I am talking about your business, what are you going to do about it?

I am serious.  It is happening out there, whether you agree with it or not.

Social media is not just on its way and “coming soon”.

Social media is HERE and it’s not going to go away on a wave of hiss and spit while we all duck our heads in the sand and pretend that we don’t need to change how we work to compete in the market place.

Yes, it is difficult and a challenge for traditional marketers to get their heads around some of the Twitter, Facebook and Blogging hype, and the traditional and professional stiff upper lip image really takes a dent to its ego when the crux of social media is around the person who is engaging customers for the business.

For businesses, social media is affecting how we  find, keep, promote, recommend and give out information about our products and our services.  We  can also use it to gain valuable feedback and gauge opinions.

What about the other side of social media?

I am talking about your unanswered voice if you don’t use it.

Rest assured that if you give a service or sell a product, someone, somewhere out there in cyberland WILL talk about your pride and joy.

Someone who is talking negatively about you or your business at a dinner party might well influence a few people, but consider the effect of someone talking negatively about you on social media.  News could spread so fast that don’t see the blindside coming before it hits.

Even if you are not using the tools, make sure that you have them and learn enough to be able to pick up on and deal with any negativity.