Offline. Online. Where Do the Lines Blur?

January 7, 2010 by Kathy Drewien · View Comments
Filed under: Social Business - Strategy & Networking 

We — those of us blogging, tweeting, and socially networking on a regular basis — are accustomed to instant real-time connections. Our conversations are face to face and digital; often at the same time, in the same location, with the same people.

We have grown comfortable blurring the line between online and offline.

offline-online-connectionsI’m old enough to own a bag phone. Remember those? I think mine weighed more than my current laptop!

Computers used to be big clunky pieces of expensive equipment that ran on DOS. My first computer was purchased in the early-80s. I used it for word processing and playing games.

The word cyberspace was coined in 1981, the year I completed graduate school and got married. In 1994 I went online with email and a website. Even so, there was a sharp distinction between home and work — offline and online — personal and professional.

An explosion of technology enabled us to start bridging the gap.

Early adopters of technology often have the opportunity to explain how it works to others. In the beginning, we explain how it works to each other. I believe the explosive growth of social networks is secondary to the historic isolation of innovators and early adopters.

“Yay! We are not alone!” We meet kindred spirits online, develop relationships, attend the same conferences, workshops and barcamps, and are proud to say, “Some of my best friends live in my computer.”

Now it’s time to talk to folks in the mainstream.

Many small business owners and independent contractors are still offline

Are you hesitant to jump into the social media world because you aren’t sure where to start? Or, maybe you think that it is a new fangled way to waste time when resources are already stretched to the point of breaking. After all, only kids spend time chatting with their friends electronically.

Are you sure? Social websites aren’t just for kids whiling away their leisure time any more. The median age for twitter is 31 and Linkedin is 40. Social media is mainstream.

What’s holding you back? Tell me about your concerns in the comments.

Photo by miamism / CC BY 2.0

 

Social Media Marketing | Thanks, Stefan

August 25, 2009 by Kathy Drewien · View Comments
Filed under: Social Business - Strategy & Networking 

Is social media marketing a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the industrial revolution?

Businesses – Dell, Comcast, Ford, Zappos – have embraced the shift to social media marketing from traditional marketing channels.

Blendtec invested $50 in a white lab coat and nerdy glasses. The company boasts a 700% return on their social media marketing investment.

Have you seen the neat splash sticks available at Starbucks? The product is a direct result of My Starbucks Idea social marketing community.

Stefan Swanepoel reports on social media marketing.

Many traditional forms of media we have been using for decades are being eclipsed with growth, membership numbers and adoption rates that we have never experienced before.

Consumers no longer want or trust advertising to the same levels as a decade ago. Today they want to talk to other consumers directly, create a discussion and validate for themselves what they want or believe.

If you feel confused as to what this means for real estate agents, don’t worry you’re not alone. I have literally received hundreds and hundreds of emails, posts, facebook comments and tweets about Social Media and what it could mean to the Real Estate Industry.

Therefore I have decided to write another report (similar to my annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report) but to dedicate the entire 120 pages of this report to only addressing Social Media and Social Networking.

Here are some of the items the Report covers:

  • Where to Start with Social Media?
  • Finding your Target Market Online
  • Social Media Rules of Engagement
  • Best Practices and Tactics
  • Finding Social Balance Online
  • Top 25 Social Media Networks
  • How to Manage your Time?
  • Finding Social Media ROI

Social media marketing is not a matter of IF you participate — you already do, you know. It’s a matter of WHEN you shift to a social media marketing mindset.

Don’t wait for Stefan’s book on social media to be published sometime in October.

Start shifting to a social media marketing strategy today.

You can treat social media marketing like a kid with a twenty-dollar bill at an ice cream parlor by adding a little of this and a little of that into your existing marketing plan.

I wonder if a For Sale sign will blend.

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