I don’t really like it 😂 Is it easy to avoid social media in business❓

I don’t really like it 😂 Is it easy to avoid social media in business❓ 

Welcome back and thanks for reading, this week saw the introduction of one of my many characters used in video, yes, this week you were all treated to “Grumpy Green Jumper” guy. 

If you did not catch him, the video is here, I’m not sure what I was thinking, but the kids thought it was funny 

Why create content like this when you run a software platform that does some very clever things for business❓

With your sales and marketing hat on you may conclude that content should always be about the product or service on offer. 

At the end of the day this is what you or I are selling, you know “Hey, BUY MY THING” its great and you need it. We all need to make sales to grow our businesses.

Midway though last year I did ask myself the same question “Why” and second guessed what I was doing, had a little negative feedback and the wheels fell off my social media content wagon. 

To be honest I got a little lost into WHY I bothered doing it in the first place, and things started to spiral. But then I noticed a drop of in direct sales, direct messages, and a pipeline downturn, you know what the coaches say TEST & MEASURE everything you do.

 I know what you are thinking, well maybe I don’t, but it is either brave of stupid, to create video for social right, when the content message is off centre from the actual value added of the solution. 

But the thing is, back to test and measure having a range of different styles that shows all the sides of the people in the business helps. I’m no guru and I’m not trying to help you set a social strategy here, just share what I’ve found, and learnt along the way as the approach to business has changed a lot over the years and although data is extremely important so is the approach you take

For over 24 years now, yes, I’ll be 52 on Saturday 😂 I’ve worked in the software industry, mainly focusing on building business software that enables businesses to do more and achieve more.

 But things evolve and so has the internet with social media and content. 10 years ago, it might have been fine to just have a website maybe a blog and let the search engines do their thing. 

But, in a recent study it was revealed, and you might have seen the news item on this, that we all now spend more time than ever before in front of screens and research has shown that a lot of time is either spent on that device in your pocket once called a phone or your desktop computer.

So, with all these eyes on digital, the approach we are and have been taking for the past two years is the one where we create as a business lots of different types of content for many different audiences, this newsletter is just one. 

The days of having a sales team who then try and book meetings seems to be one that is fading fast, I’m not disregarding cold calling or email marketing, but the approach of interruption is becoming less popular. 

If you talk to or read any (and there is a lot) academic research, it shows we are all engaging with content more and more and this leads to engagement with individuals and then conversation about what you do or don’t do, and if your solution or service is a fit and can help. 

Opting for a 95% social approach is either brave or stupid, I’m not sure which but I will revert in the next couple of years as we will either have been very successful as a small provider or bankrupt, hopefully successful.

Selling software to businesses used to be very easy, but with choice and the fact that modern software is sold on subscription the chance of building a long lasting relationship based on a large financial investment from your CapX budget is today very unlikely.   

 Not only has sales and marketing changed but so has our industry, so this is why I and the team have made a step change to build awareness though social selling.

 We used to send brochures and letters along with email, but as acting CEO and CMO of mapsimise.com I realised a few years ago that all I was doing was populating inbox junk messages and filling the recycling bins, along with wasting money.

 The pandemic took us online and forced online engagement, and now we are all here it is very unlikely we will all revert to the old way of doing things.

Business is still won or lost on relationship and reputation, yes, the old saying still stands firm people buy from people and happy customers refer. So, the job of ours and your content, it be either blogs, social or video plays a part in building a relationship, so that potential customers can associate with what you do. 

Yes Mapsimise as a data platform and solution finds a natural home in businesses that have data, businesses that have a need to understand that data by location, some businesses don’t have this need,

A) because they don’t collect a lot of data,

B) they are not sizable and location analytics by different region is not a business driver

C) they don’t have two sets of data that relate to a give location. 

Not every business is the same, but if you make great or in my case average content, that gains engagement, it does not mean everyone is ready to buy, maybe a small % are but one thing is for sure by showing up in this new social business world people will remember who you are, so it is better to be there than not. 

Over the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing people though social including YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter, when I say meet I mean build an online relationships with, which in turn has help our latest product offering with Mapsimise gain real traction and awareness. 

So in summary, If you are or have the type of business that needs to grow nationally or even internationally I would say you cant avoid social media, if you don’t like it, then find a great coach to help you learn to love it.

Is the future of all marketing now going to be online, not this year, but maybe, maybe in the future especially if our screen time continues to increase, and we all join the metaverse whatever that is. 

As always thanks for reading, if you are ready to see the latest version of Mapsimise.com and see how we can help you manage your data, then do please book a slot here https://calendly.com/alistair-mapsimiseceo

With the kindest of regards

Alistair

Mapsimise.com