Future Ready Your Social Media - It's only the beginning!

Last night I had the privilege of working with Darrell Keezer owner of Candybox Marketing, Launch28 and author of Pick up Your Freaking Phone, a must read! Darrell graciously accepted my offer to be the KeyNote Speaker for IMN Toronto, the Toronto chapter of a Global Business Community IMN Global - committed to equipping business owners with success strategies to build their networks and their businesses.

Wow! First off - I thought he was making fun of my ADD until he create an entirely new context for this and I understand now we all have it! Phew I'm not alone - ADD = Attention Directed Downward. ie; You and I have lost the ability to connect and we are always looking at our screens. We are hiding here. We hide from something that is one of the most necessary requirements to human beings. Our ability to connect. Do an experiment. Next time you walk into a Starbucks, or a grocery store, or local restaurant, keep your phone in your pocket and observe the behaviour of the people in that place. If they are standing in a line - how many of them have ADD? How many of them are actually present and connecting with the people around them?

Even in my own house - with my children, my daughter's (14 years old) has this new habit of facetiming her friends, all the time. They do everything together through facetime. So her friends, come into the question, they participate in family conversations, I may be completely unaware of this little trend and can occasionally not realize I have a guest in my kitchen! We used to have our friends over, or talk on the phone for hours about nothing, digital has shifted the way we communicate, relate, and feel connected to each other. It's not a bad thing - it's just different and does take some getting used to! So how does this impact our businesses?

Here is what I learned from just 1 hour at IMN Toronto listening to a Marketing and Digital strategy business owner:

1. The future of customer acquisition depends on your ability to interact quickly through direct messaging on social media. Gone are the long drawn out emails, and Linkedin I would like to connect with you because I am so great! Helllloooo to the quick response chatbots, that engage your client's with what they need and what's important to them!!!
2. Good SEO is producing good content on a regular basis! Be consistent. It doesn't have to be ultra branded or fancy, but you need to deliver content that is impactful and meaningful.
3. Near Me Searches - could double your business? I seriously never even thought of this as a marketing strategy!!! WOW!
4. Your mobile acquisition strategy, not your facebook page is what will provide you with the most customer touch points and results.

As business owners and leaders of enterprises, how we engage with our customers, our employees and our business is always rapidly changing. The bottom line though, do something great on social media. Stop worrying about looking good, and so something meaningful. It doesn't have to be extreme, it just needs to be impactful. Stop telling everyone how great you are and start showing them. Show up and be great. If you don't have a digital marketing and social media strategy, it's never to late. The impact on your business will be profound as long as you are authentically connecting with business leaders.