Enter The Conversation in Social Media

I often make fun of buzzwords and will admit that social media is one of them. Social media is the new craze in our world. With mobile phones, tablets like the iPad, our personal entertainment options have increased it seems x10. It seems to be impacting all ages too, not just kids. I was visiting friends in Michigan and a 60 year old guy discovered Youtube. He watches it all the time. Now, he is using other tools to stay in contact with friends and family around the world. Social media is about conversation.

People's lifestyles are changing. Gone are the days of people mindlessly watching TV. Newspapers are dying. Radio no longer delivers the soundtrack of our lives. Somewhere along the way, people decided the remote control wasn't good enough.

What's left? The Internet. Portable Media Players. Video Games. Cell Phones. TiVo... Devices that give people back control of their life. Devices that people control the content on, and have firm control of the power switch.

What does that mean to your marketing? Opportunity. And it's not about branding. Or your image. Or even engagement. It's about starting a conversation. It's about helping people find what they are looking for. It's about taking what you do, what you make and letting people discover, desire, own and control it.

Take a hard look at your existing marketing and ask yourself a few questions:

What do you do that helps customers understand your brands, products and services?

What do you do that helps you understand your potential buyers?

Are you talking? Are you listening?

Or are you entering into a conversation?

Positive relationships rarely happen without conversation. Negative relationships happen easily and often without dialogue. The question is, do you have an ongoing conversation or are you just one more reason to turn off the tv, put down the newspaper, silence the radio and fire up the iPod?
Discussion:

What have you done lately to strike up a real conversation with your customers?

Paul is the President of Professional Blog Service. PBS works with clients making strategic investments into business blogging, social media and search engine optimization.