I have been in this business for several years now. I admit, I haven’t been working in social media as long as some, but I have a good four years under my belt which is a lot longer than a lot of others. That doesn’t make me special or clever in any way, but it does allow me to have something of a perspective. Combine that with my natural tendency to question, particularly when I sense people evangelising (which to me is an immediate indicator that it is not all wonderful) and it has led me to a number of conclusions.
There is no doubt at all that social media has impacted communication, business, marketing and much of the first world in many ways. However, while people are gorging themselves on free information, community activity and all of the bounty of the online world, there remains an underlying reality that the rent needs to be paid, products need to be sold, and the end of year bottom line needs to show some degree of profit. That’s business.
Geoff Livingstone discussed this, using the analogy of a buffet and eating at a fine restaurant. Much social media activity resembles the buffet style meal. We all do it. We try and bit of this, and try a bit of that. We load our plates high and leave some of it, and then head back to the buffet table and load our plates high again. Sometimes we takes seconds of something we like but there is such a smorgasbord of choice that we don’t want to miss anything.
As a marketer or business owner, we make ourselves feel good with numbers. 50,000 tried our smoked salmon terrine therefore it is a hit. However, if none of those 50,000 people liked it so much that they want to order it a la carte, then actually it is a very surface hit. It might not be because they didn’t like it – it is just it got lost in amongst the rest of the bounty and everyone was too busy trying everything.
Ultimately, success in business comes down to how many people actually convert to such an extent that it brings growth. And as anyone in business knows, it is a lot cheaper and more profitable to retain customers than it is to constantly find new ones. You need them to choose you off the a la carte menu, regularly and consistently. By all means, let them discover you on the buffet table by using social media and online communication, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking that that is all you have to do.
The point I am trying to emphasise more and more in my training, speaking and writing is that no matter what new tools appear, achieving success in business still occurs through the very same tried and true methods as it always has. In that respect, things haven’t changed. What has changed is the temptations on offer.
As a business person, it is your job to keep a level head. Don’t think that because you have huge numbers you have done all you need. You may discover that you have been feasting on your own tail.
Thanks to skidder for the image
