Even the most stubborn of doubters are now having to accept that at the very least, social media is not going away. A few years ago, like a British sun bather caught in a rain storm, you had people confidently predicting that it'd 'all blow over shortly'. But the fact is, it hasn't, and isn't going to leave the forefront of people's thoughts for a long time to come. And it's good to see Companies accepting this now with the recent Center for Marketing research study highlighting the fact that 70% of Fortune 500 companies on Twitter are engaging with followers using the @ and retweet features.
It feels like businesses have gone through Kübler-Ross's model of grief in the last few years. First they denied the new phenomenon. Then you saw the 'Social media sucks' articles which littered the web for several months and expressed the anger of those seeing a huge shift in marketing strategies. Then there was the bargaining; 'Ok, we'll incorporate it, we'll acknowledge it, but let's do the bare minimum.'
Right now I'd say we're at a crossroads between depression and acceptance. There is still a panic about social media platforms, and what exactly should be done about them. Many people still seek plenty of guidance just to understand the basic concepts. But this study shows that more and more companies are now getting on with the job in hand. They've accepted the fly they've been swatting for years is still coming back for more. They've recognised that value can be gained from exploiting the open platform that's available to them online.
Hopefully now, there will be a time of experimentation. There is so much more that can be done with the vast amounts of information online. I think at the moment we've only scratched the surface. I expect the study next year to creep from 70% to 80% maybe even 90%. And once every one's in the same ball park and actively taking part in the social media scene, then the excitement can really begin, and the many, many possibilities can become reality.
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