When things change, can you change? Do you have the ability to unlearn the old and learn the new?
“We are going to wait; I don’t think now is a good time to try something new,” said the CEO I was talking to last month. At first he seemed excited about gaining a social media presence for his company. After all, his company’s business was, by in large dependent on social media.
However, as with almost all micro and small cap companies over the course of 2008, the stock of his company continued to decline despite the good news they were putting out. They were engaged in social media just fine for their clients and some aspects of their business. But, there was nothing cooking with regard to social media, promotion or awareness for the company itself.
Focus on the Stock
When Mr. CEO first came to me, he was looking for help with his stock. At any time during the day, he knew what his stock was trading at with regard to price and volume of shares traded. Everything he presented to me was completely stock oriented. He wanted a program to raise his stock price and volume. Not once did he mention anything about his company and what it was doing. He was focused on the stock as a mechanism to raise money. Mr. CEO is no different with his thinking than just about all of the other CEOs in the micro and small caps. The stock is a tool to raise money.
He wanted me to raise awareness regarding his stock. He wanted people to come in and buy his stock. He didn’t care how it got done as long as the volume was there for his financiers to sell stock and supply him with money. In short, he wanted people to come in and invest in his stock.
Focus on the Company
After the market collapse in 2008, no one is interested in investing in stocks anymore. They want to invest in companies. In order to get investors, companies need to show themselves in a new light that is completely different from the old way. Before, companies pumped out news releases, sent emails, hired promotional entities and investor relations groups to sent their message out. These investors demand personal contact with the company they may invest in. A strong sense of trust must be established before investors will throw their money at a company. Response to push marketing means such as emails, faxes and text-based news releases is at an all time low and going lower.
Companies will either learn to join the conversation or risk being out of business in this new economy and marketplace. Through clever and proper use of social media, companies will enjoy and two-fold benefit; a much larger audience of investors and… a huge opportunity to grow their business through social media networking.
Overcoming Resistance to Change
The most difficult part of engaging in social media is that management teams need to first dismiss the old way of doing things. Companies must focus on their business and not their stock first. Social media is a much broader effort than traditional means of self promotion. It takes time to work; there is a learning curve.
Companies can choose to continue to do “business as usual” which will result in an ever decreasing audience and a declining stock price. Or, they can try something new. It seems clear to me that if something is not working and has not worked for a long time, it is time to try new methods.
Social media is here to stay; it is evolving and becoming more popular every day. Waiting for things to get better is a waste of valuable time; you may find yourself out of business by the time things get better…
