Make a Connection

While social media may not necessarily be a new technology, users of these high-tech platforms are finding new uses for them and becoming increasingly savvy in their marketing and public relations campaigns as well as their grass roots organizational efforts. When it comes to connecting with people, social media is an enormously powerful tool. And this puts power into the hands of the people in a way we have never seen before.

The power of social media can be seen globally. The swift and forceful uprisings, driven by Facebook, in the Middle East have had the incredible and shocking ability to topple governments and depose leaders who had been in power for decades. The history of those nations are forever changed and what the future holds for the people still remains to be seen.

On the home front, just this week, I walked through hundreds of tents set up in Dilworth Plaza, where City Hall is in Philadelphia. The Occupy Wall Street protesters have been living there for nearly a month. Across the nation, “occupiers” are staging peaceful protests, sit-ins and marches—all of which are being organized from smartphone social media apps. With this bionic “whisper down the lane” effect that social media provides, a protest that would have quickly fizzled five years ago is not shrinking but growing. Are their efforts having an impact? Some would say “no.” But then again, this past Tuesday, Bank of America nixed its plan to start charging its customers an additional $5 a month for using their debit cards to make purchases.

With such a powerful tool available to you and your business, what have you done to really tap into its resources? It is no longer enough to post a monthly status update. You and your business must develop connections, network and be creative when it comes to building a bionic social media presence. The print industry can carve out a place here.