Social Media- The new word of mouth

Here we are, more connected than any other society. Or so it seems anyway. Back in the day a business had one thing to hinge its reputation on. Word of mouth. You knew every customer in some way or another. They were all "linked-in" by relationships. You new customers were already informed on your skills and your prices. Newspaper and perhaps flyers were used to get the word out.  If you were lucky, you had a picture of your business in that newspaper, or perhaps a special ad in the local High School Yearbook. Now Terms like "Social Marketing",  "Social Media" are just about the only way to make it in the new world. Billions of dollars are spent each year to marketing firms, to use the latest and greatest software and media to get potential customers attention. They say you have less than 3 seconds to get that point across. the new AI includes Chat Bots, Search Engine Marketing, Social media optimization, Pre Roll Ads. And you thought the Term "Hash-Tag" was confusing!

Taking a class may or may not help, It depends on how deep your pockets are. Are you ready to dive into this world? I hope you can hold you breath for a long time, because that dive will be deep. You can get sos wrapped up into the class, that you may not even want to get into it at all. It can be a chore just to create and manage the sites individually. It's not like you have a lot of free time. (You do have a business to run), and running the social media world can be a job in itself. Many folks make a living managing you sites. The problem is... What are they putting out there? Is it working? What are the metrics? How do I measure that against my growth? 

Advertising was straightforward back when. You had a budget for a few ads, you took out those ads, and compared it to your growth and profits. You could tell what and when you got the most bang for your buck. Now.. Balance that with analytics, global response how many hits you site gets, return orders, Are the Chat-Bots working? is the Pre-ad video getting responses? Are you targeting the right demographics for your area? Now it might take as much money to advertise as it does to build your building. 

I doubt if I have any of the answers, I am just too new to this plethora of information flow. I do know, I am off the mindset now, that if I do not get on this train, not only will it leave without me, Someone is going to push me out onto the tracks, and I will be struck by the next train coming. 

So what do you do? Well I am going to dive in. I think the best approach for me is to create the accounts, (I already had a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linked-In account.
Figuring out how to best link them together at times seems to be the key for me. And since My business is Digital Media, and Aerial Media, I darn well better be able to tell my story. If I can't tell mine, who is going to want me to tell theirs? (No pressure huh?)  

I have no idea if my plan will work. It appears I will have many late or sleepless nights looking up Targeted ad responses versus my IGTV video on instagram. Getting responses and feedback just starting out seems like an impossible task. No one knows I am out there, and I do not know even if they want or need my services. Are my ideas getting across to the right people the right way? How does my work stack up to others? 

..... Wait I think there is a social app for that.... 😣. Oh and yes I have been told emojis can be the best way to get you ideas and feelings out there! God help me! 🙏