How to use Social Media to Become a Successful Entrepreneur

I've often wondered how people become successful.  Is it their innate ability to visualize the next big idea, or is it the their ability to market their skills and products/services to the world around us?  In my opinion, being an entrepreneur is all about risk taking, but you can't be successful without being an excellent networker and salesperson, which is why social media has truly revolutionized the "game."

That's right, I said the word "game" when describing entrepreneurship; because at the end of the day, your goal is to win, and to win big.  Social media provides us multiple platforms to connect with other high profile companies and individuals to market ourselves, so let's look at a few of them to break down their true uses.

Facebook offers the largest number of users to market your product, but is it the best option place to network and market yourself and your company?  While many people currently spend at least 20 minutes on Facebook daily, the main interactions are with friends, not colleagues, which ultimately begs the question, is Facebook best for professional use, or just personal?  My opinion - stick with personal.

LinkedIn is unique as it's an entire social network built on the professional world and even allows companies to create their own pages and update information on a daily basis, ultimately creating conversations about a variety of topics including industries, companies, and the job search in general.  From my experience, and this is coming from someone who is currently searching for a position in a foreign country, LinkedIn is great for the job search and the networking process, but it can't be the only network you use.

In my opinion, Twitter offers an excellent mixture of news and live conversations, which ultimately creates opportunities to portray your thoughts and meet other people who are eager to discuss similar subjects.  Don't ever be afraid to approach someone on Twitter.  Be direct, ask questions,usually they'll respond back.  Stay in the loop on conversations, make yourself known and you'll make a ton of new business contacts that you never thought was possible.

While Google+ is the newest of the social networks, it's also the fastest growing (250 million users in the first year) and I truly believe it provides the best opportunity to truly network yourself and connect with others about specific subjects.  It gives you the opportunity to create circles (which differentiates your networks), portray your statuses to anyone on Google+ through their public search domain, and my personal favorite, utilizes Google Hangout so people can video chat with others in their industry about intriguing topics.  When used to its fullest, Google+ offers a unique blend of networking and news, which is ideal for entrepreneurs.

I'll leave you with this.  Good luck to anyone who wants to make it on their own.  Think of an exciting product or service and sell the hell out of it.  Just don't forget to utilize the social platforms that other successful entrepreneurs have given us thus far, you won't regret it.