I originally had this as part of my blog post “What is Social Media?”, however I realised that there was just too much information and didn’t want it to get lost in the words.
Social Media has had such a fundamental impact on the way we communicate.
“We no longer search for the news, the news finds us…
We will no longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media”
But, It used to be that if people (consumers) wanted to find out something, they would look in the yellow pages, the local paper, ask around their friends for recommendations…
To find out the news or tomorrow’s weather, we happily waited until 6pm and tuned into the television.
To check our communications via email, we checked our computer a couple of times a day, or perhaps just every couple of days.
How has the internet and the mobile smart-phones changed this? – Instant communication, Instant information.
To look for a product or service or to find out information, many will go straight to the internet – why? Because it is so easy to Search for something, at any time of the day, and most companies are listed on the internet in some way. This especially applies to products and services.
However, Word of Mouth is still all-important. Just look how sites such as TripAdvisor.com and Amazon.com operate and locally, blackmarket.co.nz and trademe.co.nz – they all rely on recommendations.
Personally, if we have connections in our community, we will ask around for verbal recommendations and then, maybe with a little bit of our own research thrown in, we will then make a purchasing decision.
With Social Media, people are “liking” brands, joining online groups and networks, receiving recommendations from friends, sharing information – all this is constant and natural – like one-to-one conversations.
Information Overload
Many people will argue that our lives are being bombarded with communication – email marketing and advertising messages, friend requests, networking invitations etc.etc.
At the same time, companies are still spending a lot of time and money on expensive newsletters to mail out, print advertising, radio and television advertising to attract new business.
Consider though, that you as the consumer has the power to set up your networks online so that you only receive what you are interested in, the power to control what enters your in-box, what you listen to, read, engage in; the power to switch off to anything you no longer find interesting, skip through ads…
You will no longer need to SEARCH for your relevant News, Products or Services, they will FIND YOU through your online and offline interactions.
That’s pretty powerful stuff if you are in business.
Actually, very scary in a way, when you are a small business fighting to find and retain customers.
remember:
- Your Website or Blog is still the Hub of your business.
- Blogs can work in many industries as the Hub of customer interaction.
- Social media is what drives more traffic to your website.
- And, once there, you have the opportunity to earn their trust and establish credibility.
People will buy from those that they Know, Like and Trust !
