Social Networking - Do You Really “Get It”?

 

Most of the Professionals I talk to seem to be saying the same thing:

“I really don’t get this Social Networking thing.”

 

Well if you don’t get it…the truth is…you better GET IT!”

 

I’ve concluded there are basically five main reasons why most professionals are NOT YET FULLY capitalizing on this explosive opportunity:

 

1.  Five Different Stages of “Getting It“

 

1.  They simply don’t get it and, therefore, refuse to believe it is a good place to direct any time or resources.

2.  They don’t fully get it, but they understand it is a low-cost and explosive opportunity, and also know they gotta get it soon.

3.  They are not getting it.   Yes, they are currently involved, but they are not using it properly and reaping the benefits that justify the “hype”.

4.  They fully get it, and because they have the necessary time, skills, resources, and desire to do this on their own, they’re starting to get it.

5.  They fully get it, but they simply don’t have the time or skills for all the work and technology involved, so they employ the services of a social networking company to help them get the most out of it.

 

2.   DESIRE:   

 

•   Most professionals are passionate or enjoy to doing with their time , such as their careers, hobbies, family, faith, sports, traveling, or whatever makes them truly happy.  

•   Most professionals today lack the time, skills, and most importantly, the inclination (or “burning desire”) to build, cultivate, and maintain a successful social network…particularly on an ongoing basis. 

 

2.   TECHNOLOGY:  

 

•   Studies prove that most professionals who are 40 years old or older were never afforded the luxury of growing up using the Internet and using computers every day.  

•  The reason this makes social networking particularly challenging for most professionals is because most experts will tell you it requires at least 10-15 hours of work each week, along with the aforementioned high level of computer and Internet skills.

•  Also, the Internet and these social networks are growing exponentially in size and complexity. 

•  This explosive growth makes it that much more difficult to keep up with all of the latest technologies like blogging, tweeting, uploading, scanning, managing databases, navigating software, metatags, keywords, search engine optimization, filtering spam and viruses, and much more.

 

3.    INTEGRATION: 

 

•  If you can believe this, even though most of us have heard of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and maybe a few others, there are approximately fifty different social network websites today…and growing by leaps and bounds!

•  The good news is that this has brought about many new strategies and cutting-edge technologies, specifically designed to help integrate and coordinate these social networks…which essentially allows them to “talk to each other”.  

•  The bad news is that, with the exception of a tiny minority, most professionals lack the time or desire to access to these necessary tools, skills, training, experience, and resources. 

•  Given the current and future levels of growth in these networks and technology, this dramatically decreases the probability that professionals will produce the best possible results…nor will they likely create the best possible results from these social networks working  together.   

 

4.   TIME:  

 

•  The truth is professionals are no different than anyone else when it come to finding the best possible balance when faced with everyday life events like career, marriage, friends, social events, kids, health and fitness, hobbies, sports, email, etc. 

•  Most Americans struggle every day to manage their time in the most efficient way, especially given today’s economy.  So like most people, it is extremely unlikely professionals can find the time to regularly dedicate AT LEAST several extra hours every day.  

•  There are many reasons this requires a serious effort  and many hours of your time every day, since you have to properly manage sophisticated websites, technologies, and also communicate with a large number of people.

•   Some of the most time-consuming tasks include regularly writing emails/blogs/tweets/updates, constantly creating target marketing campaigns, joining and contributing to a large numbers of groups, learning how to adapt to unique groups of people, regularly providing new and valuable information, closely monitoring and managing an increasing group of friends or followers among multiple networks, keeping up-to-date with the newest and most innovative technologies, etc.

 

So in summary, it is very easy to see why it is not very easy to be successsful when using the Social Media Networks.  Unless you are one of the rare few who has an extensive background in technology, a vast array and access to the newest and most innovative technology tools and resources, a large amount of free time, and a burning passion to become a social networking expert, your best bet it to either:

1.  Set your expectations low, work at often as you can, and just have fun.

2.  Do what I have personally done and hire social networks professionals who can help do the large majority of this for you.  This frees up much of your time, gives you the ability to maximize your results and efficiencies, and can also dramatically expand your social network and business opportunities. 

Christopher P. Hill, Founder

http://www.funeralresources.com