The Social Media tsunami which flooded the world over the last couple of years is rapidly coming to the end of its power, having changed everything. Selling in the post social media world needs new rules. Here’s my take on what selling will be like after the flood.
It was exciting while it lasted, and especially so in the beginning, but it’s dead now. Killed off by the way capital attempted to blind side community. The minute anybody tried to make money out of our social interactions that stuff was doomed.
It started with the crooked spammers of course. They’ll always be there early in the growth of something new. And they’ll ultimately drive ordinary people away – there goes Twitter. Linked In is stuffed full of a different sort of spammer – sales people of all types pushing their wares. In lots of cases they’re pseudo executive types pushing their resumes, which explains the garbage they trot out. And as for Facebook – that’s a combination of social media snake oil and stuff “my mother would rather not know” – her words not mine.
But after the flood subsides we’ll find the world a better place – no longer dominated by a few big brands and their PR Agencies. The world of one way communication has gone forever.
Ordinary people will have become used to checking the marketing hype against real people’s experience. They’ll get at the truth more often, and certainly faster. They’ll make better decisions, more quickly, and be better at managing risk.
Everybody can now find people who have real knowledge they can use, and return the compliment to somebody else. We can all publish whatever we like, and read whatever floats our boat. We can communicate as individual, or in groups, at the speed of light.
In the post social media tsunami world genuine sellers will find new ways to create customer value. So for sales guys like us there’s the message and 4 rules for preparing for the post social media world
- Ignore what the snake oil merchants are saying, they won’t be around to count the cost.
- Work hard at creating customer value.
- Be available wherever prospects want to find us, with the information they need presented in ways they can understand.
- Be prepared to stand up for our customers against the beancounters and short term management.
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{ 2 comments }
Hi Phil and thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment. This post is part of a series intended to get past the hype to the real benefits. I agree with you about the problems and intend explaining the benefits. I’d love to get your opinion when you’ve read the rest. We’re in the same business. Steve
I wonder how aware the general public is about their “social graph” and how they're being pitched based on their connections and interests.
Seems like there will be a movement to “scrub” profiles and accounts (facebook, twitter, etc) in order to get cleaner results for advertising. The utility trade-off for the consumer (accurate recommendations) is pretty compelling.
“the information they need presented in ways they can understand” – hey that's my biz. Very important, as always, of course.
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