Technology is constantly changing. New social networks are being born each and every day. Companies develop new gadgets that now allow us to do things we never thought would be possible ten years ago.
Look at mobile phones for example: Ten years ago we carried around brick phones that allowed us to make phone calls and that was it. The craze back then was to buy a phone that came with the snake game installed. The thought of your phone allowing you to search the internet, give you directions, or update a social network was unheard of! Social networks didn’t even really exist.
While over the past few years we have made great strides in technology allowing us to do more things than ever before, it has also caused an addiction in many to finding “The Next Big Thing.” The minute a new social network launches everyone rushes to sign up and be a part. They spend countless hours trying to understand this network and how they can use it to give them some level of value. Unfortunately though, we spend too much time searching for the next hot buzz that we forget about current and present.
Focus On Now
Scott Stratten – @unmarketing
Instead of trying to figure out “what’s next” in social media/business/life, be great at what we have now.
If we spend too much time looking for new things and no time using what is working now, our business will start to fail. What works for your business right now? Is it blogging? Twitter? YouTube videos? If your business has had tremendous success with video, don’t suddenly abandon video because some expert mentions a new network that will revolutionize how we do business. It’s ok to be curious of new things, but they shouldn’t be the main focus of your business.
Want an example? Look at Google+. It launched with great fanfare and was the Buzz (pun intented) everywhere you turned. Everyone was talking about how this was the social network to destroy Facebook for once and for all. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying Google+ is dead, but it has definitely lost it’s steam with the masses.
Bill Gade – @TopSEOranking
Google+ Pages Won’t Save Search Giant’s Social Network, Slate Says: Traffic-analysis firms have consistently rep… http://t.co/106mHObX
I’ve got a profile and business page there & will continue to test things out on the network. But, I spend probably less than 5% of my work week there in comparison to Facebook, YouTube & Twitter which get about 45% of my time. My blog gets about 45% of my marketing time with the remaining small fraction testing new products & services. It’s pretty simple to understand why I run my business this way as my site is by far the biggest generator of income for my business. Until I see something take it’s places as the main income generator, I will stick with this plan.
So in closing, if you are only out chasing new rainbows that may land you on the pot of gold on the newest adventure, it’s time to take a step back and work on what is generating income for your business presently. Focus on business of today more and less on what might come to be. While the future is important to your success, if you don’t put more thought into the current, there may be no future.
Think you’ve brought up a great point – it’s so easy to get caught up in the “shiny object” social & tech that it’s easy to forget what actually drives bottom-line results. That bottom line is – in the end – the only thing that matters. Personally, I think “ownership” is also important. Why would you drive your audience / leads / customers to places online that you don’t own?
Dave- Owning your home base is the first thing I stress to new clients. Send traffic where you control things. Not somewhere else!
Thanks
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Thanks for the article. Very interesting.
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