Social media is a topic I hope to write a bit about this summer because I think it's something that's not talked about enough when developing a start-up. It's the latest trend in business because it has the potential to attract a LOT of new customers, yet everyone just seems to jump on the bandwagon with eyes set forth on potential success without taking five minutes to look at the possible downfalls that poorly organized social media efforts can bring to a company.
The topic is so expansive that one could easily write a book on the matter, so I'll refrain from covering the entire subject here. Today I'm only going to cover the problems with using too much social media.
Everyone thinks that social media is like a wardrobe and you can never have enough, right? It would be a delightful little comparison, but I think it would actually be more fair to connect social media with cake fed to guests at a party. Everyone loves cake and each person has a specific preference, chocolate cake with white frosting is like Facebook whereas confetti cake with sprinkles is like Twitter. It's most important to remember that some people like chocolate cake while others hate it. As a good host, you wouldn't force feed that chocolate cake to someone who hates it so why would you force Twitter down the throats of people who hate the service? Diversify yourself so that you can reach out to your potential market by being available on multiple services just like you would offer up a variety of cake types to make your guests happy.
You can also have too large a variety of cake all together. Maybe you bought a bit strawberry, coconut, chocolate, blueberry (do they even make that kind of cake?), and ice cream cake. Since you're diversifing yourself out with cake types, you can't nearly buy as much of each cake because you wouldn't be able to afford it. Pretend that your time on social media sites is like your money, since we know that time is essentially money. What use a Squidoo or YouTube account if you're not around to keep up with it and give attention to your potential visitors there? Your company may think it's hip to have a Twitter account because it's "all the rage with the kids" but let me tell you something. Those kids are way more hip and with it than you even know and you're doing nothing but hurting your reputation and brand by having a multitude of useless accounts with one update/tweet/post that says "checking out _____ social media site."
So what can you do and where's the balance? It's important to have a precense on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace but you need to know your limits. I'm not saying you shouldn't go out and try the latest social media trend when it hits next week, next month, or whenever. You just need to be capable of keeping up with the social world so that you can react and convert these new media interactions into profit for your company. Maybe it would be best to hire someone just to manage your social media accounts. Obviously it's a cost, but it might be dollars more well spent than wasted marketing on a billboard. The world is changing and if you can't react, you're not going to win.
The topic is so expansive that one could easily write a book on the matter, so I'll refrain from covering the entire subject here. Today I'm only going to cover the problems with using too much social media.
Everyone thinks that social media is like a wardrobe and you can never have enough, right? It would be a delightful little comparison, but I think it would actually be more fair to connect social media with cake fed to guests at a party. Everyone loves cake and each person has a specific preference, chocolate cake with white frosting is like Facebook whereas confetti cake with sprinkles is like Twitter. It's most important to remember that some people like chocolate cake while others hate it. As a good host, you wouldn't force feed that chocolate cake to someone who hates it so why would you force Twitter down the throats of people who hate the service? Diversify yourself so that you can reach out to your potential market by being available on multiple services just like you would offer up a variety of cake types to make your guests happy.
You can also have too large a variety of cake all together. Maybe you bought a bit strawberry, coconut, chocolate, blueberry (do they even make that kind of cake?), and ice cream cake. Since you're diversifing yourself out with cake types, you can't nearly buy as much of each cake because you wouldn't be able to afford it. Pretend that your time on social media sites is like your money, since we know that time is essentially money. What use a Squidoo or YouTube account if you're not around to keep up with it and give attention to your potential visitors there? Your company may think it's hip to have a Twitter account because it's "all the rage with the kids" but let me tell you something. Those kids are way more hip and with it than you even know and you're doing nothing but hurting your reputation and brand by having a multitude of useless accounts with one update/tweet/post that says "checking out _____ social media site."
So what can you do and where's the balance? It's important to have a precense on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace but you need to know your limits. I'm not saying you shouldn't go out and try the latest social media trend when it hits next week, next month, or whenever. You just need to be capable of keeping up with the social world so that you can react and convert these new media interactions into profit for your company. Maybe it would be best to hire someone just to manage your social media accounts. Obviously it's a cost, but it might be dollars more well spent than wasted marketing on a billboard. The world is changing and if you can't react, you're not going to win.
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