I just love the mental picture I get when I hear the phrase, “blow your doors off.” It takes me back to when I was a kid, reading my first Hot Rod magazine and seeing those shiny dragsters with the big scoops sticking out of the hood, smoke pouring off the oversized spinning tires and flames belching from the chrome exhaust pipes. It was what was on my mind when getting ready to race a friend on my gold-flaked Schwinn bicycle with high-rise handle bars, slick rear tire and a banana seat. And out of my mouth came the threat, “I’m gonna blow your doors off.”
You’re probably saying, “wow, you’re really competitive, and what does this have to do with marketing?”
Yes, I am competitive but that’s not the point here. I talk to a lot of business owners of companies large and small, and from a number of industries. Inevitably, the conversation will work its way toward what everyone seems to be talking about now, social media. And even though there are major brands who have embraced social media like Dell, Star Bucks and Dominoes Pizza, many of these business owners will say to me, “David, I just don’t get how it will work for my business.”
Just so we’re straight, whether correct or not, I lump many things into my definition of social media to include:
- Social networks like Facebook and My Space
- Micro blogging sites like Twitter
- Bookmarking and blog rating services such as Del.icio.us, Digg, Stumble Upon and Technorati
- Picture and video platforms like You Tube and Flickr
- Business networks like Linked In, Plaxo and Naymz and their groups and associations that provide for the ability to ask and answer industry specific questions.
- And finally, Blogging and blog sites (and I suppose newsletters could also be included here)
There is not doubt that social media is getting a great deal of hype right now. This may cause people to believe that it is a passing fad that will soon become stale.
Most experts agree that social media has so dramatically transformed our world’s society that we can never really go without it. In fact, in his article, “How Social Media May Save The World,” Danny Dover talks of its ability to stop pandemics. Read his entire article at:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/early-detection-how-social-media-may-save-the-world
Beyond these lofty claims, active participation in social media has a proven basis in sound marketing practices in addition to strong customer service attributes. Jeff Bullas, in his blog post, provides 8 reasons why this is true.
Everyone should be aware that social media is not free, even though there is no cost to become involved. It does take time and a carefully thought out strategy for what you want to accomplish and a time-table for when you would expect to see results. Don’t anticipate a quick payoff, as it does take time. But make no mistake, social media is here to stay and you can choose to ignore it or you can start to take an active role. If you choose not to participate, just know that your competition will and they’ll be saying to you, “we’re gonna blow your doors off.”
All my best,
David
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Cool post, but the sidebar don’t format properly on my Mac…maybe you should take a look. Thanks, anyway.
Hey, great content, but WordPress screws it up on my screen. Maybe it’s the plugin you have installed. Have you considered Joomla?
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I am familiar with Joomla and it’s a great open source CMS. I still believe you need html expertise though.
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Thanks for the comment Lenna. This is a fun business to be in!
Thanks for the encouragement.
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate it very much.
Great blog post.Really looking forward to read more.
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