Social Media Virgin

So, to set the scene. I am an experienced Marketing Professional with over 20 years of experience in Strategic and Tactical marketing BUT I took a career break to have my 3 wonderful and slightly bonkers children. In the space of 4-5 years, the way in which businesses now reach out to potential clients has gone social in a VERY big way.

Social Media is this huge, big, daunting black hole in which all of us who are looking for business need to jump in and get involved. Even if we're not sure how to, or when to, we just somehow know we are supposed to. It's like watching a ship that has sailed and then realising you're not actually on it! You may have made it to the dock but you find yourself waving and frantically shouting "wait for me". But is it too late? No, not by a long shot. The digital world is only just getting started. The social media aspect of digital marketing is an embryo when it comes to its potential. However, what it won't do is stop or slow down for you and your business.

I had a moment of clarity when, at a mere 40 something, I found myself wondering, had I now climbed the hill, reached the top, but have ever so slightly fallen over the other side. Over the hill, me, surely not.? Sometimes it might feel like it especially when you sit in a room of twenty-year-old ‘somethings’ discussing social media. It is like air to them, it just ‘is’. Quite possibly to them, it has been there all their lives. Their views on all things social are met with ease and boredom when you ask them how to describe it or imagine a time without it. When you are that young it doesn't need explaining.

So my mission now as a Marketing Professional is to add something that wasn't part of the app when you downloaded it and that something is experience - possibly the only thing I have that a twenty-something doesn't when talking about Social Media. Whilst we all want to be ‘in the gang’ and we definitely don't want to feel we are missing out, I still believe it is important to approach Social Media in the same way you would any marketing plan you've delivered in the past, Social Media is part of the answer, not the complete answer.

Once you've taken a step back, you will begin to feel less overwhelmed by something you fear because you don't know enough about it. The good news is, once you've taken the time to familiarise yourself with a few of the platforms available it does get easier, and it does become part of your everyday tasks it will make an impact on your marketing and allow you to reach a wider and more targeted audience.

My message to all you Social Media Virgins out there is don't panic! Take a deep breath and get stuck in, it really isn't as bad as it seems, and you may just enjoy it!