{"id":28261,"date":"2013-06-12t23:26:21","date_gmt":"2013-06-13t03:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=28261"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:49:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:49:02","slug":"being-social-in-the-new-world-of-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2013\/06\/12\/being-social-in-the-new-world-of-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"being social in the new world of social media"},"content":{"rendered":"

talking to prospects when prospects can talk back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by bruce w. marcus<\/em>
\n professional services marketing 3.0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

there are four things to know about what we now call the social media.<\/p>\n

first, it\u2019s media<\/i> \u2013 a means of communication, a medium, not of itself a magic carpet.<\/strong> which means that its value lies in its ability to convey ideas and facts to a vast world of viewers. which means, as well, that we\u2019re back to the old computer nostrum of \u201cgarbage in-garbage out.\u201d or to paraphrase another (if contrarian) view, it\u2019s not the medium, it\u2019s the message.<\/p>\n

second, it substantially changes the world of marketing. in the old marketing, we talked to people who couldn\u2019t really talk back (other than by buying or not buying what we were selling).<\/strong> very primitive and cumbersome. with social media, marketing becomes a conversation. we no longer talk at people, but with them, which creates a dynamic that never existed before. and what was once a mass market becomes an individual market, but one with individual feedback. for accountants, who, by the definitions of professional services marketing, must participate in any marketing activities, this is a new and invaluable tool. it must be learned by the professionals who would compete with one another for practice development.<\/p>\n

third, it puts marketing directly in the hands of the accountant.<\/strong> i remember, back in the early days of the personal computer, when no accountant would consider touching a typewriter keyboard (that\u2019s what secretaries were for). i remember, back then (1982), seeing a partner or two with the old kaypro computer (an early version of a laptop computer), hidden under the desk. today, no desk in any firm is without a desktop computer. many of these desktops are now used by accountants for facebook, linkedin, or managing blogs, as marketing tools. it is very much marketing 3.0.<\/p>\n

and fourth, today\u2019s social media define the meaning of change, which is the result of an evolutionary process.<\/strong> they went from non-existence to dominant communications devices in a relatively few years. the beauty of this is that the evolution darwin spoke of was a process of incremental change over thousands of years. moreover, unlike traditional evolution, which is driven in large measure by environmental response, social media are an evolution of an idea<\/i> \u2013 an evolution of the mind. with the social media, it\u2019s a process that resulted in substantial change, in our lifetime. darwin would love it.<\/p>\n

\"click<\/a>
click to buy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

bruce w. marcus is a pioneer in professional services marketing and coauthor of “client at the core.” this is adapted from his new book, “professional services marketing 3.0,” available for purchase here<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

copyright. used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n