Here’s what I think:
For most small business owners in America, digital marketing is like soccer. They don’t understand it. They don’t see the strategy. They don’t have the skills it takes to implement their tactics. They can’t execute.
I grew up with a superstar soccer player in my family. My brother was a force to be reckoned with on the pitch. He was a huge, fast, and often angry defender who would make strikers fear a breakaway if they heard is terminator-like stride chasing them down. My bro stopped more goals with his feet than most keepers ever will with their hands.
I, on the other hand, sucked.
Slow and clumsy, I was an easy target for anyone with a half decent handle on the ball. I stopped playing soccer when I was about 10, and the world rejoiced.
But I have a huge appreciation for the game. I understand it on a deep level, and I know what the players are trying to do as they move the ball.
Most Americans don’t. Or, actually, most American’s didn’t, until now.
Soccer has moved out of it’s infancy in America. Right now, we’re seeing a revolution in the game where it’s no longer really acceptable to say, “I don’t really get it,” or worse, “It’s just so boring.” America is moving on.
The same thing is happening with social media. As a small business owner, it’s not okay to not understand social media marketing anymore. You must get in the game, understand your strategy, create ideas in the space and execute them.
Or here’s your result: you’ll get burned. Juked. Nutmegged (google it).
If you don’t become a social media marketing player, or at least an avid fan, you’re going to lose. As the rest of the country celebrates, you’ll be the one wondering what the big deal is. Your business will pay a price.
Here’s how social media is like World Cup soccer:
-It takes time. There’s a lot of work that goes into a goal. Set plays (strategy) and constant practice (tactics) eventually produce a payoff.
-It takes skill. You can’t expect to walk on the field and be successful without putting your time in to learn the game. Be persistent and skills will grow.
-It takes care. No two ways about it. You have to change your perception of what the game means before you can see any benefit. If you don’t care about it, it won’t ever work for you.
-It takes a team. If you try to do it alone, you’ll fail. The whole point is to build the best team you can, people that will share the ball and work together.
-It takes ideas. The most brilliant plays are inventive, new, beautiful. Ideas move fast. The best ones turn into goals.
What are your thoughts? What are the consequences for ignoring the world as it changes?
Tags: content, Digital Marketing, getting started in social media, Goals, World Cup