitter which is intimidating for many
- Fast, upbeat and energetic
- Super power information highway: articles, news, research and more right @ your fingertips in seconds
- Open profiles (unless you lock your page manually)
- Fastest way to network, spread immediate info (missing child, alerts, breaking news), promote others, re-tweet articles/blogs/links and requests for help
- Hooks up big names with small ones; folks who may have never met or connected otherwise
- Connects people of different races, socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, degrees, likes/dislikes, expertise and more – all in a moment of time (amazing for those of us who existed before the computer craze!)
Do You Need These Outlets?
Some questions you might consider asking yourself:
- Do you need or want interaction with others?
- Do you enjoy sharing information, ideas, articles, links and photos?
- Do you run a small or niche business?
- Do you have tips or advice to offer others?
- Are you someone who enjoys giving and helping people?
- Are you seeking connections with like minded people or people who are completely different than you?
- Do you enjoy learning from others and value news, updates, research, tips, blogs and cutting edge technology?
- Are you attempting to Brand your name, product or service?
Both twitter and facebook can be used for all of these reasons. To be successful at using both, I suggest you NOT simply tell everyone what you do or sell. Tell people about others and offer yourself as a resource or friend. Intermittently talk about yourself. You should be the secondary factor while others - the primary.
This will ensure that the friendships you make are lasting and loyal.
No matter what social media outlets you participate in, a givers gain attitude will benefit you far more than a “I am the bestest thing since peanut butter and jelly so BUY FROM ME!!!!!!” attitude.
Brief resource list for your benefit
- Sign up here for twitter followers: wefollow.com
- Sign up here to get followers and refer others: mrtweet.com
- Set up your facebook fan (business) page here
- Set up your personal facebook profile here
- Startup Nation: 7 Amazing Ways to Promote Your Business on Facebook
- Startup Nation: 7 Steps to Promote Your Business Using Twitter
*I also found this brief article interesting! (from HarvardBusiness.org)
Keep these things in mind as you seek to be a leader in your social media circle…
Why Should Anyone be Led by You?
We all know that leaders need vision and energy, but after an exhaustive review of the most influential theories on leadership–as well as workshops with thousands of leaders and aspiring leaders–the authors learned that great leaders also share four unexpected qualities: 1) They selectively reveal their weaknesses; 2) They rely heavily on intuition to gauge the appropriate timing and course of their actions; 3) They manage employees with “tough empathy”; and 4) They capitalize on their differences. All four qualities are necessary for inspirational leadership, but they cannot be used mechanically; they must be mixed and matched to meet the demands of particular situations. Most important, however, is that the qualities encourage authenticity among leaders. To be a true leader, the authors advise, “Be yourself–more–with skill.”
*This article was composed by Shara Lawrence-Weiss, owner of Mommy Perks and Personal Child Stories. Shara has a background in published freelance, journalism, nanny work, education, special needs, marketing, networking, PR and sales. She is married to her best friend and biggest supporter, Rick, owner of Design Media Pros. They brag three terrific kids and a handful of true and dear friends. They have a roof over their heads and share one vehicle in order to better the planet and save money on insurance and gas. They enjoy food, water, shelter and love. Who could ask for more?
admin 
Shara,
From being twitter-phobic to joining the twitter-totter in the course of a few dasy! I’m so glad to have met you through twitter…I have much to learn so I appreciate your insights, your help and your generosity. Enjoyed this article. Am going back to read more.
Wendy