Embracing digital: Experts must never stop learning
Recently we had our annual WSI conference for the Hagadone group here in Coeur d'Alene. We were fortunate enough to have the president of WSI, Doug Schust, come join us from Canada to speak about all the latest developments for our company and digital marketing.
It was announced that our Hagadone group is now No. 11 in the world and No. 5 in the U.S. for revenue production. This is out of about 1,200 locations worldwide. These stats are a testament to our work and the philosophy to always put our clients' needs above everything else.
To remain successful, we all need to be the experts in our field. This means doing everything possible to have an edge over your competitors. Staying current and keeping up with all the changes is quite a challenge. What is true and significant today may become antiquated tomorrow.
Schust is a true expert and a pioneer in our field. Listening to Doug speak was quite humbling and made me realize just how great it would be if I could have a similar effect on others, even just a few people.
Always learning
We Internet consultants are no different from anyone else. We are forever learning and there is always someone more knowledgeable and wiser to learn from. If I could motivate, inspire, and ultimately play even a small part in the success of a business, it would bring me honor and a lasting sense of purpose. I try every day to help business owners in any way possible, and to do so, I need to continue to learn.
Our WSI conference really drove this home - never get comfortable with what you know. Digital marketing is a science, and we all know that science changes so frequently and it's impossible to keep up. Facts are only facts until proven false by new evidence. Similarly, Google and other search engine algorithms are modified almost daily, and significant changes are announced more often than we'd like. Though it's frustrating, it keeps us digital marketers and Internet consultants on our toes. Looking on the bright side, our jobs are never mundane.
WSI and Google
As technology continues to grow exponentially, our behavior both as consumers and suppliers changes dramatically. Our conference gave us an incredible wealth of industry information.
This week I will only mention a couple things that are easy to understand and quick to implement.
Our partnership with Google is really taking off. A stronger and better-defined relationship with Google is very important to our future, especially for our clients. Learning of all the details currently in the works was exciting and I'm eagerly awaiting some new product roll-outs scheduled for this year.
The social media war
Google+ is the social network operated by Google, with integration across many of Google's products. Its popularity and use is growing at a boggling rate. What makes Google unique is the ability to leverage their other products to boost the value and significance of Google+. We'll take a thorough look at Google+ next week, and compare it to Facebook to get a full-scope understanding of how they measure up. I believe we are currently at a historical moment in digital. More specifically, social media is going to make tremendous leaps and become more important than ever in all aspects of our lives.
Facebook launched in 2004 and it has have over 1.1 billion users. Google+ launched in June 2011 and within two years it has surpassed 500 million users. Also, Facebook has a much higher percentage of non-active accounts than does Google+. So many Facebook accounts are no longer being used. This is just one of many indicators that Google+ will win the social media "war."
Google+ and your business
It is critical to integrate Google+ into your overall digital strategy. Google will leverage its search engine business to beat out Facebook for social media domination. Some businesses may already have a Google+ account. For those who have yet to create one, I urge you to take the time to create an account immediately.
I speak to business owners every day and one of the most rewarding aspects of my daily routine is getting someone fully engaged and wanting to know more. Sharing what I know about the digital world with others gives me an outlet to expose my inner geek while offering an honest and valuable assessment. I love learning from others as much as I enjoy sharing helpful information.
My short stint trying to help my brother-in-law, Vladimir, start a small business makes my job working with small business owners very personal. Vlad's store had to shut down after only eight months. My main advice to him was to set aside an absolute minimum of $10,000 for marketing. He strongly disagreed with me, thought I was out of my mind, counted on foot traffic and referrals to get things going, and failed miserably. He threw away roughly $80,000 of his own money and ended up another $70,000 or so in debt. To this day, I am certain that the initial investment of $10,000 I suggested would have produced a very different outcome.
Jacob Myong is a WSI Internet consultant with The Coeur d'Alene Press. He has worked in digital media for over 15 years. Email Jacob@cdapress.com or call 208-416-5173. www.cdainternetmarketing.com