The Tortoise STILL wins the race…

We all know the story…

The Tortoise and the Hare…where the Tortoise starts out slowly but just keeps putting one foot in front of the other heading towards his goal, the finish line.  Nothing too flashy or exciting, just one after another, after another, after another.  Then there is the Hare, running forward, backwards, side to side, finding lots of things to get distracted with and finally wears himself out, takes a nap, and loses the race.  It’s in the books, the Tortoise always won.

It is hard recommending a “Tortoise Solution” when we live in such a “Hare world”.

I live in this world every day.  Social Media is a “Hare world” – every one wants the new “shiny objects” and they want them now…oh and they want to see the return on it yesterday so they can justify why they are doing this crazy thing called Social Media.  Sound familiar?

It is hard recommending a “Tortoise Solution” when we live in such a “Hare world”.

Now that Social Media has been around for a few years, we are now seeing a lot of “Hares” stopping by the roadside and taking a nap.  They are tired.  They are exhausted.  They have been jumping around from this to that for a while and not really having anything to show toward their progress so it’s time to step back and take a nap.  And where are the results we were promised by chasing after all these “shiny objects”?  Time to take a nap and not focus on it for a while – empty promises…

It is hard recommending a “Tortoise Solution” when we live in such a “Hare world”.

By the way, the Tortoise is still plodding along, moving ever so close to the goal and the finish line.  One foot in front of the other, day after day, week after week, month after month.  He has talked to lots of people along the way, slowed down enough to see what they were doing, enjoyed the time learning more about them, and seeing what is really going on around him.  When he crosses the finish line, he knows more about his environment, the path he was on, what to pay attention to, which way is better to head, and what to avoid along the way.

Recommending a “Tortoise Solution ” (a well thought out, planned out, and executable Social Media Strategy) is not what the “Hares” in all of us want.  We want to see the next “shiny object” and rush to it as fast as possible – only to find it is just another shiny object.  After seeing the “shiny objects” for the past 5 years in this ever changing Social Media space, I can confidently say, “Get your belly close to the ground and start putting one foot after the other, day after day, week after week, and month after month and you will beat your competition in this race to build relationships, loyal customers, and advocates along the way…and the shiny objects won’t seem so tempting any longer.”