Social Media Me

Social media has become the current buzz phrase of the information age. But what is it and how does it work? And how can it help you grow your business?

Social media is user-generated content created online using various new technologies which allow people to produce, share and read information. Individuals are now publishers as well as readers thus changing the information and communication paradigm.

Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, podcasts, twitter, Wikis and YouTube are now a particularly popular way of communicating for some demographics.

One of the benefits of such technologies is that it allows individuals to potentially communicate and interact simultaneously with a myriad of people worldwide; at low costs and with increased efficiency. For businesses, this can be considered a revolution into an untapped business market.

The benefits can be enormous but does it work? The truth is no one really knows regardless of what people are presently saying. Social media is a relatively new phenomenon with minimal research and data.

Furthermore only 23.8% of the world population (1) actually has access to the Internet so even though you can be potentially connected to millions of people to say that it is a worldwide trend is factually incorrect. Only time will tell its success and its impacts. These points, however, shouldn't prohibit you from using and experimenting with social media.

We live in an information and knowledge based society, a world where technology and society are intertwined (Warschauer 2003) (2). The convergence of media, communications and technology have fundamentally changed the way the world operates - communication, business interaction, education and engagement have all undergone massive transformations beyond anyone's real comprehension.

Social media is part of this transformation and at times it can be overwhelming and cause misunderstanding.
 Nevertheless, it is possible to make informed choices. The key question to ask yourself is: 'what are your expectations of using these technologies'? Do you want to raise your profile, gain visibility for your business, market research or something else?

There is a misconception that it is all about being popular and how many followers you have. Nothing could be further from the truth. Having realistic expectations of what you want to achieve will allow you to know how to best proceed.

To some degree, the same principles of marketing apply. As the medium is different, however, some creativity is crucial to attain the benefits.

Researching your marketplace is the key. Get to know what they want. Build a profile of them and discover how they communicate, what their values and beliefs are. Doing this will allow you to ascertain whether they use new media technologies.
 
There is no point using Twitter or blogs if the individuals you want to target don't utilise these networks. Certain groups of people will be more up to date with the use of these technologies so a little exploration will go a long way in supporting your research. Visualise how this can be transferred to the coaching paradigm.

One of the issues with social media is credibility. Why should people follow you? For example, thousands of blogs are created daily - why should someone read your blog? What separates you from the next person? There is so much information available that people need a reason to follow you. Give them incentive to read your information. Add value and be authentic - people will connect with your message.

 Here are three key points to follow:

1.    Clearly articulate the one thing that makes you different. What is it in your coaching that makes you diverse from other coaches? What are the benefits of this? Believe in what you are saying otherwise people will see through you.  Eventually, if your message is clear and sincere, people will come to trust you, however it is a long-term process.

2.    It is necessary to have a planned approach. Become an expert in a particular area and convey this information on a regular basis. What is your coaching expertise? Talk about this so that there is a reoccurring theme that can be picked up by your followers. By doing this you are creating a relationship of both trust and knowledge.

3.    Produce and generate content that is clear and straightforward to understand.  If it is difficult to grasp, people won't read it. With current information overload, people are more particular with their time and what they read.  Keep it short and basic.

Knowing what technology to use is a more challenging issue to respond to, however by examining your niche you should be able to narrow it down. It might be that you need to experiment to see which one works best. Competition is fierce so it will require perseverance and determination. That is why understanding your market is crucial.

Social media does not have to be overwhelming. Think of it as just another technique to build trust and confidence witha potential market. It is a new phenomenon and it won't go away. In the end, however, only those technologies, which are practical and easy to use, will be successful in the marketplace. Time will determine what they are.

The overall marketing method may be different but the outcomes remain the same - communicating and engaging with people. Depending on your niche market and what type of business you have will to an extent determine how successful this type of communication will be.

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