The Social Dilemmamovie raises the issue of the negative impact of the main social media platforms on society, but it also points to the need to create company communities and courses using the growing number of excellent private community platforms. Move from renting the space to owning the space that your organization uses to build it's tribe.
I talk about 2 that I have experience with which are well worth considering which promise to bring your people, memberships, and content together in your own fully-branded and private community platform. Sell courses, charge subscriptions, live stream and so much more. All without any social media limitations.
SPEAK|Pr is for business owners to unlock the value in their organization for free with effective communication and is hosted by international Pr agency owner and entrepreneur Jim James.
In return, I will continue to bring massive value with two weekly shows, up to 3 hours per month of brilliant conversations and insights.
Monthly subscriptions start at $3 per month. At $1 per hour, that's much less than the minimum wage, but we'll take what we can at this stage of the business.
Of course, this is still free, but as an entrepreneur, the actual test of anything is if people are willing to pay for it.
If I'm adding value to you, please support me by clicking the link now.
The Social Dilemmamovie raises the issue of the negative impact of the main social media platforms on society, but it also points to the need to create company communities and courses using the growing number of excellent private community platforms. Move from renting the space to owning the space that your organization uses to build it's tribe.
I talk about 2 that I have experience with which are well worth considering which promise to bring your people, memberships, and content together in your own fully-branded and private community platform. Sell courses, charge subscriptions, live stream and so much more. All without any social media limitations.
SPEAK|Pr is for business owners to unlock the value in their organization for free with effective communication and is hosted by international Pr agency owner and entrepreneur Jim James.
In return, I will continue to bring massive value with two weekly shows, up to 3 hours per month of brilliant conversations and insights.
Monthly subscriptions start at $3 per month. At $1 per hour, that's much less than the minimum wage, but we'll take what we can at this stage of the business.
Of course, this is still free, but as an entrepreneur, the actual test of anything is if people are willing to pay for it.
If I'm adding value to you, please support me by clicking the link now.
Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google are now so powerful that they've come to command both our attention and our money, but they're also starting to change the way that we actually behave. Social media has undoubtedly created a fundamental shift in the way that we do marketing. It's only been in the last decade that this has taken place, and it's creating a challenge for anybody that wants to manage their own public relations that we are now falling headlong into the arms of the social media giants, but we need alternative strategies and platforms. There's a film entitled The Social Dilemma, which I do recommend watching if you haven't seen it, and it's about a young man named Tristan Harris who is pioneering the Silicon Valley challenge on the way that the social media companies are leading society. It's a blend of investigation and narrative drama, and it really talks about how the audience have become the product. It used to be that media was a platform that people could communicate through in order to get to their audiences, but now, the social media tools are driving our behaviour and not always for positive means, which highlights the social impact. One of the interesting things that came out for me, apart from the the obvious issues that we are now having with young people around social media, but from a company marketing perspective, is that people are really only receiving the information that they would like to receive. Through algorithms, these platforms are all doing the same thing, sending us more of what we're looking for, and this is why we're getting information that seems to be just what we need, but it's also separating us from the contrary opinion. Social media is starting to create divisions, which we're seeing and taking onto the streets, because people are getting the news which is close to the news that they've already been reading. We're not getting the news that's different. Whereas when we used to read mainstream media, the publisher or the editor would decide on a range of topics and a range of editorial viewpoints, and if we read different newspapers, we would see those. But if we're relying on our news from one platform, say Google, it's sending us the news that we're looking for, and The Social Dilemma really highlights this as one of the causes behind the social tensions that we're getting, because people are losing the ability to communicate offline. And because they're not reading and seeing the opinions of others, they believe that their opinion is the only opinion, and this leads to conflict. From a public relations and marketing point of view, this poses a challenge, because if we don't already have people paying attention to what we're doing or to the product or service that we're introducing, it's very hard to break into that feed. One of the illustrations I thought was also interesting was that the Google search that I might put in will give me different results from somebody sitting next to me, because my search history will determine the Google results that I'm getting. That did alarm me, because my assumption was that we're all getting the Google answers in some structured way. But actually, it appears not. That means that if we are relying on the Google search engine for SEO, for example, if the people searching for our product or service are not already somehow showing an interest in our goods or services or our niche or sector, we may not come out in their results. It's this idea that we're being served information that's relevant to our interests, and the problem with that is that is if it's not relevant to our interests, then we're not seeing it. The other aspect of social media is that if you're like me, you want to use them less and less. I have a number of organisations I'm a member of where I personally don't interact on the Facebook groups, because I find that they're too disruptive, there are too many posts, and the messaging, the posts, the likes, the unlikes, and so on that are related to my areas of interest are just a distraction. The Social Dilemma talks about these likes and photo tags and so on as being designed to distract us and keep us on the social media platform. They're not designed to help us get to where we want to get to. This is a real problem, because if we're building communities or groups of purpose, or we're trying to build tribes around what we do or the company that we have, these social media platforms actually can be operating not in our interest, but in their own interests, because their interests are led by the commercial interests of the advertisers, because let's face it, that's how they're making their money. They're making money by selling access to the viewer which is why The Social Dilemma makes a point that we the viewers are now the product, not the consumer, and it's the advertiser that wants to get to us. This is nothing new, of course. Print media has been advertising to us as well, but what's different is the level of targeting, that our devices are with us all the time, and that they're interactive. When we're posting, we're getting more content immediately. This is a good thing in some respects, alarming in another. So, if we're trying to build platforms and communities, then social media like Facebook or LinkedIn could well be actually your worst enemy. I was working on a business for senior entrepreneurs called Silver Fox Entrepreneurs, and so I looked at a couple of other platforms, which I want to share with you, because I think they present opportunities, especially for people introducing communities around courses and training. One of them out of the UK is called Disciple Media. They talk about bringing your people, your memberships, and your content together in your own fully branded and private community. You can build and sell courses, you can charge subscriptions, and you can even have live streaming, and many other aspects. The key feature is that you own the real estate. You can have your own domain name, and you own the subscriptions. You own the people that enter your community. If you're on Facebook or LinkedIn, you are basically a tenant. You're renting their space and they have, at any stage, the opportunity to change the algorithm, to change your ownership, to change anything about what you're doing. Similar to building a business in a rented accommodation, your business, your content, and your community in Facebook or LinkedIn is still doing that as well. In summary, branding and customization, unlimited groups and topics, events, your content, your media library, friends and messaging, building subscription models, these are possible with Disciple Media. It costs 45 a month, but with their app, it becomes 299 a Another platform is called Mighty Networks, and it's one I month. A third of that goes to Apple, so that's where the cost comes from. actually use. It was founded in 2017 by a real dynamite female entrepreneur called Gina Bianchini. This is a great plat orm where you can have your own embership network for free. Ther You now have the opportunity to create a community and followers is also a Community plat orm for just $23 a month wher you have your own web doma n and unlimited moderators, and ou can upgrade to the Business odel which is $81 a month and llows online courses, chats, nd Zapier integrations. It's ver powerful, because it creates our own community in your own domain, and you can build yo r own branded area as well. Mi hty Networks is one offering t at I recommend, because I've ctually tried it, and then there are a number of other plat orms you can use as well. using your own platform. I think it's something worth experiencing and looking at, because as seen in The Social Dilemma, it's pretty alarming. There are some sociological reasons for not having your platform on social media like Facebook and LinkedIn. But also commercially, it's a great idea to build your own community and your own resources in your own space which you can brand and control. Ultimately, this community will be part of your business value, and it's worth the investment. Today, I've s ared with you the idea of soci l networks, and if you're uilding one or if it is inde d your business, think abou alternatives to Facebook, Lin edIn, Twitter, Instagram, and t e like, because those have some business interests t at are aligned with their own shareholders, not yours, and it ould benefit you greatly to conn ct with your community on a platform that you are in c mplete control of.