Can you save the baby from drowning?
No kidding.
You’re going to drown in information overload.
Your prospect, your customer, will also drown in too much information.
There will be confusion, more than ever, regarding what to buy, and where or whom to buy it from.
Over the past decade, as information technology has uprooted our lives (cell phones, internet, satellites, etc.), people have become distracted. Distracted because we have become enamored by the latest cool thingy, and sort of forgot the point of all this technology.
We became hypnotized by gadgets, or even worse, we became prisoners of the iPhone/Blackberry, the Netbook, cable TV options, or even our Wii game consoles.
Imagine: right after watching American Idol, we can read the latest buzz, within a matter of seconds (via Twitter) or see the goofy video highlights within hours (via YouTube).
Note: Susan Boyle has the most watched video of 2009 – now a classic example of viral marketing.
On top of that, you’re even more confused because your options have multiplied. Will you use Launchpad vs. Facebook vs. WordPress vs. Viddler? For some people, they’re just beginning to get comfortable with email, and now you want me to Tweet?
So are you just going to ignore all of this social media explosion, thinking that it’s simply a fad that will fade away?
Social media is HERE TO STAY. It is not a fad.
Why? Because we, the people, are social animals. We want to be connected to one another. We yearn to have meaningful relationships.
2009 technology has made it easier, more than ever, to make these connections; and build our relationships with one another.
Some of us have started to get it. Social media vs. face-to-face connections is NOT EITHER/OR.
We must enhance our real world conversations with virtual (online) connections. The more you reach out using technology (in a meaningful way – not spamming), the more valuable and personal relationships you will establish.
Over time, you will naturally build a network of trusted friends and associates – WORLDWIDE!
Trust breeds more trust, and before you know it, your friends and acquaintances are asking you for advice: what to read, who to listen to, what to watch, what to buy. (They’re drowning in info, remember?)
And guess who’s offering that widget for sale? Your business!
In reality, we are simply going back to our roots – our social roots. You see, we all desperately want to interact. To listen, and to be heard. To express ourselves, and to watch each other. To look after each other.
That is why social media is here to stay. And if you can help your friend from drowning – you will prosper along the way.
What say you?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Ya I am DROWNING here jb
I want to jump on this “ride”, I just don’t know quite where to start!!
While I agree social media is here to stay, I wonder if the applications we use today are here to stay. We forget fast about things like Alta Vista and AOL being the end all be all of online. Not that long ago Google was something babies said. What is the new Twitter next year? the new Facebook. If we have learned nothing else, its that people flock to the newest and greatest applications and leave the old in the dust without a goodbye.
Applications will come and go, some staying longer than others. It is unfortunate that it is difficult to keep up with the accelerating pace of change, but at the same time, these changes are the ones fueling our “progress”.
In my observations over the years, the latest and greatest don’t necessarily stick. The ones that people use, stick around the longest.