There is no doubt about the fact that the Web has changed the way the world works, how people think and business is done. Whether you are a small or large business, making a dollar or 500 billion a year, you need to manage your social/media presence. Social media is an extension of media relations and you can make or break your brand's visibility by virtue of playing or not. Also, you need to know what you are doing but that is another blog.
I was recently working with a client who told me that I needed to convince them that social media works. What an uphill battle. If you do not believe in social media, you should not rely on other's to make you a believer. What you need to do as a businesses person is get with the times and take the risk of a life time and relentlessly interact with your target markets on every channel you can. By going to your customer where there are- in all places they are, you remain relevant and find out who they are. No longer can we market to people the way we want, we must market to our customers on their terms. Social media is a great way to do real time market research without spending a million to get some good information.
Another reason to get social is because traditional and online journalists are using credible sites and content producers as resources. Social begets (other) media attention if your content is relevant and you are doing something cool, you just might get noticed. Does social media work? I would say, "yes, for sure" but you have to manage your brand reputation through and aggressive strategy and OVER TIME you will see amazing results!
Rome was not built in a day.
Here's to relentless, aggressive marketing and Web PR!
