In the old days, when something didn't feel quite right, we went out and bought stuff, whether we needed it or not. Or we got a cute puppy or a kitty, or kissed someone, or read a great book with a glass of nice wine to accompany the flow of words. At the end of the shopping spree or a journey into some obscure novel, we recovered our wits and plunged right along whatever path we’ve chosen or one that was chosen for us for our lack of ambition or courage.
Magically, the world stayed largely intact, and thriving, in parts due to the fact that there were many different kinds of people doing their various important tasks, and save for a few moments of self-doubt, there was a purpose of sorts, making it ok to wake up in the morning…and not find yourself the only non-billionaire/entrepreneur/successful business owner/_______________
Cartoon by HUGH MACLEOD, used under creative commons license. Source: www.gapingvoid.com
For weeks now upon opening my Inbox, I am forced to surf through the various offerings that have nothing to do with puppies or kittens, or a good book (those I’d be ok with), but all preach some self-improvement mantra, most through Social Media. I recall the days when sales folk who pitched their various pyramid schemes were frowned upon by those who could still think for themselves, and so the number of soon-to-be-billionaires via HerbaLife or some such remained relatively small. The influx of Social Media gurus and SEO Gurus and Blogging for dollars gurus and the ease with which so many seem to jump on the bandwagon make it appear that that healthy cynicism with which business decisions ought to be evaluated is just gone.
It’s as if every used to sell Kirbys door-to-door entrepreneur seized on the next great pyramid scheme and they are doing their darndest to stay at the top, only the pyramid is now entirely virtual. Where it was in the past about performance that hinged on sales of a particular product or service, now it seems to be all about acquisition of virtual accolades and followers. And so, for the sake of examples, I have a company locally, one of the founders of which boasts 22k followers on Twitter. Their main business is a brick and mortar sort, and a business to business one at that. With the total population here being just slightly over 60K, I highly doubt that 22K of them are in need or ever will be of the services of this particular guru. But I digress.
It pains me that so many jump in head first and spend serious money on the next big shiny thing, without doing due diligence. For some reason it seems to be especially true in real estate. It takes absolutely nothing to call yourself a guru on any subject, so long as the results of what you sell are just as virtual as the means by which you sell them. So next time you find yourself getting sucked into a social guru sales pitch – do some research into their credentials. As has been pointed out in many, many experiments, the number of followers is NOT a credential. There are few legitimate social media gurus in the world, or any other gurus, for that matter. They are the ones whose ideas are worth listening to, and you’ll be more likely to find them on TED than facebook, or twitter, or AR. The rest of us navigate these waters blindly, just like most of the self-made gurus, and hope for the best. And that, in the end, is how it should be. Because having a facebook page will not FIX your business any more than having 22K followers on Twitter will. Nor will it help you control the narrative of your unique business offering and niche any more than playing Farmville will make your actual garden grow stuff.
So, for god’s sake – take care of your name and reputation or that of your company. When you entrust someone with that name and reputation, make sure you know that they are fully qualified to treat it with the utmost diligence, skill and respect. Contrary to the pitches, social media is NOT a numbers game. It’s a relationships game, and, in my opinion, no one but you should be building and maintaining YOUR relationships. Of course if you need technical help and help making your relationship building endeavors look good, hire a professional. Doesn’t have to be us, but for the little bit you’ll spend on a pro FB page, vs one you can make on your own, your reputation will thank you.
What are your thoughts?
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