The Social Media Lifecycle is like a roller coaster.
The conversation that revolves around Social Media, and Marketing overall, is evolving. Many are becoming more sophisticated in their study and use of these communication tools, but many are not.
Some are becoming more comfortable with their use, but more confused about how they ramp up the understanding of the nuts and bolts of measurement, ROI, sales, the concept of inbound vs. outbound marketing, and much more.
As with any new product, practice team, development, revolution or service, there are Product Life Cycles that cause our marketing and business strategies to evolve.
Depending on where you study, what you read, or who you talk to, the stages of this Product Life Cycle resemble the following:
- Development
- Introduction
- Growth
- Maturity
- Saturation
- Decline
- Withdrawal
In the grand scheme of marketing and communication, social media are still very, very new. Knowing that, it makes sense that not only Social Media will go through some iteration of the above product life cycle, but so will our knowledge of these topics.
As with any other study or discipline, we find that many go through different stages at the same time. We will even go in and out, and up and down, through these stages multiple times….like a roller coaster!
This can cause a great deal of excitement, frustration, opportunity, disappointment, or any combination of these emotions and conditions, depending on where you and your firm are at the moment.
What becomes important during these stages is that we stay in touch with marketing, and all of its components in order to best serve our internal and external clients.
Keep these 5 lessons in mind:
- Don’t assume you have all the answers. Most of the answers haven’t even been developed yet! Many of us know a lot, but we are constantly climbing the learning curve.
- Crowdsource your ideas and knowledge. If you don’t know how to do something, and you have time to do it yourself, ask for ideas, suggestions and answers. If you don’t have time, or you should be focusing on another part of your business, see the next point.
- Outsource your marketing and Social Media strategy if you don’t know what you’re doing. After all, you wouldn’t design and build you own building if you didn’t know how to, would you? Find someone to work with you to make it all make sense.
- Never stop learning. I don’t care what it is you’re trying to master….whether it’s marketing, finance, IT, golf, grilling the best steak in town or social media. If it is important enough to you, never stop seeking the knowledge you need to do it better.
- Be focused. If you haven’t established goals for your business, your marketing efforts will likely be wasted. Remember, random acts of kindness are wonderful. Random acts of marketing are not.
As always, please remember that I’m close-by if you need help evening out your roller coaster: [email protected]
