That Evil Internet: How Trying to Explain Social Media and and the Benefits of a Good Social Media Agency Can be Tough With the Older Generations
Growing up in an upper-middle class community, I met a lot of individuals like myself who had parents who ran their own business. Now in my (very) late 20′s, I saw the evolution of the Internet, social media, and a new web marketing objective. My friends and I all noticed a similar trait with our baby-boomer generation parents; they were very resistant to change, especially when it involved computers and that Internet thing. We all tried to elucidate to our parents why web marketing or a even a good online marketing firm would be good for their businesses, but it always fell on deaf ears. So I had to get creative with my own parents with their swimming pool business.
First, I led them to my computer in my office; my mom actually knew considerably more about how to use one, but my father literally had no clue how to even turn it on. I started it up and turned to see my dad glance at his watch. Swiveling back around in my chair, I punched in our log-in password, which I knew was probably a lot to handle for him. I visualized him using the hunt-and-peck method of typing to navigate a computer, and I realized that I definitely had my work cut out for me in teaching why social media was imperative for the growth of our business.
I opened our Internet browser and logged onto the basic Facebook page I created for our business. My mom actually had her own account, so she was a “pro,” even though she didn’t comprehend the connection between Facebook and business. I showed them our page, and my dad responded in a customary fashion: “Nice.” He then launched into an explanation of his views on that evil Internet world; the porn, the time wasted chatting, the ways celebrities used that “tweeting thing” to make them seem more important (wow, he had actually heard of Twitter!)
I then decided I needed to try a separate tactic. I pulled up our competitor’s page; they had obviously used a social media agency or an employee with social media skills to take care of and create their Facebook page. They were able to do so much more with it then the little time I was able to devote to it-being caught up in a family business means that you wear every hat. They had their fans commenting on industry related issues, they posted pictures of new jobs they were working on with before and after pictures, and they even had contests for retail items that could be won. I looked over my shoulder, and I realized I had the full attention of both of them. My dad, a lover of taking pictures and seeing the finished product of his own construction jobs, was finally interested.
With their full interest, I quickly pulled up my Twitter account. I showed them how this same competitor used Twitter to link to blogs and articles, and how they tweeted out interesting 140 character tweets to their followers. Although both of my parents seemed less excited (I think Facebook was easier to comprehend for them) they did see that they weren’t doing something that our competitors were. When they could finally see it in front of them, they didn’t like the feeling. So, what happened then? Well, they saw the answer to the question of “why social media?” They even let me look into a social media agency, but ultimately decided that they had a better idea. And just like that, I had a ton more work to do. But in the end, it was worth it to get them into the 21st century, even if my mom still frequently asks me “Can I log into my e-mail on any computer, or just mine at home?”
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