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Mentioning the words “social media” and “marbella” together in the same sentence can and has caused a few raised eyebrows when I speak to people about the work I do and the place that I live. The first question is usually “What’s social media exactly?” and the second part is “Oh never mind! Marbella!? That must be wonderful!”. 

Well guess what.  It is.

Which one am I referring too?  Both actually.  I do something I love and I have the good fortune to do it in a place that I love, here on the Costa Del Sol. I have been living and working in Spain now since 2001 and have always worked on internet based projects since I arrived, servicing the Ex-Pats who live here with a wide range of requirements online from E-Commerce solutions to Search Engine Optimisation and Marketing and I am still successfully practising these arts, but with a little difference. I get to socialize a lot more now than I did 6 or even 7 years ago and I get to do it in Marbella and this all ties in rather conveniently with the requirements of my profession.

What’s this Social Media then?

So what is Social Media then?  To sum it up, its meeting people online and communicating with them in a variety of different mediums and formats. Maybe its via my blog http://www.justinparks.com where I post regular updates on the latest industry news or the new applications available online. It could be via Twitter www.twitter.com/justinparkswhere I spend time sourcing professionals and clients to combine and strengthen my already established network, or maybe even via Facebook, where I have the privilege of telling all my friends and family back home just what the weather is like today…I will bet they hate the words “Sun is shining” by now!

And Marbella?

How is it? How’s the economy there and is it feeling the pinch like so many others? I guess it is, but that wont stop the sun shining (there’s those words again) anytime soon and because of the nature of the community here it feels to me like more opportunities are presenting themselves on an international level than I could have hoped for had I been in business back in Northern Ireland. Don’t ask me how it is happening but I am talking to new people every day on the Costa Del Sol about their business needs and quite possibly, because of the economy, they are ready to venture into the world of social media and actively search out new methods of generating revenue and new business outside of the local area via the internet and the new flotilla of services and applications available to them.

Businesses on the Costa Del Sol

Because of the international community based here, there are a range of high quality businesses to chose from, Currencies Direct being one of them. I recently used them in conjunction with a client who required funds transferred and, well, lets just say, the level of service and responsiveness was excellent, personable and efficient, special thanks to Keith Spitalnick. It was through using their services that I began telling Keith about the Social Media ideology and what I practice and implement. Keith quickly saw the potential there on a variety of levels, from growing the company brand, increasing his profile locally and internationally, making connections on a professional level and marketing the companies services to a wider audience. Currencies Direct have been quick to adopt a variety of social media features and are currently adding new aspects and interactive avenues to their services. Indeed I like to think that this is the reason I’m writing this piece for this blog!

All said and done, Social Media is changing the face of the internet (again!) and is progressively growing stronger and stronger on a daily basis with no downturn in sight regarding usage and users. It will remain to be seen how this medium will evolve over the next 6 or 12 months but rest assured, its here to stay and those companies who embrace the new technologies and are in the know, well, they are certainly going to have a substantial advantage over other more resistant companies who neglect or reject what they simply don’t understand.

 Justin Parks has been putting businesses on the internet successfully since 2001. Currencies Direct would recommend you check out his site http://www.justinparks.com where you can subscribe to the RSS feed or Email subscriptions to stay updated about the latest developments online and how they may affect your business

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