Have you ever wondered or thought about how mutli-faceted you are? You are one person yet many personalities. A few months ago I wrote that social media isn’t a marketing tool, it’s a way of life. Think about this for a moment. You have a profile or a persona on every social platform you become a part of. Why is social media a way of life? Well, think about “you” for a moment. Chances are you are an:
- employee
- husband/wife
- boyfriend/girlfriend
- friend
- son/daughter
- father/mother
- lover
- and more
It’s a bit of an abstract concept but in a way you are your own network. You play many roles both online and offline and you have to represent yourself in many different ways to many different people. It’s actually quite challenging to play so many different roles, but it’s also fun and rewarding.
Your whole life is a social network, an OFFLINE social network. Instead of writing on someones “wall” you can have a quick conversation with them, instead of sending a link you can tell someone a story, instead of using skype to chat you can meet someone for coffee. The online world has been designed to supplant many of the offline activities that we are familiar with. This why I think it’s important for marketers, companies, and individuals to realize that social media marketing is far more than just putting out content, it’s like taking everyone out for coffee and getting to know them. I think taking this approach to social media marketing will make things more personal and in the end, more rewarding for both the marketer and the user.
What do you think? Have you been able to balance your many roles in life, both online and offline?
thanks for reading!
Writing on walls is important sometimes, like when they are orange walls and you have a lot of black markers to burn.
That aside, yes, the flat surface interface, 2D world is played out. It actually makes us dumber to some extent. Video is not just better because it is more personal, but because it uses all the dimensions of our present level of perception. When you add to that the limits of internet interactions and their overtaking and replacing previously valuable mainstay experiences, yes, balance is the primary factor to consider.
Jacob,
Interesting idea. Good way of describing how marketing on social media is different from the old ways of marketing. It's getting to know your customers personally.
Dave
Well-written. I tell people all the time that they must look at their time on social networks, as if they were in a plaza, in an office. Act accordingly; online is nothing but a microcosm of real world relationships, in which-with the advent of mass HD availability and video-messaging sites like Seesmic o photo-messaging like Qik-the line is becoming more and more blurrier.
Online will not replace real world, but what it will do is extend and complement real world. People who understand this will have no problem flourishing w/ their online relationships.
{btw, great blog redesign-it's been a minute since i've been on the site….you've done good!! 😉 }
Great point you make here. Online relationships should not replace real world relationships but rather supplement them. Too many people in the media realm are caught up in online social networks and forgetting that they are second in line to real life.
I mentioned it somewhere else tonight, but it's all too easy for people to forget that we only have an online world to play in because of our offline ventures. Without web designers, application developers and software engineers, I wouldn't be responding to your thoughts now. But I am, and for that I needed the input of someone offline to enable it.
We should remember this more often before we evangelize on how great the online world is. There are two worlds for us to enjoy – let's not get greedy on one.
Very good point and it should be a conversation and not a TOOL in the TOOL BOX. I am a very social person and I believe in connecting people. It is all about them taking the next step but I love passing on knowledge that isn't right for me but is right for someone else.
ah yes, the orange lab. finding a balance in all things in life is a challenge, but once it's achieved great things can happen
hey danny,
absolutely, we always have to remember that there are two world, and given a choice between the two i would always pick the offline over the online, thankfully i do not have to make that choice and can utilize both.
a lot of hard work and effort goes into making the online universe run. offline most people believe in a god, but online the developers and engineers are the gods, there are many….hmm may make this a blog post 🙂
thanks harold, im glad you like the new design, so what's your excuse for not being around hmm? 🙂
I took a left turn in the 2.0 Universe; it' ok, I'm back on track….got you on the GPS, so we should be fine from here on out….. ;P
Good point! Many of my real life contacts are also on Twitter or Facebook so there is much less balancing required in my personal life.
One of my challenges deals with work and social networking. I work with car dealers through EveryCarListed.com and it's a bit harder to explain things to some of our less technical dealers. On the bright side, there is a very exciting growing market for tech in the auto industry and big things are happening! Hopefully social networking will expand through all industries soon!
Meg
Great perspective, it is so much more than pushing out content in the name of “marketing through social media” Great quote on taking everyone out for coffee to get to know them. I'm going to quote you on a tweet @estesc….also going to trackback you on my blog. Thanks for the wisdom and insight!
Ahhh the three faces of Eve. Interesting perspective Jacob. I can certainly see your point though. In each of our offline existences for example we play a role-and it's in these roles that other people know us. As we peel back the onion, and we reveal more about who we are and what we do, the more our networks become more enriched by our presence. However, sometimes what is revealed does not jibe and why? Because we weren't honest upfront, we were not transparent enough. and why? Fear. Our social networks still have a long way to go because of that. Offline and Online they only real scratch the surface of who we really are.
I took a left turn in the 2.0 Universe; it' ok, I'm back on track….got you on the GPS, so we should be fine from here on out….. ;P
Good point! Many of my real life contacts are also on Twitter or Facebook so there is much less balancing required in my personal life.
One of my challenges deals with work and social networking. I work with car dealers through EveryCarListed.com and it's a bit harder to explain things to some of our less technical dealers. On the bright side, there is a very exciting growing market for tech in the auto industry and big things are happening! Hopefully social networking will expand through all industries soon!
Meg
Great perspective, it is so much more than pushing out content in the name of “marketing through social media” Great quote on taking everyone out for coffee to get to know them. I'm going to quote you on a tweet @estesc….also going to trackback you on my blog. Thanks for the wisdom and insight!
Ahhh the three faces of Eve. Interesting perspective Jacob. I can certainly see your point though. In each of our offline existences for example we play a role-and it's in these roles that other people know us. As we peel back the onion, and we reveal more about who we are and what we do, the more our networks become more enriched by our presence. However, sometimes what is revealed does not jibe and why? Because we weren't honest upfront, we were not transparent enough. and why? Fear. Our social networks still have a long way to go because of that. Offline and Online they only real scratch the surface of who we really are.