I hear from people all the time who feel social media is ‘not applicable’ to their business. Why do they feel this way and how much to they know about social media are the two lines of questioning I ask if I am given an opportunity to discuss this issue. Many time business owners or executives who have a fear of the unknown will shutdown any talk about using social networking as part of the way they do business simply because of their lack of understanding of the issue makes them look weak.
Social Media Is Not A Threat
What I find interesting is most of these people who are pushing back from using social media in their businesses are golfers..yes, they play golf..the most interactive social activity on the planet. Once I get many of these struggling business people on the golf course and through a round of enjoyable golf I usually can crank their mantle to get them to at least see social media as not sitting on Facebook hand feeding the 13 year olds of the world with answers to the cliché question…‘what are you doing’.
I am sure there are a few business industry where most of the social media applications used by most businesses would not be effective. However, it cannot be many since I have faced off a few business people now who represent some of the more entrenched B2B mainstream old school icons of the world’s economy and only a few I had to adjourn for a day or two to find some method of social networking applicable to their industry. Nonetheless, the solution to improving the way they do business had a social networking component.
Social Media Offers a Solution
Many business people trudge head strong through the work day strategizing how to corner a new client, or spend an entire week dealing with a customer issue. Most become overwhelmed which puts them behind in deliverables making each day another wasted opportunity to to improve how they do business. A vast majority of the business people I talk to spend enormous amounts of time chasing potential customers to get them to sign off on a deal leaving little time for personal life or looking towards the future of their business.
Many of the solutions to these business issues could have been avoided if the business owner/executive had placed as part of their SOP some sort of social interaction tied directly to the owners or top executives. Something as simple as a live chat with a support person or a forum a client could join to see if others are having the same issues with a product would free up a lot of these business leaders time. Applying simple applications that would help clear bottle necks in communications is all they needed to do.
Some businesses just need to ‘put a face’ on their businesses and not rely heavy on their cartoon character brand. Even in the B2B world, other business owners want to know who exactly the person they will be doing business before they meet them in person. Thus a company blog with a executive profile section opens the door to giving potential clients a clear picture of who they will be dealing with in business.
Old Boiler Plan Business Plans Are Rusting
Social Media, in its purest form, boils down to building trust. Many of the old business plans of pre-2008 were built on hysteria marketing plans featuring products wrapped in the word “WOW” and that was all that was needed to get people to beat down the doors of Walmart to get to the product. Trusting someone was of no interest. The only trust business owners had then was the clients check was good. There was not need to show face or to get to know who is paying the executive’s salary.
After the October 2008 crash of the world economy the use of “WOW” is now usually the first word posted on Twitter by someone saying they found a job. Businesses, especially those businesses who service other businesses, need to reach out to those in the social media consulting fields who understand their business operations and how to apply an operational style of social media to their business plan. Social media is evaluating and moving straight into the mainstream of business. Simply put, those who adapt to change will survive, those who do not..well, I am sure the word “WOW” would explain the reaction you have to hearing they went out of business.
The sooner the better is my recommendation. So, let me know how I can help.
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Being that social media is very commonly viewed as “playing on the internet” and “not being productive” it's hard to convience already successful companies that their business is going to HAVE to make the transition into using social media.
It's an every growing trend that helps each business, not matter what type, reach their target clients on a personal level. No other form of marketing comes close to that.
I'm excited to watch social media grown and see what the changes will be in the next few years.