I don’t know about you, but I think winter really stinks. Here in Michigan, we can’t seem to get rid of sub zero temps and it just won’t seem to stop snowing. If you are one of those weird, I love the winter people, more power to you. I can’t seem to get on board because the utter lack of Vitamin D in my body is starting to turn me into a winter zombie.
One great thing about living in Michigan in the winter, is that we know how deal with it. We have the right gear, our governments usually budget enough money to clean it all up, and most of us know how to drive when it is slippery. We’ve been dealing with snow forever and we just get it.
Rewind a few weeks back to Atlanta’s snowpocalypse 2014. Rumors were stirring that a storm was on its way. As you might remember, things were a complete disaster.
This guy was in his car for a REALLY LONG TIME that day.
Let’s just say that Atlanta wasn’t as prepared for what was coming as they needed to be and they paid for it.
Let’s switch gears a bit, while I bring you back to some online marketing food for thought. Earlier this week I mentioned in my “What Your Business Can Learn From Olympics Athletes” blog post that you may feel like people are cramming social media and SEO down your throat and that you might be a little sick of hearing about it. Let’s say that social media is a huge snow storm. It needs to be dealt with; it is clearly a part of the ever-changing marketing landscape and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The question in this analogy is, are you Michigan, consistent, on top of it, ready to deal with whatever comes your way, or are you Atlanta, doing a few things here and there to lessen the pain of the storm?
The good news is, it looks like Atlanta may have learned from their mistakes. This time, they equipped their garbage trucks with snow plows.
The difference between a snowstorm and social media (among many I realize) is that a snowstorm will only hit a few times a year and social media is here to stay.
Don’t believe me? Check out this social media guide from moz.com.
An excerpt:
Whether you are running a small, local operation, or heading a global, enterprise-level effort, the statistics above make it clear: Your customers are online. They are interacting in social channels with their friends, colleagues, and other brands in search of information, recommendations, and entertainment. If your company is not around to answer, a competitor will be. In doing so, your competitor will quite likely take away the customer at hand, along with anyone else listening.
The good news is you can have an online presence with social media and be the Michigan of snow management without have doing the leg work yourself or give an arm or a leg (or both) to have it.
It’s time to deal with it and we’d love to help your business grow by using the internet.