Is Social Media Necessary?

I just watched an interesting video asking the question above. Should every company be rushing into the social media space and what are the consequences of jumping in or deciding to stay out of the game?

It seems like we hear about Facebook and Twitter every day in the news and because of that, it’s easy to believe that every business owner is rushing to get into social media. Obviously many (or most) business owners are not jumping in to social media for various reasons. As an aspiring small business owner, it’s beyond me why anyone would pass up an opportunity to (potentially) introduce their business to the world. Add the fact that using social media is mostly free (except for a time investment), and it’s even more puzzling.

I wonder what businessmen from years past would think about social media?  How hard was it to get your message out in the town where you were doing business, let alone to the entire world. I would imagine a business owner from 100 years ago would go crazy with all the opportunities we take for granted today.

It would be fun and educational to talk to someone who doesn’t see any benefit to using social media to promote their business – frankly I can’t grasp what their thought process might be.