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I know I’m creative, youthful and over excitable. I like to think I know about the internet, computers and email. Running my own internet web design business helped with that. So when I first heard about social media, blogging and the likes of facebook I was looking forward from profiting from this new online community. Where, with a free click of the mouse a wealth of information was accessible on my product. And best of all… It cost bugger all to set up.
How wrong could I have been? I remember vividly the first time I entered the golf blog sphere. I can still feel that dull ache in the back of my head after eight hours of intense concentration trying to figure out this magical network. To which I must have discovered 0.1%. No exaggeration. I had so many unanswered questions. Why do people blog? How many people read these articles? Why do they read them? Who are these bloggers? How many are there? How do they make money? How do I track them all? Is there money to be made from this for me?
Then just when I thought it couldn’t get anymore mind bending it dawned on me I hadn’t even touched social networking sites let alone get a grip on consumer web activity.
Now, A couple of years on, endless hours of surfing and networking I’d say I’ve got a pretty good handle on the Golf industry’s online activity. In the UK and US at least. What’s hot and what’s not, how to infiltrate the blog sphere and gain a loyal interactive following. I even have the geekiest database to prove it. Please don’t tell my girlfriend.
But from what I see, Golf companies are stuck between a rock and a myspace. For those who have had their head in the sand on a desert island for the past few years, MySpace is the second largest online meeting place in the world. (Second only to facebook). 55 million users per month, create profiles of themselves using text, photos, videos and music to show the world who they are, what they like and to interact with similar beings on this planet. Whether they be based in Skegness, UK or New Port Beach, California.
A lot of golf bodies try to point out at this time that their target market is the baby boomers. After all they’re the most affluent and active golfers. My reply is consist and true.
Today, baby boomers make up the Web’s largest constituency, accounting for fully one-third of the 195.3 million Web users in the U.S. The same percentage can be said for the U.K.
Yet, I see a void in targeting them in the golf industry.
Still unsure? Look at President Obama’s election campaign. I’m not saying he won presidential election because of his social media offering, of course not. All I know is that, at last count, 5,356,320 loyal fans on his facebook page wasn’t detrimental for communication, feedback and persuasion on his campaign trail. Or Ian Poulter is adverse to 700,518 followers on social medias newest tool - Twitter - raising his profile and public likability.
Still, so many golf companies think of social media as just setting up a company page on facebook or, as I heard recently "poking randoms". Something their time and money could be better spent elsewhere. So they don’t venture in at all. They don’t understand what’s involved and therefore don’t understand the potential.
Social media isn’t going away. I say miss it, miss out. |
