As the Social Media movement continues to take hold and create a new standard for interaction over the internet, I’ve found that the biggest factor keeping people from joining us on Web 2.0 is simply fear. In fact, a recent survey of top executives found that while a great number of respondents had no plans to incorporate a social media strategy, 75% felt that social media would come into their businesses anyway. Their apathy and resistance to social media was little more than fear, rationalized by cries of “it’s unproven” and “I don’t know where to begin!”
As someone who was raised on technology (always had a home computer, an Atari, an early version of the modem which allowed little ol’ ME to play chess with people in Russia), I’ve always found myself looked forward to the next leap forward that technology will take, because for me it represents the opportunity to expand the capabilities we have to carry out any number of tasks. For others, however, Social Media just means that a new group of confusing websites has arrived to replace the current group of confusing websites. To fear what is new and unknown is a commonplace thing. However, upon further inspection, Social media is neither new, nor unknown.
If anything, the truth is that the principles of Social Media are no different than the principles of Social Interaction we’ve follow for the past Century. In the physical world, we have brief, fleeting conversations with one another, we leave messages, we share our favorite music, pictures and videos with friends when we have the occasion to spend time with them. What Social Media does is gives us the opportunity to to share on a continuing basis – the conversation never has to end, the party doesn’t get broken up, and distance is no longer a barrier to the meaningful type of shared experience we all enjoy. In my mind, Social Media is the realization of what the internet was always intended to be: the opportunity to freely communicate with whomever, wherever, about whatever.
Many business owners still see this as a frivolous luxury – how does having a Facebook profile increase my business? Is Twitter really an effective marketing tool? What’s the point of sharing videos or music? While these may not seem as valuable as expensive multi-media campaigns, the simple truth is that this level of social interaction creates a brand loyalty and connection with the customer that can’t be found elsewhere, and in the age of transparency, that is of the utmost importance.
So when you’re considering social media for your business, it would be unwise to regard it as a passing fad that can be ignored because it seems too daunting to tackle. If you can overcome your fear, you’ll find, as many businesses that utilize social media have, that simply participating the in the conversation on Web 2.0, you’ll find your business with a better reputation, making stronger relationships with clients and generating a higher quality of lead, reaping the rewards of business by referral and ultimately increasing sales for your company.
Scary, isn’t it?
Tags: Social Media, Technology, Web 2.0
