If you are yet to be converted to the wonders of social media, don’t worry you are not alone. Whether it is the fear of the unknown, the reluctance to follow trends or simply you feel happier with the status quo, you are perfectly entitled to your opinion. However, with the growth of social business, the statistics showing the ever rising importance of social media in the sales funnel and the shift from traditional media to digital media across the demographics you can no longer just ignore social media. It is is here and to be honest it isn’t much different from traditional forms of media and marketing.
Word of Mouth Advertising
WoMA probably has the greatest ROI (return on investment) of all marketing methods. Knowledge and confidence in the recommender provides a trusted decision. Trust helps boost conversion and also the likelihood of resharing a positive experience. All that despite WoMA being the oldest form of marketing there is. The oldest, most used and most proven form of marketing and in reality social media is little more than WoMA with a new set of tools. Social media is not rocket science, in fact it is only part science, the rest is art, craft and bundle of personality.
You don’t have to preach to reach
The thing that often puts people off about social media is essentially it is showing off. Telling the world about things that for so often many people had kept close to their chests. Successful social media is based on being open with those you deal with, it’s not about boasting however and there is a difference. Here again the ‘real world’ analogy helps. If you are in a pub and suddenly get up on the table, take your top of and start swinging it round your head whilst shouting or singing, there will be few people who look upon you in a great light. Yet, you can still be the life and soul of the party without ruining your credibility, by being open, talking to all you meet, including them in conversations, having a bit of banter and just enjoying life and the company you are in. Social media is the same. Keep conversations going, don’t dominate them. Support others and encourage them as well as politely pointing out where they may be going wrong. Social media is the opportunity to share that ‘pub’ atmosphere and community but in the virtual world, which in turn is potential the whole world.
Can you send a text?
If you can send a text, you can use social media, it really is that easy. Of course you need to know what you are doing, but there is always help at hand from friends, family, local courses or even courses online you can watch, read or interact with. The essence of social media is sending a message to others. If you have a great message there are hundreds of ways of getting out there and social media dominates those most popular channels now. Even if you think you don’t have a message, there are plenty of messages being sent every day, every hour, every minute on social media that can inspire and / or help you. Once you have seen it in action, you will be surprised how you will suddenly understand what messages you do have worth sharing on social media too.
So thankfully, social media is not like rocket science. There is certainly much you can study and consider in-depth that make it as worthy as rocket science but to use social media, to get the benefits from it you don’t need that level of expertise and know-how. Also unlike rocket science they don’t limit who can and can’t have a go. Anybody can dip their toe into the water with social media…. so why not try it.
