What’s Next?

Did you know Unk Snargletoe the caveman invented the round wheel?

You don’t know for sure, because you weren’t there.  But my mother in law was… and she told her son, her best friend Gilda, her hairstylist, the checkout man at the natural grocery store, six people in her book club and called me (to let me know I was not feeding her son the way she used to) and let the news of the wheel slip.  Behold!  In thirty days, everyone got rid of their square wheels (that were murder on the paved streets) and bought into the new round wheels.  There was much rejoicing and the whole world was changed.

Ask any small business owner who was around in the 50’s and 60’s what the best type of advertising was and without doubt they will all say it was word of mouth.  Back then, if your apartment was flooded and you could not turn off the water main, you probably called Gus the plumber because he was the same guy who saved your sister when her basement flooded. You undoubtedly stayed with him too and even sent him a nice card for the holidays. When your son moved down the street with his new wife and baby, he took Gus the plumber’s name with him.  Now they use Gus the plumber’s son, Gus Jr, because he too, comes recommended.

Word of mouth.  It is the trusted evaluation with the human touch. It is the story passed down from generation to generation.  It is the oration that turns simple white lies into urban myths and it is the legitimacy of  ”he said, she said”. In these times, it is also social media marketing. Many think social media marketing is relatively new.  It is not new, but the tools are. One thing for sure, social media is evolving very quickly. As soon as an advertising agency was able to monetize it, it became a viable means of advertising.  Good thing too, as this web site stuff was getting boring.  The question I put out for people to talk about is:  With the emergence of social media, that enables cross media pollination of an internet presence, do we really need the static web sites of old?  Most static web sites invite the reader to… well… read.  Social media transforms the reader into a  participant.  Social media invites participants to interract with others and develop a network of people and freely exchange information. Just like the historic word of mouth advertising model.

What forms of social media work best for different sectors of business?  Can social media be effectively applied to a corporate model or is it just a toy for college students?

What are the questions you would like answered?

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