With the arrival of more and more golf businesses to the internet comes the need for them to understand how to communicate with their markets out here in La-La-Land. Social Media is a new to these business people and many try to form Social Media into the OLD box of traditional “Who Can Yell The Loudest Will Be Heard” marketing tactics. That is where many golf businesses fall flat in their market strategies.
What is interesting is golf business people are overlooking the word Social in the term Social Media. With golf being the most sociable methods of doing business I sometimes am put back with how many golfers I see out on the internet not using Social Media.
What I am finding in reviewing golf businesses who use of the internet is they are no different than many of the hard-line traditionalist mainstream formerly successful business who feel they have to chock an ROI out of everything. In listening to many of their founders or owners I quickly hear phrases like ‘substantiate my existence with proven methods’ and ‘only use proven track records’ indicating clearly their fear to step out of their comfort zone of offline marketing strategies.
A large number of them are still under the misguided impression that all they have to do on the internet is to launch a well designed flash driven web-site, throw a few hundred keyword phrases in the content all with the word GOLF in them and then monitor their PayPal reports ring up the profits. Then when that does NOT happen the word gets put out on the street..
”…the @#$%^ Internet ruined my business. Anyone using it is a fool!”
Needless to say, many, not all, but the majority of golf businesses, especially the ones coming online today, just do not get Social Media.
Social Media is just that..a social approach to providing people…yes people…information about yourself and then what you do for business. What is unique about Social Media is this…
- Establishes legitimacy: Everyone knows you are in business and more than likely, at the very least, are curious about what you offer that the 100 others shouting on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn do not.
- Develops Trust: Today, with all the scams and fraudulent business people running rabid online and offline, the prudent consumer now wants to know who they are doing business with first before then going to the second step of finding out what they are in business to do.
As much as the traditional business people feel Social Media is a waste of time they must realize the business world has changed in the way business is marketed.
There are some very good examples of how the mainstream golf businesses are now learning how to use social media effectively with the PGA and LPGA now leading the way. However, there are many golf industry related businesses still not online or are online but really wrapped around the axel using old methods of marketing.
Social Media used effectively and correctly can bring in the customers who will not be seen or cannot be captured using the ‘Billboard’ method of marketing. Hopefully, the golf industry will reach out and find how Social Media works before something else fills their consumer market’s interest.
Let me know how I can help.
