Social Media ---> Wear Out or Rust Out

I read an interesting quote today about wearing out rather than rusting out that reminded me of a sweet little '72 Stingray Corvette that is parked in a garage in Wyoming right now. It's gorgeous, mint condition, with a spotless, sparkly cherry red exterior. And it's mine.

Even now that I am a perfectly capable adult, far from the barely-driving sixteen year old version of me it was gifted to, my dad and I still have disagreements about when and where I can drive it when I visit home.  My perspective --> Why not drive it while we're young and alive?! My dad's perspective --> Driving it will decrease it's value, or I will wreck it, or scratch it in some accident. See, I'd rather wear it out, while my dad would rather it not wear out and only rust where it absolutely has to.

Point?! ---> Rumors are circling around that social media influencers are phasing out because they are non-practitioners that sit on their soap box and try to sell something that has no real ROI.

That's fine, but I'm going to wear the shit out of social media where it is a valuable tool for business. I'm not going to let it just sit, and rust, because there are naysayers. The thing is, the real social influencers aren't just sitting around, preaching to others how pretty social media is, while they let it rust because they never use it themselves. The true social media influencers use it everyday, and consistently find new things to say about it because it is, to an extent, still a frontier that has a lot to explore.

I don't want social media to be some pretty, alluring, unattainable thing that I flaunt to clients. I want to understand it in and out, wear it out until I know absolutely every single pro and con to it when it comes to social business. If there ever comes a time for social media to die, I want to know that I explored every way I could to use it and its benefits.

If we all just talk on our soap boxes about how great social media is, then, yes --> it has a high chance of dying out. However, if we actually practice what we preach and find new and innovative ways to use it as a valuable business tool, then we are in control of if and when it dies out. It's our job to find the value in it. It's our job to prove the ROI, and open up the C-suite's mind the value in brand awareness and loyalty as an ROI.

So ---> are you going to wear out, or rust out?!

- Marji J. Sherman