It only seems appropriate for my initial post that I should mention the biggest phenomenon to come along in years in the marketing field: Social Media. You may know it by several different of its incarnations — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube — but these are all part and parcel of Social Media, or what’s also referred to as Web 2.0. It represents the Internet’s move away from site-centric content controlled strictly by the server-level operator toward user-centric content controlled by contributors outside the site itself, as well as the site provider.
Sounds simple enough, but lots of folks — especially business folks — are afraid of it. And I can understand that. A recent Computerworld article reported that 87% of people surveyed said they had no clear business reason for using Facebook. I’m sure that goes double for Twitter. And what about blogging, LinkedIn and YouTube? Aren’t these just time-wasters that have nothing to do with business?
These folks — and they may include you — aren’t sure 1) if social media has any part to play in business at all, 2) if it does, what that part is, and 3) even if it is a good business move, if it can’t also get their company into trouble?
The answers are 1) Yes, 2) It depends on your business and your goals, and 3) Yes, but you can avoid that by being smart about how you get into it. This blog will be covering these points and many more in coming posts. So if you’re considering getting on the Social Media bandwagon and you’re feeling trepidation about it, subscribe to our RSS feed or email notifications and join the conversation. I promise I won’t tell anyone.