Many new people I am meeting these days, are talking to me about social media and wondering "Truly how big is this industry?" And - "Yeah, but what exactly is it that you do?"
These are the two questions I will discuss with you in this article - and these are the basis of the book that I am currently writing - titled "6 Steps to a successful social media campaign"
A) "How big is this industry?" - Huge! let me tell you - HUGE!!! This is something like the next "big bang" for the internet world.
I have just finished compiling some data on the history of the internet and how it came about. Comparing the information on the history of the internet and the birth and growth of social media - you see some major similarities. Not to mention the kind of money this industry is currently making - considering the fact that the social media industry is very much in its infancy stage and still has some major room for growth (which we'll discuss in a little bit - but back to the current state...).
If we are to look at Facebook alone, we'll see that it is earning over $11.5 Billion in revenue, it has already attracted over 700 million users (that would mean that if it were a country it would be 3-4 largest!!!) and has an average of 6.25 minutes per person signing on on average 19 times a month! So what is so special about Facebook that attracts all this kind of attention? Getting people to spend so much time on this website? And earning this kind of revenue? What is Facebook's business model and why is it so successful?
This is all answered in a simple phrase - people have the need to socialize, they feel more open and free to talk to people they enjoy talking to and share common interests. Everyone loves to share information - sharing mean giving and getting in return. If someone is interacting with you on Facebook and you don't interact back - eventually that person will delete you, or even worse - block you!
Now here is why social media has so much room to grow. Since the need for people to socialize, interact and feel a part of something is becoming more and more evident. Businesses and entertainers are starting to realize what they need to do in order to attract new clientele or to retain the current ones. The more people get use to socializing, the less people are going to be interested in those "cold calls" or "sales pitches."
These days - in our day and age - people are more likely to do business with people they can trust and/or conduct business with people they or their friends know or recommend.
This is the growth of social media - it's the growth of Word of Mouth/Mouse (WOM), it is the growth of friendship, and it's the growth of much greater, longer lasting, and loyal business relationship.
Businesses are starting to realize that it is important to interact with their clientele and offer these clientele something they really want and need. These clientele only need things that have value to them. These values are created by the client's preferences of what is deemed interesting or important to him/her.
B) Now what is it that I do all day? - I build relationships with people. I talk to them, and listen to what they have to say. I am interested in finding out, what interests them the most, what do they enjoy talking about? and what do they do for fun? as well as try to figure out how to make their jobs less boring and more interesting. Finally this enables me to talk to businesses and share with them my findings on what people are enjoying and doing for fun, what these potential clientele are spending money on, and what they perceive is important or of value to them.
With sharing this kind of information (for free) with these businesses or entertainers - it allows me to come up with interactive and creative ideas on how to create some kind of interesting experience for targeted audiences and try to attract them to become potential clients.
This is becoming more and more common in the marketing industry. Gone are the days of outbound marketing and cold calling (to a certain degree). Coming are the days of more inbound and organic marketing - and when I say organic, I mean that business is becoming more personal, marketers are trying to get more personal with targeted audiences and clientele.
On the audiences' side - they are seeking for more interaction, something new, something cool, something they can get a kick out of... This will attract them to come to the website or location of this attraction, this will encourage them to spend some kind of money on what they perceive is of worth and value. People's tendencies are to get bored of the same old suff, they look for innovation. If it were up to me - I would base currency on levels of innovation (but that would have to be a whole article of its own.)
This is why KolBaKol has developed a very innovative and interesting platform that is personalized to businesses and entertainers in order to help them interact with their clientele one on one - on their own websites with their own branding image - causing them to have some inbound marketing and SEO benefits (since more people are spending more time on their website and are converting to become clientele). If you would like to have more information about this platform and opportunity, or would like to request a brochure feel free to visit KolBaKol's website at www.kolbakol.com.
You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or follow this blog to find out more about our projects and how we can take your business or services to a whole new level.
Looking forward to interacting with you!
Please leave a comment on what you think of social media? What can businesses or entertainers do to interact with you on a more personal level? What might attract you to spend money and have fun doing so?
