Hi folks, cynical Sam here. (Ok, my name is not Sam it's Chris. But cynical Sam just sound better and the cartoon works better. LOL!)

 

Hey, I'm still looking for an answer to a question that has yet to yield a simple answer.

 

Q. Can I use Twitter, or any online social media for that matter, to improve the bottom line of my "Local Service" business?

A. I've been asking this question now for about nine months, and so far as I can discern, no one has positive proof that I can make any money using these tools.

 

What I do see happening, is an exploding social media consulting industry. There are now thousands of them now blaring at the top of their lungs how you have to be using Twitter and all the other social media tools that are out there, otherwise you're going to be left in the business dust. And not only should you be using those tools, but because it's so insanely complicated, you should be paying them to help you use all these social networking tools.

This is fine,. Many of us are consultants/experts at what we do. But I suggest that Local Service based businesses really pay attention to what they get themselves into. These consultants are all touting successes for non-service based businesses.

Where are the positive ROI success stories and examples for: plumbers, doctors, HR consultants, lawyers, liquor store owners, chiropractors, Web developers, graphic artists, jewelry sales reps, life insurance reps, day spas, stained glass restorers, auto body repair shops, carpet cleaners, dog walkers, foundation repairers, driveway sealers, gutter cleaners, lawn care providers, chimney sweepers, tax preparers, accountants and the thousands of other home based and small service businesses out there?

I propose that those success stories don't exist because service based industries have yet to figure out how to monetize social networking to their benefit, AND worse, may never come up with a way. (OMG, did I just say all that out loud? Come on early adapters, let me have it. LOL!!)

So my questions to the world are these....

Are you a LOCAL home based or small service business? If yes! Are you using social networking and has it increased your bottom line? How much time are you spending on it per week? How can other LOCAL service based businesses repeat your example?

Time is money, and if you're Twittering, Linked-Ining(sp?), FaceBooking, MySpacing, Plaxoing and the dozens of other social networking tools out there. If you're using these, please provide some positive local service based business examples of how this social networking explosion has helped your business ROI. How did you do it?

Thanks,

Chris Nastav, KC Web Specialists, LLC. www.kcwebspecialists.com
Experts in how business gets done on the Internet (913) 908.5642

chris@kcwebspecialists.com