Part II: From Email Hell to Social Media Saturation? (A 3-part series)

For many of us, it is hard to remember a time without email. However, before email was available, we used the phone and written notes to prospect and market. Then email came along. Email was a more powerful tool and was more cost effective. So, what did we do? We moved our marketing and communication campaigns to email. Over time, email became one of the primary marketing sources used by businesses. And email hell began. Who could keep up with the number of emails received on a daily basis? What about all of the spam and the overload of information? Prior to the widespread adoption of email, no one even considered collecting email addresses. Eventually, we added email addresses to our business cards and it became a widely accepted means of communication. With the spread and use of social media tools, we are now adding facebook and twitter addresses to our business cards.As innovations show up in the marketplace, it is important not to get caught up in the craze without knowing the purpose for using these innovations. We could spend hours on facebook and twitter without producing a return for ourselves – personally and professionally. Remember, business fundamentals are the same. What we have now are Social Media technology tools that support the business fundamentals. As the graphic below shows, social media has simply trumped the old technology.

Another thing to consider is “if you don’t do anything it doesn’t matter.” These tools are not magic. If you post what you ate for breakfast, does it really matter? Will it really produce anything for you or others who are in relationships with you? It is important to think about how you can manage your relationships, add to them, be visible and build your identity through facebook. This means posting meaning-full information to further the relationships of your target audience. Currently, we still face the challenge that we had before “everyone” was using email. Not everyone is on facebook but what that means is you can produce competitive advantage now in order to find new opportunities. You might have to ask your database to join you on facebook and begin a dialogue that is relevant to them to get them to interact with you. Talk to them. Comment on their status updates.It isn’t about YOU — it is about THEM.If you want to learn more, stay tuned as we continue to explore ways to produce ROI by using these new tools. Watch for Part 3 coming soon “What the Tweet? Lessons of Leadership and Followership from using Twitter?”