SEO – THE REAL STORY

It seems that everyone is avoiding the most obvious truth about search engine optimization. Either I am not paying attention, or I’m the first one to state the obvious. I recorded this 8-minute message while on a long road trip for work earlier this week.  Listen to the audio by clicking the link below, and post your comments!

Carlton Flowers

Social Media Strategist

http://carltonzone.com/blog/uploaded/audio/SEO-discussion.mp3

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THE MID-MISSOURI SOCIAL MEDIA WATCH TURNS FOCUS TO COLUMBIA

I’ve been writing about the impending social media tsunami that is about to hit local businesses. As many of my fellow experts predict, it will be 6 to 18 months before we see the changing of the guard of local business advertising strategy. But while we wait, let’s turn our focus to the college town of Columbia, Missouri. Does anyone realize the huge untapped goldmine sitting before us for this special town?

The City of Columbia is special. It’s a college town. We have Mizzou, Columbia College, and Stephens College that make up a large portion of the population and culture of the area. Take into consideration the fact that the students of these institutions make up the largest participating percentage in social media websites of any generation, and then think about the enormous size of the pot of gold left untouched by local businesses as such. There is a huge open door of opportunity for all the local businesses in Columbia to dominate and capitalize on the social media route to connecting with its potential young customers.

Until today, I had not thought about the special mix of people in Columbia, and the obvious opportunity it presents for social media marketing. I really think that the impending marketing shift is going to be stronger in Columbia than anywhere else in the state of Missouri, largely due to the student population.

It will be interesting to see which law firms, clubs, restaurants, clothing retailers, or grocery stores make it to the “top-of-mind” pinnacle before their competitors wake up and realize what is happening. In the meantime, the social media prognosticators and consultants like myself will be quietly standing by waiting for the first clients to come by screaming for help!

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The social media revolution is in full-swing. The statistics on social media website participation is staggering. We are near the point that the majority of society spends significant time interacting on social media websites. But the question remains… when will local businesses wake up and realize the gold mine in marketing that is sitting before them?

I am going to predict that it will be 12 to 18 months before critical mass hits the business world regarding use of social media sites. Right now, very few businesses have realized the obvious shift in culture and have capitalized on the social media boom. The overwhelming majority of businesses are still using traditional media to get the word out about their product or service.

Many business owners even hold a belief that a static information-only website is something that provides a benefit to their bottom line. While they spend piles of cash creating flashy websites, the population is chatting, interacting, and having a grand ole time on social media sites. It is mind-blowing at this point to see the disparity between the general public’s use of social media and the lack of its use on behalf of business owners.

The question remains, what will spark the social media revolution in the business world? The answer is simple… COMPETITION!

When the first lemming (business owner) makes the move to start interacting with their client base via social media sites, and when the results of such efforts are reported by the traditional media sources, the rest of the lemmings will follow and take the final dive over the social media cliff. Rather than risk being left behind and volunteer to hand over market share to competitors who are getting real results, the business owners who don’t make the first move will make a mad dash to establish themselves in the social media community.

I will boldly stand behind my prediction of 12 to 18 months to critical mass. If I am wrong, it will probably be a shorter time period when it occurs. But when it happens, it will be fun to watch businesses make the rapid shift to connecting with their target market social media style.

Coming soon I will predict the creative ways that business owners will advertise, present coupons, and modify their overall marketing campaigns through social media websites!

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