When you first started your business it was simple. You had a checking account, a few expenses every month and if you were lucky, some deposits.
"Today you are trading in social currency. You may be rich, or you may be poor, but it is the currency of the future whether you like it or not."
If the IRS came knocking at your young business, you gave them the shoe box of transactions and brewed them some coffee while they sat at your kitchen table and reviewed a whole year's worth of transaction. If you have been in business for a while, you know how quickly that changes. Multiple checking accounts, automatic transactions left and right, loans, credit cards, balance transfers....
For a more developed company, an audit is a hassle if you are going to do it yourself.
Social Networking seems just as confusing and out of control as finances can be. It all started out easy. No need to keep lots of records, you are just trying out that new social media tool...
Doing taxes, and auditing your own financial books is not fun. But if you were not forced to do it periodically, imagine what a mess you could have after a few years.
Your Social Media Efforts Need Audited
Your social media efforts produce important things for you, even if you are not taking full advantage of them.
- Connections - List of people you can contact
- Feeds - via RSS - Avenues to publish information other people see
- Access - Permission to publish on other web sites
Much like scheduling autopayments for a reoccurring expense, many of these tools automatically publish information or grow your network. It is easy to forget it is happening.
Here are recommendations for getting the most out of your social media effort.
- Have a serious strategy - Who would you like to connect with and what do you have to offer them?
- Have a reason for them to sign up to an email list - Email is still #1 when used correctly. What can you offer people in your many online groups to entice them to sign up directly with you for email?
- Track all your accounts - Keep a spreadsheet of accounts, when you signed up, password, etc.
- Audit profiles and settings at least twice per year. You will find all kinds of things have changed, but you have not updated them.
- Look for new integration opportunities - Social media is doing a better job of integrating and standardizing than financial tools are, in my opinion. (Yes, financial is a bit harder, I know)
Perpetual Beta Social Sites
Social media sites are ever evolving. Many never leave Beta. If not the tool itself, then some other tool that will take data from a site and display it within another tool.
You have to keep up, or your image will get muddled or stale. The good news is that there are social media bookkeepers. A good virtual assistant can help you organize the tools, track progress and outcome, grow your connections and audit your profiles - often in a few hours per month. The Virtual Buzz Assistant network was created because of the incredible need for this kind of help. It helps people develop their own Virtual Buzz Assistant business and help busy professionals that understand the importance of social media to find the help they need.
No sales pitch here - you can do it all yourself right after you update Quickbooks and finish your weekly payroll.
