Four Responses to Social Media Teetotalers

February 24, 2010 By

As a social media professional and ghost blogger, I’m naturally excited about it and what it can do for people. The relationships it can grow, the business it can create. Social media is interesting, and something I enjoy doing.

So I get a little frustrated when people hit me with “I don’t do social media,” bragging about it, like those morally superior people who sneer, “I don’t watch television.”

Maybe I don’t have a good attitude about it, but I do keep my thoughts to myself, as I explain to people why they’re missing out if they’re not at least one on network. I usually trot out at least one of four major arguments as to why they should be on it.

  1. It’s where the leaders in your industry are: In fact, this is how they got to become leaders. They found a public forum to espouse their viewpoints, and expressed them to as many people as they could. And if you want to become one of those leaders, you need to be on here. For some people, like Gary Vaynerchuk and Chris Brogan, they have launched their entire career thanks to social media.
  2. You’ll find information about your industry: Some of the early adopters in any industry have been the trade media. They’re looking for a way to grow readership, maintain their expertise and credibility, and continue to grow and move with the times. I was surprised to see that a publishing group in one of my old careers, Watt Agriculture (poultry and livestock publishing) had gone digital. They publish their magazine online, they blog, and they even have a Ning-based social network.
  3. Your friends and colleagues are on it: Our work culture has become one of collaboration and cooperation. We no longer operate in silos. If you want to find new projects to work on with business partners, you can find them on social media. I can think of at least three different business opportunities and five different speaking engagements I’ve gotten because of social media.
  4. Your competitors are already on it: If they’re not, they will be. Your customers are on social media, and they’re talking to whoever is on there. And right now, it’s your competitors. They’re working to be the leaders in your industry, and your customers are listening to them. So while you’re still cold calling and attending that one big trade show every year, your competitors are talking every day through their blogs, Twitter feeds, and on LinkedIn.

Photo: Johnny_Appleseed1774

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    Author :  •  Content Location : Indianapolis, IN  •  Headline : Four Responses to Social Media Teetotalers  •  Keywords : social media, facebook, social media marketing, twitter  • 
    Filed Under: Facebook, Networking, Social Media, Social Networks, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,
    About Erik Deckers

    Erik Deckers is the VP of Creative Services for Professional Blog Service. He has been blogging since 1997, and has been a published writer for more than 24 years. He is a newspaper humor columnist, appearing in 10 papers around Indiana, and in The American Reporter. Erik co-authored No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing in August 2011, and Branding Yourself: How to use social media to invent or reinvent yourself, in December 2010 with Pearson. Erik frequently speaks about blogging and social media marketing.