It's all about people.
It really is.
No website, no matter how great the design; no matter how splashy, funky, or cutting edge the technology; will in itself accomplish anything. It's the interaction with real people that makes or breaks a website, not the technology behind it.
Social media tools like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter go a long way in improving communication by broadcasting messages where the people are. So many businesses and organizations, however, don't really understand these new forms of media.
“You can’t fool all the people, not even most of the time. And people, once unfooled, talk about the experience.”
You see, it's a two-way street. People are a lot smarter than many marketing professionals believe. Yes, crowds are fooled every day by manipulative marketing techniques and other sales shenanigans, but the reality is that manipulative pitches and other oppressive marketing techniques are ultimately self-destructive.
Let me ask you a very pointed question. Would your business survive if your customers knew everything about you? What if your client sat in on your morning meetings, looked over your shoulder while you used your computer, browsed your top-secret price lists and saw your actual costs? Would your business survive the fallout?
If the answer to that question is “Probably not,” then let me ask you an even tougher question. Is it supposed to?
Now, that can be a very offensive question, but I always have to ask it because it cuts right to the heart. Is your business based on fooling just enough people just far enough so that they will keep providing you with revenue? There’s nothing wrong with making money, but there is something wrong with doing so in a way that is manipulative or deceitful. In this new market, customers are more informed than they ever have been before. When people become unfooled, they’ll talk about that experience publically.
The entire purpose for social media is to enable you to more directly connect to your prospects, customers, and clients. You can think of social media like an amplifier. A KaioCreative website, with all of its social media cross-pollination tools, essentially "turns up the gain" on your business or organization by making it easy for you to broadcast to your various 'channels’ and lead your viewers to your own property and your own sales funnels. Positives are amplified, yes... but negatives can be amplified as well. Social media can be a very dangerous thing for those that spurn it when things go south. You just can’t treat it like traditional media because it simply doesn’t work that way.
“When you engage with your prospects, customers, and clients directly, kindly, and honestly, you’ll be remembered much more for your resolution of the problem than the problem itself.”
Every business or organization is going to have problems. The advantage to having a thoughtful, hands-on approach to social media is that when problems arise you have a major advantage over your competition simply because you can respond instantly and openly and make real, significant change.
When you engage with your prospects, customers, and clients directly, kindly—and above all, honestly—you'll be remembered much more for your resolution of the problem than the problem itself. Even the worst of negative issues, handled well, can be turned around to help you and your organization. It takes real care and sincerity and, very often, daring. But the benefits of doing it right far outweigh the costs.
With that said, I have a challenge for you. Do you dare not to dare to be open and honest in a market where remarkability is key? This is not the time to play it safe. If you're safe, you're boring. If you're boring, you won't be remarkable. If you aren't remarkable, you're forgettable, and all the marketing in the world won’t fill that black hole.
