Social media gets a bad rap these days and it’s not entirely undeserved.
Though social networking has revolutionized the way we communicate and interact, it seems as if in recent years that revolution has weakened our social structure rather than enhanced it. The digital world has become a bleak, hostile place where everyone is angry and (unless you’re on Facebook) no one knows your name.
It’s the total opposite of “Cheers,” and there aren’t even drinks to make it tolerable.
At least that’s what we’re told out here in the analog world. The “real” world. That social media is a mess of digital fury and despair — an honest to goodness “wretched hive of scum and villainy” — that should be avoided at all costs.
And, sure, I guess you could do that. But I wouldn’t recommend it.
Why do I say that? Why am I sending you into the lion’s den? I have two main reasons.
The first one is the obvious one. The one you’ve likely already guessed. Believe it or not, the online world isn’t that treacherous. You can survive there. You can even enjoy it.
Arguably, social media’s biggest advantage over traditional social interaction is its selectivity. And I don’t mean that in a hermit-type way.
Social media enables you to curate the content you’d like to read (and avoid). If you want to talk politics you can. But you don’t have to. You also don’t have to listen to people complaining about their job, or their spouse, or anything else. You can mute or block or unfollow those accounts and you’ll never hear from them again. It’s like having a big “nope” but-ton to push when a conversation strays too far off target.
Conversely, you can actively choose the accounts with whom you want to interact or hear from. If you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan you can cover your feed with silver and blue. If you’re not, you don’t ever need to see that star. And it works for any topic. Sports. Entertainment. Politics. History. Science. Even trucking.
That last one brings me to my second point. Customers are on social media.
I can’t tell you how many of them are active and which ones are on which platforms, just trust me when I tell you they’re out there. If you require more confirmation, I’d like to cede the floor to 2019 TPS Distributor of the Year finalist Kentucky Truck Parts.
When chatting with the company’s Vice President Connor Gregg last month for the article on page 37, Gregg was adamant in mentioning how valuable social media has been in the growth of his business. He told me it was social media that helped spread the word about Kentucky Truck Parts after its grand opening in 2016 and it’s social media that has since become the company’s strongest generator of new customer leads.
“We get messages almost daily on Facebook from people asking if we carry this or that and how soon could we deliver it,” says Gregg. “I know that may sound silly to some people but if you respond quickly and someone else sees it, maybe they will be willing to do the same.”
His point is a good one. If a customer calls you about a part and you helpfully respond, that customer will be satisfied. But unless he actively shares his experience, you two may be the only people who ever know about the interaction.
Social media doesn’t work like that. When you do a good job, everyone following you and your customer sees it. Doing your job well becomes your best marketing tool.
I think that’s worth entering the lion’s den.
