SOCIAL MEDIA -- WHO NEEDS IT?

 

Over the past few years the world has changed from being internet savvy to social media savvy.  Everywhere you turn social media is there.  Do we need it, do I need it -- the answer is yes.  So many of the everyday things we do are now done easier, faster and from the comfort of our own homes.  Here is how social media has impacted both my personal and business life, and the benefits.

 

My son now lives and works in Australia and we are able to keep in touch via Facebook, Messenger and Skype.  No longer am I ruled by time zones; messages and  photos get sent whenever I want and they get read wherever he happens to be.  We make new friends on-line and find old ones.  

Travel has never been easier.  I can follow travel blogs,  links to great promotional offers, check the weather, read a local newspaper, see what my hotel room looks like, book a massage, my flights and -- well you get the idea.  Learning something new is only limited by your imagination and the time you have to follow links to new information.  For an information junky this is heaven.  Yes, sometimes you can get lost in the search, but that just requires a little self-control.

As someone who requires a gluten-free diet, getting a variety of foods used to be a challenge.  Now my on-line recipe clubs have manufacturer links that allow me to order products that are delivered to my home in a matter of days, pose questions if one of my recipes has been a dismal failure (complete with pictures) and learn more about food substitutes.  Did you know that Amazon.com has a great selection of gluten-free products?  These products are not available through a store, web only.

And that leads me to the benefits for business.  For the past few years I have been operating a "brick and mortar" specialty retail business.  Retail is tough at the best of times but in the current economic climate its deadly.  Add to that having a business based in a small northern town with an aging population, and survival is a challenge.  To succeed today you need to be prepared to leave behind traditional sales methods and put social media to work for you.  Moving to an on-line format makes sense in today's marketplace.  Afterall, if 10% of the world's population has a Facebook account, and the average user has 130 friends, it is more than possible to create a customer base that has the potential to grow daily.  And to tap into a totally different market segment.  Market surveys have shown that 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations versus 14% of the population trusting the more traditional advertisements.  Add to that the cost savings, and how can you ignore social media as an intelligent way to do business.  Have you ever priced newspaper and radio advertising?  Indications are that a business marketing via social media will still be in business in 5 years -- sounds good to me.

Not only can I market my business more effectively but tools are now available that make me more efficient as well.  What am I talking about?  YouTube.  Rather than creating my own videos of product demonstrations, I can put manufacturers' YouTube demos on my website.  Or twitter my customer to let them know a new product has arrived and a YouTube clip is available.  And can be reviewed repeatedly if the customer needs to.  This does take away some of the personal service, but in communities away from large metropolitan areas, this is a real benefit.  And of course in slow periods WagJag promotions help to boost cash flow.

So, do I think social media is a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?  It may have begun as a fad but the benefits have quickly become apparent and I believe it is here to stay.  Yes, we do need learn how to curb abuse of the medium, but that has always been the case,  The challenge now is that the whole world will know about misuse and abuse, in some cases as it is occurring.  Food for thought.