In this post I write about how I use social media for my businesses. My panel partner Anastasia Ashman wrote a thought-provoking companion piece about how social media is an effective tool in self-actualization which created a great discussion (be sure to read the comments).
On one of the forums I participate in someone asked about how to use Facebook Pages in conjunction with a blog. Rather than answer that question on the forum, I thought I’d answer it here both for the benefit of last week’s panel that I was on and also for others who might be interested. (Warning: This is a long post, but hopefully it will have some helpful stuff and be worth the read)
Citara’s is a business that sells Turkish handcrafted products. One component of Citara’s is a static website. This gives basic information about what we do, but of course being a static site, there’s not a lot of chance for interaction.
After that, I started the Citara’s blog. I wanted to use the blog to showcase different facets of Turkish art, culture and design to put the products we sell in richer context. My goal is to update the blog once a week.
I use the Citara’s Twitter account and Facebook page to add to whatever I’ve written about on my blog. With Twitter I can also promote the blog post and create opportunities for other people to share it too.
What I really aim to achieve with my Facebook page is the opportunity to connect with people around these products and for them to share with others.
I started Behind the Bazaar (BTB) with my friend and business partner Figen Cakir. With BTB we go beyond Turkish products and take visitors to Turkey to the ateliers and showrooms of independent designers in Istanbul.
BTB also has a blog, a Twitter account, and a Facebook page.
With Behind the Bazaar our goal is to show people what exists beyond the typical tourist sites in Istanbul. So each week we pick a topic and dive into it.
One week we explored Turkish baths. Another romantic Istanbul. And last week it was all about Istanbul Restaurant Week.
Just like with Citara’s, we aim to get up one post at the beginning of the week and then dig deeper as the week moves forward.
When we covered Turkish baths, we got input from people both via Twitter and our Facebook page which turned into a valuable guide to the Turkish baths of Istanbul.
You can’t do this with a static website. And the rate at which people leave comments is very low. But people are more likely to leave a 140 character tweet, or a short message on Facebook. It’s easier in these environments.
So that’s it. That’s how I use Facebook and Twitter in conjunction with each of my blogs. I’ve enjoyed the added dimension that social networking brings to each of these sites as it allows other people to weigh in and add value to what I’m doing.
Hopefully this has been helpful in giving you some ideas that you can use. If you have any more questions I’m happy to answer them. And of course I’d love to hear how you use Facebook or Twitter in addition to your blog.
