whistler film festival
Where Social Media and Snowboarding Collide
Photo Credit: TrailSource
The Magnify team took a trip to Whistler on the first weekend of December to check out the Whistler Film Festival. In addition to watching some great films, I got the opportunity to snowboard for the first time. For those of you who tried snowboarding before or have heard from friends what it is like snowboarding for the first time, you’ll understand my experience.
I crashed and tumbled like there was no tomorrow. In the midst of smashing my head a couple times on the trail (luckily I had a helmet on) and scrapping my body off the floor, I realized there are similarities between learning to snowboard and introducing a small business to social media marketing.
When you first hear about social media, you might be all excited and ready to dive in head first without knowing what to expect. This was exactly what I thought for snowboarding.
But as you stand up on the snowboard (or create your first Twitter account, Facebook Page or YouTube channel), it isn’t long before your feet begin to slide out from underneath you, and you suddenly realize that you are in over your head. The next thing you know, your face is flat against the floor.
Developing a social media presence and effectively engaging your intended audience is not going to happen over night. It takes time, perseverance and practice, just like snowboarding.
A snowboard is just a piece of equipment, and similarly, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are just tools used to engage your audience. You might have the most expensive snowboard, but in the end, it is the person riding on the board that will make it soar in the air, or in my case, stumble around like a klutz.
Falling is a part of the experience. Mistakes will happen. Saying the wrong word, doing the wrong thing, representing yourself the wrong way are all possibilities. The social media community is less likely to abandon you if you handle the situation with an honest and transparent answer that is given in timely manner. After that, you have to pick yourself up and try again.
It is much easier to start and learn with an instructor or guide by your side. When starting from point zero, it is much more efficient to get help to launch your social media or snowboarding endeavors. You’ll gain access to people with expertise that can help you choose the best path (strategy) to reach your destination (goal) and provide you with a rewarding experience (ROI).
Do you agree that learning to snowboard is a lot like trying to get into social media?
Have any snowboarding or social media accidents/adventures to share? Tell us in the comments.
Victor Chan
eMarketing Strategist
Tags: facebook, snowboarding, Social Media, strategy, Twitter, whistler film festival, youtube
