Social Marketing Has Been Around for 2,500 Years
I mentioned in a previous post that social media in the 21st century isn’t much different than what people were doing 75 years ago. Social media today is NETWORKING. And we’ve been doing it for centuries!
There may be some new twists or applications, but it isn’t much different than the days of people meeting in the town square or at the general store, or more recently at a chamber function or conference. When I speak or lead workshops, I have a slide that shows social networking/marketing technology going back to the first post office in Persia 500 years BC. The telephone was (and is) social media technology. Even the telegraph before that!
Most people think of social media technology as Twitter and Facebook, blogging, YouTube and LinkedIn. They’re all just new ways of having conversations, participating in communities and telling stories like we’ve done going back to Adam & Eve.
Only the tools and tactics have changed!
The new technologies make it easier to identify and connect with a wider audience than was available in the general store or on your neighborhood party line earlier in the social media timeline.
Business has been built developing professional relationships at business functions, church activities, outdoor barbecues, sporting events – anywhere a group of people gather – for a long time. Very often, someone will ask to be introduced to someone at one of these events. Usually there are followups. Ultimately, they know, like and trust someone enough to buy from them.
With the applications available today, it’s much easier to target those relationships in a much larger pool and when it’s convenient to do so. Social media is not selling, but it is a way to get prospects into your sales funnel.
Networking on Your Schedule and Budget!
Can’t make the Business Before Breakfast at the Chamber tomorrow morning? No problem! You can find new contacts on LinkedIn after you put the kids to be tonight.
Can’t afford to exhibit at the trade show in California next month? No problem! Find qualified prospects on Twitter and begin engaging them, even if it’s 7am Sunday.
Have you blown your budget on local newspaper ads or Yellow Pages? No problem! Create a community using Facebook Fan Pages.
I’m not suggesting that social media replaces chamber membership or newspaper ads — social media is best used in conjunction with successful traditional marketing.
Do More in Less Time
Networking in this millennium is inexpensive marketing that allows you to time shift and effectively target your prospects in any market(s) you want!
And it’s not just conversations. It’s videos, widgets, community building, bookmarking, online reviews…