Perspectives & Strategy

There are some that believe that Social Media is just another mechanism to broadcast a message to the masses. This belief has come about because the Internet has brought with it a ‘democratisation’ of broadcast media. Armed with a cheap video camera and an internet connection anyone can post whatever they wish to YouTube or Vimeo; but is that the image you wish to portray for your business?

It is true that for whatever we post there is an element of broadcasting. That new blog post is posted with the intent that everyone interested in our products or services will see it and will be swayed by our viewpoint. We also tell our social media connections in order that we are able to share the knowledge and in itself spread the news. Normally the intent here is to be seen as a thought leader, indeed we are in the process of using the Internet to build influence, improve reputation and engender trust. That element of broadcasting is about ensuring that our message gets out to all that have an interest in the subject.

When we use Social Media to tell our connections about the post then secretly we have a desire to make the message viral; to have the key influencers across the planet sit up and take note. Yet that is also coupled with anxiety of what will happen as a result of the viral message and whether the business can cope with the subsequent order uplift. In reality we know that our message will only be read by a small percentage of those in our network. It is with that small percentage that we are looking to move from a broadcast to a dialogue. Some of our connections will also be kind enough to pass it on to their network, which will add importance to our message.

This is the true impact of social media and our network. We bring all the power of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, to bear in order to spread the word. Through the power of Social Media search the message can be seen by more than our direct network – it can be seen by those who have an immediate need, which can lead to new business connections and an uplift an sales. It is very much about building trust – place a good article, or video, and people will want to see more. When they see more and it all offers similar quality information they will start to trust you which will bring sales.

In addition to the things we post it is important that we are involved in the dialogue. This is the bigger picture. Jumping into the right conversation at the right time will also build trust. This however must add value and should never be taken as a platform to criticise our competitors product. Social Media is above all an ongoing conversation.

Remember that in society at large there is a level of mistrust, a cynicism that every message that put out  is a con designed to separate the fool from his money. We mistrust government and party politics in general. It is through our posts that we seek to differentiate ourselves from these layers in society. We post to blogs in order to demonstrate our openness and willingness to interact with the marketplace at large and be involved in the key debates in the industry. In order to do this we must also be willing to admit our mistakes or errors. In the digital world it is almost impossible to hide anything. Instead we have to realise that the web is a great connector and our openness is an asset for doing business.