When did that happen?
I spent the last few weeks focusing on social media. My course work involved setting up a linked in page for my business and sending it to our trainer. We were also meant to set up two social media pages for our business. I really struggled with this. My struggle is not with completing the pages but with actually posting the information.
I came to realise I have been living in a bubble the last decade while I have raised my children. While completing my instagram page I decided to do some further training on social media and completed a 2 hour course on the platform, FutureLearn. I thought this would give me some tips on how best to fill in my cover page and the do’s and don’ts of posting. This course provided me with some useful tips if one is to have a social media presence such as; the sizing of photos, using the same filter for photos, have a theme that runs through your profiles and to use a plan for your posting content.
On completing the social media course I decided to investigate digital skills and retail. I was fascinated and horrified at the same time. While this course provided me with some insightful knowledge about millennials and the generation Z, I started to wonder whether I avoid this target group altogether in regards to my business. I thought about printing flyers and going back to the ‘good old days’ and posting these through people’s letterboxes as a way to market my business.
I know the digital world is here, it’s very clear to me after completing these FutureLearn courses. But does this mean I have to agree with it? Do I have to jump on the bus, buy a ticket and go for the ride? Some people might think I am reluctant to change (like my children). My husband keeps reminding me that books were seen as an evil weapon to seduce young minds (mainly girls). One of my daughters has her head in a book all the time and can go on for hours reading, I don’t blink an eye (except when she has her chores to do). But why do I get so annoyed with people when they are constantly on their devices?
This week I decided to flip through the book, ‘The Big Switch: Rewriting the world, from Edison to Google’ by Nicholas Carr, “A hundred years ago, we arrived at such a moment with technologies that extend man’s physical powers. We are at another such moment today with technologies that extend our intellectual power”. This book is helping me to see the sense in growth and change and how we should embrace these changes. I use ovens to bake my cakes and machines to help me cream my eggs and sugar, 100 years ago, I probably would have been reluctant to use them. This technological change requires the same methods of acceptance. I realise, if I am to succeed in business I need to embrace this new world and use the digital world to my advantage.
So as I post photos of my cakes, using warm filters, I’m looking for the right balance of a social media presence. I want you to tell me that you want to buy my cake. Not me to tell you that you need it. Don’t let me get started on automation!
