Why I Avoid Bandwagons
June 18th, 2012 by Bob Bly
Social media evangelists rabidly promote their new medium, apparently unconcerned that it is largely unproven and in many cases ineffective.
I resist them because I live by this adage: “Be not the first to cast the old aside nor the last to accept the new.”
Early adopters are often unwise because they gamble on a technology or methodology that has not demonstrated its value — and therefore the chances of failure are high.
I believe in the old observation: many pioneers have arrows in their backs.
My late father told me never to buy a new car the year the model is introduced. He said: better to wait until the bugs are worked out, and then buy.
This can apply equally to marketing. Let the pioneers test out unproven methods and take the arrows. I’ll wait until they are successful, avoid costly mistakes, and profit from their channel or method using the proven techniques that work.
How about you?
This entry was posted on Monday, June 18th, 2012 at 3:40 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 20th, 2012 at 5:42 am
Spot on Bob! The social media Gold Diggers, sorry, I mean trainers that sell their wares to the unsuspecting and naive public are the ones making money, while distracting people from practicing the core competencies of business. Like you, I’ll sit high on the fence for a bit and take in the show.
June 30th, 2012 at 11:23 am
Social media marketing is about building relationship. When we check if a social networking site can last for long time or not, we check how strong a relationship the social networking site can build.
Among the big 3 – Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, Linkedin is the best, follow by Twitter and Facebook. We don’t have to wait other to test it if we know what we do.
June 30th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
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July 5th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
Study and observation of the experiences of others moving into a new platform can provide the most valuable insights to properly plan a successful approach.
July 6th, 2012 at 10:07 am
You can be an early-adopter of a new concept or tool and jump in to the deep end, or, you can experiment to see the results. The best method with any marketing concept or tool is to test it and gauge performance based on results.
That having been said, the Social Networking concept is—IMHO—an old-fashioned concept wrapped up in a radically new device. While the websites may change—today’s FaceBook was yesterday’s MySpace—the core concept of creating a “social” connection remains.
Personally speaking, I have been interacting socially on the web for fun and for profit since August 2000; I’ve made money as a Mortgage Banker from the internet experience across a variety of platforms. I liken the “social networking” platform to the same opportunities obtained IRL (In Real Life) when socializing for fun and profit: Golfing; Kiwanis and Rotary; B2B Networking groups; family and friends; personal referrals.
I have always adopted an online personae of someone who is personable,accessible and willing to share my professional experience for free. I think instead of “direct-selling” to online prospects (“HEY! Over HERE!!! I CAN SELL THAT TO YOU!!!), the social network platform leads the prospects to me. Frankly, at that point, the trust factor is so strong based on reputation that you can’t beat the kind of loyalty you get from these new prospects.
To sum it up in response to your question, Bob: jump in and give it a try with the knowledge this is a different kind of selling opportunity, but don’t buy into the hype.
Trevor Curran
NMLS #40140
tcurranmortgage.com
July 25th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Experimenting is the middle ground between sitting out and advocating.
I’m still surprised at how quickly advocates buy in and loudly endorse new technologies or media. For me I prefer to experiment with the technology and perhaps find a unique or less common way to use it profitably.
I suspect the most common use of any technology is rarely the most powerful use.
Sabrina