note, the monkey has nothing to do with this post, I just liked the pic, maybe you cant think of a way to relate it to the post 🙂
Let’s be honest shall we?
You don’t have to have a twitter profile, you don’t have to have a blog, you don’t have to have a facebook profile, you don’t have to have a linkedin profile; in fact you don’t have to have any type of social media tools at all. This is one of the reasons why I think social media shouldn’t be pitched.
That being said there are a lot of things you don’t have to have, such as a business model (if you’re a silicon valley startup). BUT, if you are struggling to build relationships with your user base, if you are looking for ways to better market your product or service, if you are looking for ways to increase your brand awareness and loyalty, and if you are in any way looking to build you’re online presence; then social media is probably something that you want to consider.
H&R Block didn’t have to create a twitter profile and neither did Southwest Airlines, but they did it because they were noticing a lack of connection and communication with their users. Through twitter, both of these companies were able to listen to and respond directly to loyal customers. Dell didn’t have to create a facebook page and neither did Microsoft but both of these companies were looking for ways to reach out to their customers and build relationships with them.
None of the fortune 1000 companies out there that are using social media HAD to do it, but they all saw areas in which social media could benefit the overall strategy of their company and that is why they got involved. The point is you or you’re company should not get involved in social media because you have to or because everyone is doing it, you should get involved with social media because you WANT to. You should see the benefits and the advantages of social media, you should understand that building relationships and creating a solid online presence is crucial, and you should understand that social media can be used in many departments ranging from internal communication to product marketing.
When I speak with people regarding social media I usually get questions like, “why should I have get on twitter or facebook?” and my favorite response is “you shouldn’t.”
Bottom line is get involved in social media because you want to not because you have to. We all know that when you force a person or company to do something, it usually doesn’t turn out to well, but when the person or the company is looking to grow or to change, then great things can happen.
Thanks for reading
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