The pace of everything today is so frenetic that we don’t have time to stop and smell the roses. What’s even more distressing than missing the wonderful smell of the roses is the feeling of being out of control and unable to digest all that is happening around you. Every minute, of every hour, of every day there are hundreds of issues vying for our attention.
Take for instance the simple task of communication. It’s not so simple any more. E-mail is now the communication vehicle of choice and everyone we talk to says they are inundated with it and can’t read it all. I’m not talking about spam which is as annoying as a yard full of mosquitoes at a summer picnic. I’m talking about legitimate e-mail meant to communicate information the sender believes is important for you to know and act on.
And don’t go on vacation or take a few days off because you’ll be drowning in all kinds of e-mail and it will take you most of your first day back to wade through it. Unless you know the secret and that is vacationing or taking time off where you have internet access and can use little portions of your down time to clean out your e-mail. But be careful because e-mail has a way of sucking you in and you may find yourself responding to that important email you read and guess what, you’re no longer on vacation, you’re working!
For some it is a simple solution, they just delete everything you send and place the burden on you, the sender, to find some other way to get your message to them. Others that are more conscientious, and those like me that suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder, feel an obligation to open and read every message for fear of missing something important or offending the sender.
Interspersed amongst these important e-mails, and the deluge of spam, are daily and weekly newsletters. Intended to bring you the latest insurance news of the day, the organizations that produce and send these newsletters believe the information contained in it is extremely important for you to know. What they don’t understand is many, if not all, of the items they’re reporting on is either of no interest to you or have already been seen by you somewhere else.
If you’re like most people you also have that small group of friends and contacts that believe you need an uplifting message or a little humor to lighten up your day. Some of the humorous e-mails aren’t funny and can actually be offensive. The uplifting e-mails or the ones promising good fortune are self-replicating as they ask you to pass the e-mail on to 10 friends making you part of the problem. Following their instructions greatly increases the distribution of the e-mail and very likely strains your friendship with some you have passed it on to. A good idea would be to create a mailing list of your competition and those folks you don’t care for and make a point of passing on every one of these e-mails thus annoying them and tying them up getting rid of these unwanted e-mails. Of course you know I’m just kidding.
As though the nightmare of overflowing e-mail was not enough, along comes the lure of Web 2.0 or social media. It involves a multitude of various communication platforms with names like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It creates the opportunity to select or create the groups of people you communicate with. Best of all it allows you to actually hold conversations or discussions within your group on various subjects or issues. Is Web 2.0 going to replace e-mail and become the predominate method of communication or will it just add to the growing problem? Will e-mail become like snail mail is today? Is snail mail a goner? Certainly the Postal Service is struggling financially due to the significant reduction in snail mail and the serious competition for package delivery.
What makes this new communication platform different? Is it the opportunity you have to categorize contacts in different groupings? Could it be the opportunity to hold discussions on specific topics allowing participants to either offer input or just remain a silent observer of the discussion? Maybe it’s about gaining a little personal information about the people you communicate with making them more human and creating a new dimension to your discussions. Businesses see these new methods of communicating as extremely important in providing information about consumers and their product.
I think the most important aspect of this new method of communicating is the ability to share and discuss issues as a group. It allows everyone participating to give their own input and perspective creating a dynamic that is not normally found with email. For the group member who does not participate in the discussion it can confirm what they currently believe or give them a different perspective to consider. An extremely nice feature is the opportunity to decide right away if you are interested and to jump out and go on about your business if you’re not.
From a business perspective it provides information on why people do or don’t buy your product including what they like or dislike about it. It also provides invaluable feedback on the customer service your business provides. Many people will use these platforms to solicit input about a particular product or service that will ultimately shape their buying decision. For service and professional businesses it provides a great opportunity to display your knowledge and expertise and attract new clients.
For a trade association like ours this type of group discussion provide us with an enormous amount of valid input while also being of great value to the participants. Occasionally we make decisions on member issues, benefits and service based on what we believe members want only to find out that we have missed the mark. Any platform that provides quality information about the needs of agents and brokers allows us to be successful in supporting our member’s success.
If you haven’t gotten on board now is the time to explore the different programs (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and choose the one or two with which you are comfortable. Getting started is really a lot easier than you think. Don’t wait. Check out the various offerings, sign up and see which you are most comfortable with. If you have access to someone under 30 it’s a real good bet they can give you all kinds of input on one or more of the various platforms and how to use it.
Statistically, approximately one half of Facebook users are under 30. Surprisingly, one third of Facebook users are over 35 and one half of that group is over 45. That might not seem like much if we were talking a small number of overall participants, however Facebook has 70 million-plus users.
LinkedIn is a professional network representing 170 industries that has over 40 million users. Twitter, while relatively small in comparison to Facebook and LinkedIn at 6 million users, boasts 55 million monthly visits and claims to be the fastest growing site with a growth rate of 1,382 %. No matter what the reasons are for the tremendous growth and use of Web 2.0 social media it’s obvious this communication platform is becoming increasingly popular as a primary method of exchanging ideas, issues and solutions. We all know that it was a significant factor in our Presidential elections. It continues to be effectively used by the administration and its opponents on important issues like Health Care Reform. As I mentioned in the beginning of my article we are being inundated with communications and it is causing information overload. I believe the movement toward Web 2.0 or social media has to do with control being placed in the hands of the participant. You can choose the platforms that serve your need and you also choose when to participate. You can be a silent observer or a vocal participant. You can pick and choose what you discuss and leave anytime you choose. Most platforms allow you to gather some personal information about the people you are communicating with eliminating the impersonal aspects of e-mail. Spam is not as big a problem in Web 2.0; however as with all communications, some users have found ways to self-promote and sell here too. The nice thing is you can eliminate their access to you if you want.
All in all, I believe Web 2.0 or social media currently has much more to offer than e-mail and will continue to get better as it evolves. If nothing else it will put the control over communications in the hands of the receiver and allow them to pick the messages they want to receive and decide when they want to read them. It allows you to narrow the focus of what you communicate and to decide who you want to communicate with. It is a great resource for businesses to understand consumers and provide the products and service they want. If you’re not currently involved with Web 2.0 or social media I encourage you to “get on the bus” and check it out so you’re not left behind.