“What do you do,” asks an unknowing family, one-by-one. I oblige and explain, and yet am asked again, “what do you do?”
I guess the better question might be is, what does it mean to have a job on the cutting-edge, where business decisions are made around the increasingly credible idea that social media (formerly ‘new’ or ’emerging’ media) might just save brands enough to make it through these tough economic times?
What I actually do is help business people – any people – how they can benefit from social media. Yes, that conversation – and my deliverables – usually involve money in some way, but it’s how our connections have shifted online that matters most.
How does one measure ROI (Return on Investment)? My answer: How do you measure word of mouth? It’s similar, except, in this case, many of the tactics can be tracked. Getting us closer to a real idea of what ROI is and in the meantime, worry about engagement, or participation, as concepts that are very real. There is a lot to be said for someone interacting with a ‘brand,’ as such.
But to family back home, I see a teeny bit of worry that I’m not capitalizing enough on my smarts or nouse… or whatever inexplexable adjective they might use to describe me.
It reminds me of the early 2000s and the first dot-boom and bust. The difference was landing at ABC-TV, a place that seemed safe and – dare I say – prestigious and all those things a loving family wants you to have all at once.
Now, I’m banking on my ‘social capital’ and they don’t even want to get what that is. But not for lack of trying. And it’s a good thing, too.
My family has always been a willing and ready reality-check for all I do. We all need one – whether we admit it or not. And it all comes back to the same place.
When my mom called me the next day to thank me for the visit, she told me about an online purchase she was about to make. “Wait!,” I said, “do you have the half-off promo code?” She could not have sounded more perplexed until I explained that I often search a company’s name and the words ‘promo code’ before making a purchase, to see if I can get a perk like free shipping.
She got her half-off, and I hung up the phone.
Not unlike ROI, what made her understand a teensy bit more about what I do was a money-related perk. People connecting and sharing promo codes. Others sending share links on Facebook to a brand’s company page. It’s all worth something. Figuring out that something is what I do.
