The next big thing in social media is small.
As my friend and mastermind buddy Sarah Bray puts it, it’s the difference between big box stores and small shops:
When I was growing up, Wal-Mart was inevitable. It was just this place you had to go to get basic stuff. You needed it, and you didn’t think twice about how horrible it was. It was cheap and it was there.
But now, we have all these other options. We can shop locally. We can shop online. We can shop at Target. We don’t have to go to Wal-Mart anymore.
I hope this is what is happening with the web right now. That more of us are deciding that the Wal-Marts of the Internet aren’t really what we need, and that we can do better.
Wal-Mart, of course, is Facebook. Or maybe it’s Twitter. Really, it’s wherever you don’t want to be but feel like you have to for the sake of “getting the word out” about your business.
Social media–as a behemoth ready to send you tons of free traffic if only you can crack the code–is all but dead.
And yet…
Long live social media!
Social media is getting smaller, more organized and less algorithmic, more people-focused and less startup-focused.
What this means for you is that you have a lot of control. Now, you no longer only have control over your content, you have control over the platform because the platform is yours.
You create the space, invite the people, and play in it together as you see fit.
You don’t “go on” social, you are social.
Sarah is doing this with her own community and virtual co-working space, Gathered. I do this with The Lab.
But you don’t have to go rogue to make this new wave of social work for you and your community.
Live video is also working to create these spaces–within big boxes like Facebook or in small, private spaces like on Crowdcast (my new favorite thing).
With live video, each post becomes a gathering spot.
It’s fleeting, yes. But it’s also incredibly powerful. When you make an eyeball-to-eyeball connection with 5, 100, or 10,000 people for 5 minutes, you’re doing more good for your business in that time than a lifetime on Twitter.
Live video isn’t the next big thing because it’s new technology or a new tactic for connecting with your audience. Live video is big because of how small it makes our world for a few powerful moments.
I suspect that more technology will come along and mimic this small world environment soon.
I spoke with one of the pioneers of online business and social media marketing, Joel Comm, for this week’s episode of Profit. Power. Pursuit.
Joel told me that he sees live video as the thing we’ll be talking about with social for quite some time to come.
If you want to hear more about how live video creates small gathering spots for your community–and how Joel approaches new technology, platforms, and trends in social media, check out this week’s episode.
Click here to read the transcript or listen in to our conversation.
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