{"id":213,"date":"2010-08-11T17:27:19","date_gmt":"2010-08-11T22:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/steveholt.com\/home\/?p=213"},"modified":"2019-05-06T13:08:33","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T18:08:33","slug":"social-media-is-a-big-fat-waste-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/steveholt.com\/home\/?p=213","title":{"rendered":"Social Media is a big, fat waste of time"},"content":{"rendered":"

I hear that occasionally when I talk to people about using social media to do various things.\u00a0 I also hear things like “I don’t have time to bother with it.”, “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”, and one of my favorites… “I don’t see how it would benefit me, I mean, my customers don’t really care what I had for breakfast this morning.”\u00a0 Well, actually, they might.\u00a0 Just read “Trust Agents” (fantastic read by the way…. trust me.)\u00a0 and you’ll see what I am talking about.<\/p>\n

Let me start by saying that social media in its various forms can indeed be a time waster.\u00a0 I do admit to procrastinating on things on my to-do list because I got caught up reading blog posts and trolling Twitter for news.\u00a0 Having said that, to simply brush aside social media as a fad, or as something that you only do when you want to share your vacation photos, is short-sighted and to be honest about it, just plain dumb.<\/p>\n

Lee Oden posted a great article recently at http:\/\/www.toprankblog.com\/2010\/08\/companies-suck-social-media\/<\/a> entitled “Why Do So Many Companies Suck At Social Media?”\u00a0 He sums it up great, so I want to use his words.\u00a0 In a nutshell, he says that if your company ‘fails’ to participate in social media, then you are choosing NOT to…<\/p>\n

* Listen \u2013 Social media monitoring.
\n* Create \u2013 Content that customers actually want.
\n* Engage \u2013 There is no substitute for direct participation with customers in social communities.
\n* Be open \u2013 Stop deciding what\u2019s best for your customer and be open to letting them show you how they\u2019d like to engage.
\n* Be brave \u2013 Show leadership in your social participation.
\n* Test – Moving corporate mountains is tough, so try proof of concept campaigns, run business case examples and get your feet wet.
\n* Change \u2013 Organizations can only be social if leadership buys in and a commitment to change is made.
\n* Make money \u2013 Don\u2019t be fooled into thinking social media is all about kumbaya with customers. It\u2019s about creating opportunities to connect and influence sales: indirectly and in some cases, directly.<\/p>\n

Holy smokes Batman!\u00a0 He’s right.\u00a0 Choosing not to participate in some way in social media outlets is not just a choice that doesn’t get made.\u00a0 You are actually failing.\u00a0 You’re missing the boatload of opportunities around you.\u00a0 And the fact that so many companies suck at it means that your competitors probably don’t know what the heck they are doing either.\u00a0 So this is your chance.\u00a0 Could it be a waste of time?\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 But let’s go waste time together, shall we?<\/p>\n