Communication is an ever-changing entity. It’s constantly evolving and shape-shifting in ways that would have had even the sharpest of minds questioning its next logistical step in the early days of mankind. To tell someone, “cool thought man, I’m going to retweet that,” would have resulted in a “huh?” and landed you in the stocks at the center of town for people to look on and gawk at. You would have been made an example of what it was to be considered a “crazy-man.”
From hieroglyphics residing on cave walls, to scripture laboriously chiseled into stone tablets. From the advancement of chalk on stone slate, to ink penned on parchment. To a machine able to process documents by hammering letters prompted by the strike of a key, to the awe-inspiring implementation of a blinking cursor on a computer screen… The mode of depicting communication has been restless for as long as it’s been in existence.
And let us not forget that once you’ve nailed down your communicative passage, you then had to think of the mode of which said communication would travel. From smoke signals sent skyward, to a currier on horseback, or merely by foot. From Revere’s ride, to the invention of an automated wheeled vehicle. From the mailbox that receives messages at the end of the driveway, to the mailbox receiving messages via a digital interface. From word of mouth and the telephone, to instant messaging and social media saturation in both the private and public realms — communication has come a long way (literally and figuratively) and travels faster now than the time it takes you to grab a Kleenex after you’ve sneezed. The click of a button; the blink of an eye. You can’t hide, and you have no excuse not to be able to interact. People are now available and subject to the inundation of communication 100% of the time (unless of course you pull the “oh, I happened to be sleeping when…” card).
The latter of these communications modes — social media — is quickly becoming the predominant communication platform today. Whether you’re logged into Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or similar sites, you have a good idea of the power social media bestows upon us. Everybody has a voice. It’s a world where you have to be sharp and poignant to get yourself heard, and out ahead of the pack, otherwise you’re just another cow in the heard; “Mooing,” but making no headway.
In the business world, social media has granted marketing departments (in both the B2C and B2B sectors) the ability to reach unlimited prospects. From across town, to the opposite side of the globe, you now have the power to connect to people far and wide.
If you’re not yet connected (which is few and far between, and equally as crazy as referencing tweeting back in the 1700s), you’re missing out on the utilization of a very powerful and relatively inexpensive means to channel and further saturate your influence and brand into the marketplace. For some, social media is a platform that will certainly have a learning curve to it, but don’t be deterred. There will be some trial and error. With time one will find that, with daily usage it is fairly easy to navigate and you’ll be able to easily communicate your unique product and service offerings. You’ll no longer be atop that horse riding around furiously letting people know that you’re coming, and you’re attention should be served. You’ll no longer need to go knocking on doors — subjecting yourself to a splintered nose — in the spirit of building your audience. No, you’ll be able to make it happen much more effectively and efficiently with your keyboard, and a few clicks on the screen.
Once your bearings are set, and you’ve engaged yourself in the social media realm of industry, you’ll find that upon digging a little deeper, valuable backend tools within each medium’s platform will allow you to track how each of your initiated campaigns are behaving. This will allow you to gather a full understanding of which campaigns are successful, and which ones need tweaking.
For those that aren’t quite ready to tackle social media on their own, why not engage a third-party social-media maven to execute social media set up, strategy, and campaigns? eCoast offers an extensive social media program that helps you fully understand how to use and implement the different social media networks into your overall marketing strategy. Having a social media presence is a helpful way to build your brand, connect with customers, spotlight events and incentives, promote “new news”, and gain a competitive advantage. Are you ready to join the conversation? Contact us today and we will help you get started!
To further your knowledge on the goings on of social media’s integration in the B2B market place, check out this article by eCoast’s own Lindsay Taitel.
