In the last few years we have watched the global economy in crisis, however, we have all witnessed the industry of social media explode into a multi-billion dollar empire! Why is social media so profitable and gaining steam more and more every day?
The reason is simply that a Facebook page is not just for a college student anymore. Social media is a world within, a world with a faster growing population than Earth itself.
To understand how vital it is to have the edge on any and all of your competition in the Social media space consider the following: The number of years it has taken to reach 50 million people on the radio (38), TV (13), Internet (4), versus Facebook where your company can touch 100 million people in just 9 months and 200 million in 12. Is it just a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? Some go further in saying it’s the largest fundamental shift in the way we communicate in history!
“Social media is a world within, a world with a faster growing population than Earth itself.”
Now, Facebook alone has passed the 700-million-user mark, The Facebook Marketplace competes with Craigslist now and most users don’t even know about it. (facebook.com/marketplace) The crazy thing is that this is just the beginning.
Adaptability in all forms of business is the number one trait all should practice. Is it any wonder that every, let me say that again, every major corporation in the world has a Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter account now? The reason is they know its power and know it works. More importantly, they know how to use it.
Humans have embraced technology as it has evolved for the last 100 years. So why stop now? Did we stop writing letters decades ago and switch to the phone? Did we stop mailing documents when fax machines rolled out? Did we build websites when the Internet and email were launched? Did we go mobile when we didn’t need a hard-line? Of course we did; we had to adapt. Yet none of these can compete with the growth and global size of Social media. We no longer search for the news, the news finds us. Next time you’re on YouTube (which I’m sure will be in a few minutes), search a video titled “Still think Social media is a fad?”
Okay, still on board? Well, here is the problem – so many business professionals think they are doing it correctly but not seeing the rewards. They have done what they were told, started a profile, have a few hundred friends or followers, and think it’s working by itself. Maybe they even went to a class, learned how to tag, and set their privacy settings, but that’s not social media. Remember, social media is the new way we communicate, the new way we network. Once I train people to understand this, their jaws drop. The idea that “If you build it, they will come” does not work in social media. You need to be a reason to add, follow, subscribe, etc. You need to think more like, “If you build it, you better go use it.”
“Remember, social media is the new way we communicate, the new way we network.”
About 80% of my current business in real estate (whether local or international) has come to me by Social Media. I will give you an example. Let’s take Twitter, and let’s use my industry for this. But think any profession for what I’m about to say.
I can search on Twitter “Thinking of buying a home in West LA,” and it will pull up any and all recent ‘tweets’ where people posted that. Need I say more? Let me guess, you’re already thinking about what you want to search for, aren’t you? Once business professionals take it seriously and learn the correct strategies to execute it in their business, they will, without question, see the rewards.
