Don't get stuck in a social media rut

Disruption vs. Innovation

In Poke The Box, Seth Godin says, “The only thing missing is your ability to provoke, instigate and discover.”

Well, I have a question for you all: Are you willing to invest the time it takes to discover new opportunities, instigate new ideas, and provoke change? I know, it seems as if some of us have had this conversation before - three years ago.

How does this (recent) blog comment make you feel?  Do you agree? Disagree?

“…better to spend the limited amount of time to marketing and leasing on tools that are 100% up and running. We need to remind ourselves that new technology and platforms are disruptive and disruption can be a groundswell for great outcomes, but more than likely tends to just be disruptive.”

The first thing I thought was that I know plenty of individuals within property management that STILL believe Facebook is a disruption and that it will not lead to any leases or renewals. That belief is rooted in fear – fear of change, fear of disruption, still holding out for the 100% proof. Our friends at RentMineOnline have proven that Facebook DOES work for referrals and leases. Ed knew it would work, even when most of our industry couldn’t believe it!

Innovation leads to disruption, disruption leads to evolution.

“Innovation is not an event, it is a process.” – Guy Kawasaki

The process of innovation is disruptive – especially to those unwilling or unable to invest their time to learn something new. We must ask ourselves if spending a little bit of time to research new ideas, new concepts, innovative technologies and popular programs is worthwhile. I believe that the answer will vary from company to company; but personally speaking, if I am educated in a new tool or process, then that effort is not a waste of my time.

Leaders and early adopters will be the first to fail and the first to succeed. Some people become leaders simply by taking a risk and some require proof. Where do you fit in?

ROI shouldn’t be the ONLY cause for implementing a social media strategy.

Guy Kawasaki has stated that if you wait until everything is perfect, the market may pass you by. Can you afford to wait for perfection? How long is long enough? How much proof do you need? Is it really all about the leases? What about customer service? What about SEO? What about name recognition, PR and branding? Is there any value in having a sense of community?

Case in point: DELL initially focused on customer service when they started using Twitter. They later adapted their strategy to include sharing products and now they have over $6.5 million in sales! DELL isn’t the only company making money from what used to be an unproven new technology. (I realize that comparing DELL and your property management group is apples and oranges, but the concept of trying something new applies to all industries.)

My point is this: Don’t get stuck in a rut – rise above Facebook and try something new. You’ll never know what will work until you try it!

Image Credit: Fit2Play.com

{ 3 comments }