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Catherine Tatum of Classic Legacy uses her iPhone to snap a photo of social media expert Chris Brogan as he signs a copy of his book “Social Media 101.” At a Memphis program Thursday, he urged to businesses to recognize the inherent value of online marketing.
To all those business owners who scoff at social media — and apparently there are plenty in Memphis who do — best-selling author and consultant Chris Brogan has a simple message: Get your heads out of the sand.
In case you haven’t heard, a brave new business world exists online and pretending otherwise won’t make it go away. But an attitude of denial could certainly lead to disappearing profits.
Brogan, president of New Marketing Labs just outside Boston, was in the Bluff City on Thursday for “Powering the Conversation: How Social Media Gives Businesses a Big Voice.”
During the program, which drew more than 150 business professionals from across the country and Canada, Brogan underscored his point about the power of social media by citing a personal example.
Upon arriving in Memphis, Brogan tweeted to his more than 135,000 Twitter followers that he was on Beale Street and seeking suggestions about where to go and what to see.
The reaction?
Less than welcoming for the City of Good Abode.
To their credit, Ardent Studios offered a tour and Corky’s Ribs & BBQ came up with some tasty specials, but for the most part Brogan — and his disposable tourist dollars — were left alone.
“I’m in town, I’m crying out, ‘Come get me, Memphis,’ and no one is paying any attention,” Brogan said. “I’m a dude with money to spend, but nobody wants it. Perfectly missed opportunity.”
The problem, Brogan said, is that too many business owners fail to recognize the inherent value of online marketing and too few realize the need for self-promotion.
“There is no company that is not in the media business anymore, so use social media for awareness and content marketing,” Brogan said. “Think of social media as new channels of distribution and use it to create advocates for your business.”
Glen Gilmore, founder of New Jersey-based Gilmore Business Network, agreed.
“There are more than 600 million Twitter searches every day and more than 50 million Twitter messages sent,” said Gilmore, who goes by the name TrendTracker on Twitter and counts more than 72,000 followers. “Social media is where the conversation is, it’s where your customers are, and it’s where your competition is. Get in on it.”
Among channels particularly suited to businesses are free sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which Brogan said offer platforms for companies to develop closer relationships with customers through ongoing conversations. Fostering those relationships can build consumer loyalty and boost revenues without requiring significant capital outlays.
The best way to do that is to explore different social media outlets to discover the right mix. For some businesses it may be producing a company blog, for others it might be a creating a fan page or a YouTube channel, and for still others it could be a daily series of tweets on about discounts and special offers.
Or even a combination of those and other social media ingredients.
“Collect up a lot of recipes and then open up a restaurant,” Brogan said about finding the appropriate online presence. “Know who your buyers are, pay attention to where they are and go out there and begin the conversation.”
Such a sense of engagement is what more entrepreneurs need to develop, said Memphis author, blogger and business owner Rod Kirby.
“Ideas have no value unless they’re implemented,” Kirby said. “For business owners, social media offers infinite possibilities to do just that and get those ideas across.”
– James Dowd: 529-2737
Chris Brogan
Company: President of New Marketing Labs, located just outside Boston
Titles: Author of “Social Media 101″ and “Trust Agents”
Online: chrisbrogan.com; on Twitter %40chrisbrogan; and newmarketinglabs.com
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Tags: Media, Social Media
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