Social Media Maniacs and the challenge of the old schoolers

Between the hype around social media and the push back certain of us SMM ( Social Media Maniacs ) are receiving from a management level - I am in search of a quick and easy guide as to why corporations, professionals and other members of the alien corporate realm should be getting involved in this communication method.

In lure of not finding this list as yet, ( but I am certain with the help of the likes of Mashable - http://twitter.com/mashable and Mike Stelzner - http://twitter.com/Mike_Stelzner, I will come across it soon enough ) here is my run-down about why exactly these aliens need to join us in the real world!


With the growing number of users on sites such as Twitter, there is no question that if the target audience is living in these spheres that the service providers definitely need to jump on the boat.

Alas they are fighting back - and refuting the benefits of the likes of Twitter, here are few Social Media selling pointers for us all to consider:



* If you are not chatting to your target audience on line - who is? It doesn't take a SMM to discover the amount of corporations who are experimenting or properly engaging on Social Media networks. Thus if your company is not on line then there is definitely a competitor out there preying on your target audience, engaging with them daily and worse yet ( for you ) starting two-way conversations with them!

Social Media is more than merely communicating your brand's message or company's new products - Social Media is about conversing with influencers; purchasers and your partners. It allows you to spread Word of Mouth marketing not only through your communications but through the responses and comments made by your audience!


* Traditional v.s New - with this debate traditional has always won over the older aliens more challenged with change than anything else. But wake up. The Marketing and communications environments are evolving every second - with print media usage dropping faster than flies and TV advertising struggling to compete with the low costs of internet marketing.

The question is no longer why use internet marketing but when will you combine this medium as part of your bigger media plan. When internet usage is growing by over 30% in South Africa alone year on year - the message to the Change Challenged is simple - TV can be avoided, Billboards are ignored, Print is losing ground and the internet well speaks for itself literally!

The is nothing that compares to the power and influence Social Media is having on brands at the moment. Without paying for it, bloggers are mentioning your brand, Twit Peops are twittering about you and communities are having group discussions and rating your products! What better way to influence this world than to get involved.

Don't be scared. We all were. Someone asked me why join Facebook and allow 1000's of others to share in my personal life. Simple. Because we can, and because the world has evolved in such a way that we now need to connect with one another on another level. Face to Face is not cutting it in our time constrained lives - and if your audience is living on line and you are not, well then the book title Men are from Mars and Woman are from Venus comes to mind.

Something for you to hum dee dumdy. Now run along you Twit ; ) he he