I saw a tweet a few days ago from our very own Kevin Ekmark that bowled me over with its boldness and simplicity. I should leave it be, just let it lay there in all of its succinct beauty…but I really do feel like a deeper look could be useful.
See what I mean? Bold, a tad presumptuous, and entirely accurate. Could it be that simple, really? I say that yes, it can be.
There was a time when “social media” needed to be broken off as a strange and foreign object from the rest of what we understood about the Internet. We all needed some time and distance in order to make sense of this “new media” revolution. Unfortunately, and still, many of us have made neither heads nor tails from any of it. We’re bombarded with more-and-more information every day and all we’re getting is lost. You are certainly not alone if confusion and frustration have been your only return for all of your efforts in “social media”.
As small business owners though, you and I must try to make sense of the ever-changing (and often very esoteric) world of digital marketing. We stay as plugged in as we are able to in order to stay competitive, right? “Social media” has become nothing more than a burden and a challenge lately to many of us who are tasked with making decisions for our businesses and as we focus our marketing strategy. All of it has also become more than just a little time-suck. Many still don’t understand the first thing about how we’re supposed to align these new communications channels with good old-fashioned business objectives.
The problem with “social media” is that it has no consistent and coherent definition. I know that for me it’s next to impossible to leverage something if I’m not altogether sure how to define it in the first place. Asking a hundred different small business owners how their social media marketing efforts are going would yield a hundred different answers and explanations. It is a fact that not all of those asked would consider their efforts on Facebook, or some of the other “popular” channels…because many have yet to even venture there. There are no standards, no one-size-fits-all solution, and that’s a problem. This is especially true for small business owners.
It hasn’t been all that long ago that social media participation was still optional…one could decide to engage or experiment with different channels and tools at will and as time allowed. Today, not so much; optional has evolved into a necessary opt-in for those who understand just how important participation is for small businesses. Google’s algorithm now dictates that we must have an engaging presence on social networks in order to be considered “relevant”. It is also a fact that social media provides us with the greatest potential to reach our hyper-local audience…our own communities.
The silver-lining in all of this is that boundaries have begun to blur and everything that we do online has become interconnected. All that we consider to be our web presence will continue to unify as time passes. This is actually very good news. Our websites, the social web, search engine optimization, mobile technology, content creation…it has all become but a single pill to swallow.
My point here, the one thing I want you to take away from this post is that it really is that simple. Your choices are to either embrace the Internet as a tool for your business or to ignore it. Be found online or do not. How’s that for whittling it down to size?
TrustWorkz, Inc. exists as a company to assist you with and manage your web presence. We handle all of the details…we do everything that you would do for yourself if you knew how and could. Contact TrustWorkz, Inc. today; we’d love to discuss how your business could benefit from participating in our Web Operative Program.
