Social Media – What are you waiting for?

For someone who jumped on the social media bandwagon rather late, I feel like a Social Media Junkie, who is looking for the next social fix. I get the sense of being late. Of in some way having let the world go by me, while I stood still.

I am in a serious catch-up mode. I discover blogs, podcasts, forums, and tools that I never knew existed. So much for scoffing at things that I never tried!  I no longer relegate Facebook (~800 Million users) and Twitter (~300 Million users) as tools for people who in some way needed a social boost.

The early adopters are in! But, the transformation is only half complete. It is not too late to jump on board.

So, here are a few thoughts on why you should consider looking at Social Media and Web 2.0 (vid) in general as a means to advance yourself, your business, or your career.

Social networking is not going away.

Attention is the new currency. Social networks are the new word-of-mouth media. It just happens over the web, and a lot quicker. Assuming that most of you have created a LinkedIn account to stay connected in business, the next one to take on is Twitter.

Contrary to what you may think, Twitter goes way beyond self-promotion. It has become the fastest-growing search engine and is the place to find filtered information, as long as you know how to find it. You may be amazed at the insight you can get by following people who you find interesting.

If you are still unsure, take a look at this infographic at http://mashable.com/2012/04/16/social-networks-tips-infographic/ Did you know that people find jobs through Twitter; become instant Marketing successes over YouTube, and get their products to go viral over the web?

So go ahead, create an account, what are you waiting for?

As crazy as it may sound, the links below are some examples of “different” approaches to Marketing that led to huge financial gains for the company and individuals.

–         Tom Dickson’s extremely successful viral video advertising campaign that boosted the sales of his Blendtec Total Blenders:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1ckCkm8YI

–         The old, but famous Dave Carrol video about United Airlines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_QZNtflyJA

–         Threadless, an online community of artists and an e-commerce website: http://www.threadless.com/

Web-based pinboards are attracting a lot of attention. Imagine if your customers did all the work for you!

Users of Social Networking sites like Pinterest.com create content that drives the site. Largely driven by female subscribers, it has become the third most popular social networking site today. There soon followed one for “manly things”, called Gentlemint. Pinboards do not excite me; clearly, I am in the minority. You cannot ignore the statistics that you see in this video.

When it comes to Social Media, Too Much Information (TMI) is a myth.

Before Social Media came along, there were books, essays, and news sources like TV and radio. We opted to read or listen to what we wanted. Social Media is no different. We just have to accept that not all information can be translated into knowledge. Check out sites like Mashable and Digg.com which are examples of popular news aggregators.

The trick is to ignore what you don’t need.

Here is my final thought of the week. If you believe that social media does not apply to your business or personal situation, you may want to reconsider.

Thank you for reading my blog. Have a good week!

One comment

  1. Hi Dax, I certainly echo your sentiments! I feel like I am way behind in social media skills but you’re blog has been helping me to get on track. Many thanks!

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