If I looked into my crystal ball to predict the future, I believe that I would see that 3 years from now people will value social media a lot more than they do today.

When something is free, people tend to undervalue it.

You probably don’t realize how powerful your social network is and much more valuable it will be in the future. And what’s interesting is that every year you are active on social media, it will multiply the results you get.

What is the Value of your Social Media Network?

If you invested $16,000 to build your network on Twitter, would you want to leverage that network? Would you have a different mindset around leveraging that asset? I bet so.

This year, I hired a social media consultant to help me increase the number of followers I have on Twitter. I doubled the number of followers I have. I gained over 8,000 followers.

What’s interesting is that I have heard that Twitter may be making some big changes and it’s going to get a lot harder to grow your network as it is today.

And not only that, but your only option to build your network quickly might be to pay Twitter up to $2 per follower.

So, to add 8,000 followers on Twitter might cost $16,000 in a few years. I know it sounds crazy, but it sure makes you pause for a moment to think about taking action now to grow and leverage your network.

Grow your Social Media Network

You see, there is a value in your social network. And the value increases the larger your network gets.

I have watched over the last few years as social media sites have phased out features and monetized what used to be free.

Social media isn’t going away. It’s only going to become more essential to companies as time goes on.

If you wait to build your network. If you wait to leverage social media. You may find that you have missed out. And you will realize that your competition is running away with your customers because they understand how to use social media and you don’t.

Social Media Will Become More Critical in the Future

This is a cautionary tale. I am sounding the alarm that you need to pay attention and invest time, energy and effort into figuring out this social media thing. If you don’t, your business may suffer.

End of lesson.

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing and Social Media Trainer