Is There a Social Media Silver Bullet?

Can I Just Press a Button and Have 20,000 Followers and Be a Thought Leader?

If you have got this far in reading this article I guess you probably know the importance of social media. Here at DLA we get asked everyday about how much time people should work on social and how social can be used strategically in organisations to give them competitive advantage and increase in revenue.Before I go any further .... If you are interested in how I manage my social every day, I describe this in this blog The BEST methods for making time for social media If you looking for an example of a salesperson who uses social day in day out then watch this "Tim Talks" video with Richard Young where he explains his day and how every sale he works on includes social. How to use Social Selling When Selling to an Enterprise

So What about this Social Media Silver Bullet?

Just seen a great quote by Grant Cardone:"The number one excuse for not using social media is not having the time. And, I agree, you don’t have time to waste on social media like 99 percent of users do, but you must learn to use social media as a way to save time. Make time, make yourself known, and establish a strong social media reputation. It isn’t a waste of time that will keep you from doing this; it is only a lack of commitment and understanding of what it can do for you."Wise words. I read a post recently about somebody who got fired as they played around on social all day. Just because you have a high SSI, does not mean you are contributing to your sales number. So What Attributes do I Need to get Involved with Social?In a recent article called " Why Social Media Implementation often Fails" my Co-Founder, Adam Gray wrote: "My business partner has 180,000 twitter followers and has one of the highest engagement rates I’ve ever seen. Did that happen overnight? No. Did Tim try to “sell” his followers something as soon as they engaged with him? No. Did he get to one hundred thousand followers in a fortnight? No. He wrote and shared good content day after day after day…after day, and gradually the number of people listening to him grew. Did his success require genius? No. Did it require hard work, perseverance, patience and diligence? Yes, it most certainly did."If you came to this article looking for a social media silver bullet, I'm sorry there isn't one. Or if there is I haven't found it yet.

The Secret to Social Media?

I'm not aware there is one. That said, Grant and Adam put it so well above.While we live in a Simon Cowell culture where we see people in Pop Idol or American Idol people become instant celebrities. As often in life this is the exception rather than the rule.Bob Dylan is a household name, sold millions of records. But he wasn't an instant star. He started off playing in folk clubs, with an audience of 7 (maybe less), and the people were probably not even there to hear him.If you listen to some of his recent releases some of his best known songs were recorded in many different styles until he decided on the one that worked. His fame took graft, (maybe a little talent :) ) but it took time for him to find his voice.

Social Transformation not Digital Transformation

Like railways were in the past, the internet and social will be the transformational "technology" of this century. 50% of the worlds population is on the internet, not far behind that 37% of the world's population are on social media.I'm sorry there isn't a silver bullet, like anything in life it takes dedication and hard work. But as with Richard Young above, we shouldn't think, here is my day job, I need to find time for social. Social should now be in everything we do, whatever department you are in; Marketing, Sales, Human Resources, Manufacturing, Finance, Legal etc. And it will be the companies that get social that will win in the future and win big. So while social may seem like hard work, there is a train leaving the station..... If your organisation wants take a leap forward and use social strategically or your board / C-Suite don't get social then we might be able to help. DLA are a collective of some of the best digital and social talent in the world and we have created intellectual property (IP) to help organisations in their transformation. It isn't silver bullet, but it is a set of defined processes, measures and governance that guide organisations into the digital world.Can we help you? I have no idea, why not book a session with one of our experts?

Want to know how to sell to the modern, connected buyer?

If you're interested in a blueprint to help you in your move to digital and social then I recommend my book. “Social Selling - Techniques to Influence Buyers and Changemakers”. Written in a workbook style, it's designed to help you implement a Social Selling strategy across Sales and Marketing. To order follow this link to Amazon there is also a Kindle, eBook version.