When it comes to branding and the ever-changing social media phenomenon, you’re not a mushroom. In other words, you shouldn’t be kept in the dark and fed a pile of…well, you get the idea.
Every once in while, a certain business mania surfaces. As you saw in the video above, history is filled with these blips: The telephone. Radio. TV. The fax machine. The Internet. And now social media. Within social media, it splinters further–it seems like there’s always a shiny new network. Before Pinterest, there was Google Plus. Before Google Plus, well, you know the drill. And on and on.
Yet all of these breakthroughs have one thing in common: They’re all channels of communication. And only channels of communication.
Channels won’t make your message or content better. They won’t save your brand if you have nothing to honestly say. They won’t be the silver bullet that restores brand value. They won’t “connect you with your audience” if you’ve got nothing to connect with. It’s like a blind date: Yes, it helps if you arrive and sit at the dinner table, but without something worthwhile to communicate, you’ll both be anxious to get the bill and exit through the nearest door at the first opportunity.
You’re Only a Stepping Stone
So while all of these “shiny new toy” channels and options seem wonderful and sexy, the vital missing factor that’s vital to remember is that a true, valuable, passionate message is more important than the media channel it is transmitted across. Once you’ve got that nailed, then choose your channels to share it, as long as you focus is on who you’re helping and what they’re getting out of it.
In other words, if you have nothing more than empty, stupid, self-serving drivel to share that’s transparently doing nothing more than serving your needs, social media only opens the door to telling more of the world faster than ever before how shallow you and your brand really are. A real thrill.
