When You Do What You Have Always Done You Will Get What You Always Got- Or Not

This week I was assisting a local business owner out of computer bind at his store. We hadn’t seen each other in a while and he asked me what the company was up to lately. I told him that our business had expanded and focused at the same time and now we are really helping our clients with Social Media Tools.  

He said,  “oh like Facebook”. I said yes that is a part of it. Then he went into a long speech about Facebook going Public and proceeded to say, “Facebook was for introverts who don’t like doing things face to face. “  I defended it a little saying well Facebook is also for people who were social too, and he said, “oh yeh those Social Butterflies too”.

Now remember this is a successful business owner in his late forties who runs 2 profitable stores that work with 4 major colleges. His audience and clients are on Facebook yet he refuses to embrace that.  You won’t see any Facebook Like buttons on his websites.

Now after leaving his store I realized something.  He was me… I refused to see the trend for a while. I relied on the things that worked for me in the past; the things that brought me success in the past.  In 2007 I even built a Social Media platform for the business I worked with my wife at the time, Young Living Essential Oils. But even though I built it, I refused to use it myself.  Facebook was just getting started in 2007 and the concept of Social Media was just starting.

Even now I struggle to use all the Social Media tools and do my posts like I know I should be, but at least I have accepted that this is a platform that is needed by ALL Business owners.  

I encourage you not to be like me and definitely don’t be like this business owner, because your business will be LEFT BEHIND.  

If you DO what you have always DONE you will NOT get what you always got.  Things change and we need to change with them.  

Here are a few tips to Stay On Top of the Game:

1) Don’t rely on past successes. Even in Social Media, things change every few months and sometimes quicker. What worked before may not work tomorrow. That class you took last year in Social Media could already be old school.  

2) Let go of your pride.  I admit, WordPress was not by favorite.  In fact when my wife first started using it, I was against it. But as time went by I realized that it was useful and was very beneficial for business. You have to let go of your pride and the fact that you may know a lot about the industry and accept what GETS RESULTS.

3) Be willing to learn new stuff.  Because of the rapidly changing online world, it’s important to keep on top of things. We hired a coach, Sandi Krakowski of A Real Change.com to keep us on top of the latest trends.

4) There are still things I don’t get and don’t want to get, like Instagram and even Twitter is hard for me. If you are a busy business owner you really need to look at where your time is best spent. You may need to outsource some or all of your Social Media to an expert.  

At Starr Host, our Social Media Experts get our clients in front of hundreds and thousands of people every day. Our experts know exactly what it takes to build relationships, brands, and profits online.  They help be you when YOU just don’t have the time or don’t know how to use Social Media successfully.  

Go to our Social Media Page to learn more about your options.