Little did I know how much social media would change my life.
Actually, that’s not true. Social media has brought me closer to the person I am: My Muse has been given the freedom to explore and create.
Having embraced social media with the full force of my passion, I know that I am a better person – more open, kinder and less cynical. My arc, of course, is personal. What of you or the business you work for? How many owners or managers understand what social media really means for them and the business? Most think it is a marketing add on – not a paradigm shift in the way the business is framed. They don’t see that it fundamentally changes the balance of power and enables everyone to be a leader, even absent a title.
But the truth of it is that social media doesn’t operate inside a framework of predictably. It’s heartfelt, passionate and full of emotion. Businesses constantly decry the lack of engagement; but that would be easily resolved if they allowed people to speak with a true voice, and not couched in corporate, conformist speak. The challenge for all businesses is not to see how much they can do, but to unleash the genius that lies within their midst.
Even at my level of understanding, I see problems ahead when all businesses have the same platforms and continue to chase the numbers. People will be your differentiator. There are rarely any quick wins but now is the time to start peeling back a few layers and explore what really makes people tick. There will always be people who are happy to stand back and lament one thing or other but the vast majority of people, if empowered, will find their way to something more than a job title. I hope one day to see the emergence of a new form of employee. Not one who simply turns up to work, but feels that they have a genuine say in their future destiny.
Of course, social media will never trump remarkable service, people who care and attention to detail but it goes way beyond a slew of slick, me too platforms all producing the same content.
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Book Julian to speak.