Will every business have to become a social business?
The short answer is: no.
The longer answer is: yes, but all businesses are already inherently social, the tools and processes will just change.
There will always be businesses that will be the exception to the rule but few businesses will go untouched by the reach of social.
On Skepticism
The question about the necessity of social business is often followed with “well, what value would a _____ have from tweeting?”
This is a fair question, however it is the product of only a very rudimentary understanding of what social actually implies. Once the concept of “social” is truly understood, we can see more clearly.
Social isn’t just posting cat memes to Facebook or Tweeting about tacos. Social is a layer that simply exists and is built into other things.
Some Examples
What about a dry cleaner?
- A smart dry cleaning business should know what their rating on Yelp is, and if they are really smart, will respond to reviews–both positive and negative–and encourage their happy customers to review them.
- What if a competing dry cleaner a block away begins to offer pick up and delivery by utilizing Task Rabbit or Lyft?
They probably don’t need to tweet. We’re probably not looking for them on Facebook. But they may want to run a local search on Twitter to see if anyone asks the question “I’m looking for a new dry cleaner. Any recommendations?”
What about a lawn care company?
- A smart lawn care company will post blogs to answer every question that a client might have about caring for and maintaining their lawn
- What happens when an enterprising 15 year old in the neighborhood with a lawnmower gets the idea to use Facebook and Craigslist to undercut the lawncare company?
They might not need to tweet or post to Facebook about grass (though if they can do it with personality they may want to), but they should know about competition and should provide value to their customers.
Bottom Line
Social isn’t just Facebook and Twitter. It’s not just talking. It’s listening, content marketing, engagement, promotion, measurement, and people sharing things with one another from ideas to advice to products to services and more…
Whatever the business, it will have the potential to benefit from or lose because of the impact of social.
So will every business HAVE TO become a social business?
Probably not, there will be exceptions, but it’s probably a good idea to consider how social fits.