I had a great discussion last week with Mike Kelly and Peter Auditore about social media and why business leaders should care.
If you agree with the premise that we now live and work in a world that is increasingly becoming more and more ‘social’ then it is easy to understand that new rules in business are being written for companies to be successful and compete.
Social media now thrives in a dynamic environment as a result of the convergence of many great enabling technologies built around the Internet, Web 2.0, and mobile along with advancements in bandwidth and connectivity (among other things).
We now operate in a world where hundreds of millions of people are seamlessly connected through devices and the Internet - sharing billions of pieces of content, information and experiences on a daily basis. It is just amazing.
In many ways, social media has evolved to become a very powerful medium to channel emotion, context and experience.
- Emotion: How I feel…
- Context: What I think or where I am…
- Experience: What I did and how I will act as a result of...
Perhaps the most important component for business leaders to understand and appreciate in a social world is 'experience.’
A bad experience shared on the Internet can travel at a velocity that can reach millions of people over night.
As people begin to identify with or share their own similar (bad) experiences - the impact on a company’s reputation and sales can be dramatic. This alone should be enough to cause concern for any business leader.
Perhaps more important though, is that every bad experience exposes a root issue (e.g. product or service quality, sales experience issues, etc.) that if ignored or not addressed in a timely manor can further expose a company to massive short and long-term business challenges.
…and in today’s social environment, the spark that often ignites the flame comes via a tweet, a blog post or a status update to a social media peer group.
