Online and Offline One and the Same
I think somewhere over the rainbow there are folks that believe that their digital life is separate from their “analog” life.
Sort of like a misconstrued view that we can be “different” people on different platforms. Online I am an outspoken, courageous communicator. Offline I am shy, introverted and soft-spoken.
Sure, this can be the case in practice. But the question is, which one is the real you? The real demarcation between an online personality and an offline personality is strictly the platform. If you are a certain way on one and not the other then the chances are you are faking it somewhere.
Make sense?
Now apply this to your brand or your business.
Can you be completely absent online yet be company that is a cutting edge sales machine?
I guess it is possible, but with no uncertain terms I think it is possible that I can win the High Jump in Rio in 2016.
Okay, then can you just do what has to be done online? You know, post to Facebook and send out the occasional Tweet? That would be more active than most right?
I suppose going to the gym once a month is better than not working out. But that Gold Medal will probably elude me in Rio.
Hopefully you can follow what I am saying here.
In short, you can always choose to do nothing, and in some cases you can choose to do a little. But, you can be sure that the results will reflect the effort.
People live their lives online. Especially consumers.
Brands that don’t see the importance in having an online presence that is not only saying “Hello, we are here,” but rather “We solve your problems,” is mindboggling to me.
Y
et many companies do. I would say at least one time per day I come across a company online that has an almost billboard type website.
It says…we are “A Company” and we do “These Things.”
To that I would almost always respond with your competition is a company that does things too. So what makes you different?
Be Real On All Platforms, But Be Active For Your Brand
The beauty of our world is that there are all types and it takes all types.
While being the charismatic pitch man in front of the room may grab attention and keep people awake, the world is also full of shy and introverted types.
Why can’t you be that way online?
Truth is, you can be. If that is the most genuine reflection of your personality then find a way to maximize it to find common ground with others online that feel that way.
I guarantee you every time some boisterous presenter gets up at least a few people in every room would prefer a different approach. Maybe that is highly technical story telling or the most contrite and to the point no bullshit approach.
That can work online and that can work offline: so long as you are consistently you.
The key to maximizing a world-gone digital is representing your brand individually and as a company consistently across the great many platforms.
Remember, it is never the platform, but always the message. So make sure what you say is consistent no matter where you say it.
In a world where people get to know more about you online than offline, is your brand consistent across platforms?
Daniel Newman is the co-founder of V3*Broadsuite and is an experienced C-level executive, serving as a strategy consultant for small and mid-sized businesses. He’s also an insight/analyst partner to four Fortune 50 enterprises and previously served as the co-founder and CEO of EC3, a hosted IT and communications services provider. Prior to that, he served as the CEO of United Visual, Inc. in Chicago Illinois.
He is a widely published writer who contributes weekly to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post and industry publications such as Commercial Integrator, Sound & Communication and Corporate Tech Decisions. He’s also author of three best-selling business books including The New Rules of Customer Engagement, The Millennial CEO, and just recently Evolve: Marketing (^as we know it) is Doomed.
Daniel has established a reputation as a leading thinker in topics such as Social, Big Data, Cloud and Mobile. He has been named to many top influencer lists in all of these areas, including recognition by the Huffington Post as one of the 100 business and leadership accounts to follow on Twitter. He is also an adjunct professor of management at North Central College.