It is true that the way we do business is being defined radically and even as we speak we are being affected by the pressures and influence of Social media. If you have not noticed it your competitors are getting the jump on you as they redefine themselves through Social Media.
This form of communication and interaction has disrupted the way marketing has operated for decades. It’s a roller coaster development and is a very exciting evolution in the way we all do business and interact with each other, however it presents problems for many companies because, in just the twinkle of an eye (namely a few years), communication has shifted from a one-way conversation to a two-way discussion on ALL the social media platforms.
If you have NOT adopted the new paradigm by now, as a way to do business, not only are you going to fall behind your competition but more relevant is that you may not be able to last the distance.
Now, before we get concerned, it is just possible that your business does not need the power of social media and that your influence, impact, breadth and depth of business are unassailable. If this is the case, you are one of the chosen few or you may be retired and the idea of work is a far off echo.
However, for most of us, this process of social media has forced companies to reflect on vague and mysterious questions about how they should interact and converse with customers. This issue was raised by a couple of early adopter companies as they struggled to ensure employees aren’t damaging the brand, whilst not limiting interaction.
Google is such a company where they try to meet the needs of their employees with the now famous “Friday off, day,” as part of their creative push to encourage employees to do whatever they want on that day. Many innovative methods and ideas came out of it including the concept of Gmail. Have you also seen in the latest news that Google are committed to paying any Google employee’s spouse half the employee’s wages for the next 10 years in the vent of their death. A generous, innovative way to keep staff retention high as possible.
One of the big questions may well be, what can our business or industry do in social media? When we saw what the #Cairo hash tag contributed to the Egyptian uprising, I think we all saw that social media will NOT go away and that we better get educated about it, if we want to use this social interaction methodology, rather than be used by it.
If we align our business or companies with multiple social media presences, we need to have a good idea and understanding of our message, our brand, what we offer, our target market and a genuine desire to connect with those people, customers, clients with sincerity and a giving attitude.
Chris