Somewhere around 1439 Johannes Gutenberg is attributed with the invention of the printing press. Gutenberg probably had no idea how his invention would affect history.  Without Gutenberg, we would not have Social Media as we now know it.  Gutenberg improved communication amongst people. Ideas could be spread more quickly and to a larger audience.

I often hear "Tell me about Social Media" or "I don't understand Social Media" Most often I find myself saying "You already know everything you need to know about how to use it, you just don't know how, or which, tools to use effectively." Let me explain... and Gutenberg is a great place to start to understand the current state of this thing called "Social Media"

The first thing you probably need to understand is that the tools are constantly evolving. Back in the days before movable type and the printing press, Gutenburg made a connection between two disparate technologies: 

• "He had observed the work of men "who could carve a letter in steel ..."  
• He lived in Maintz, Germany. Mainz is one of the centers of the German wine economy as a center for wine trade and the seat of the state's wine minister.... So there where lots of wine presses.  

So Gutenberg quite simply combined two ideas into one for a completely different reason.  Flash forward to early 2005. A couple of former PayPal guys decided that there needed to be a way to share video easier.  In essence they did the same thing Gutenberg had done: They brought together several disparate pieces of existing technology and combined them and YouTube was born.

The common thread

Here's the problem: The "tools" of Social Media are expanding exponentially.  Those disparate ideas of how to connect things are improving daily with each improvement in each tool. Right now, as you're reading this article, someone is working on using an API from some social media tool to connect to another social media tool to make theirs work better or solve a problem. The tools are in a state of evolution on steroids. That's what generally confuses and scares people: It's all new words, it's all new technology.

What's important to realize is that aside from how the printing press and YouTube technologies came about, or how they work, by connecting disparate technologies they also share something else that's stunningly simple: They improved communication and the sharing and spreading of ideas.  Social Media is just that: an improved way to share ideas and solutions.

As you explore different social media tools and platforms to use in your marketing efforts, explore them the same way you explored magazine, radio, television advertising or even trade shows and event participation:

Are your customers there? Does it appear that they are going there?

Selecting Social Media tools to use right now is a bit like playing Monopoly.  If you get in early and own some real estate on Park Place or the Boardwalk you're in the game. In some cases you might not find anyone else who wants to play today, while in other cases you'll discover that your competitors have been playing for a while and they're quite good already.

Either way the board is set up with your pieces and you're prepared to play with someone who sits down.   And REMEMBER, somewhere out in cyberspace there is a search bot making note that "Oh, that company is in that game. Noted!" And THAT can help your SEO efforts.

Behavior

Remember Social Media is about communication. Treat everyone you meet just like you would treat someone the first time you where introduced to them in person.

And at all times make sure there's a little bird tweeting in your ear this question as you find new functions or new tools:

How can I use this to improve my communication with my customers or clients?

Social Media is "new" in the same way that the mass printing of ideas was new in 1444. It's a new tool. But even back in Gutenberg's day it's still about communication and sharing your ideas and solutions.

"The more things change, the more they remain the same" is attributable to Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1908 – 1990). Karr’s actual words were: ‘plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose’ (Les Guêpes)