To conclude this Mini Series (well, this season at least) I wanted to give you a brief idea what might happen if you choose to ignore Social Media altogether.

In the short term, nothing much may change if you don’t participate in Social Media. A popular counterargument is that engaging in Social Media is a time-consuming business. So, you may

Save time (in the short run).

But in the medium to long term you will miss out on a range of opportunities that go hand in hand with this way of connecting. These are the most common negative impacts named by organizations that tried to ignore Social Media:

Lost opportunities
By ignoring Social Media you can miss out on opportunities arising in the ever-growing online communities. Furthermore your competitors get the chance to overtake you by tapping into a growing group of people that you are not paying attention to.

Lost revenue streams
The same reasoning as above: if you fail to tap into an audience of prospective customers, you will not get their business.

Lose touch with stakeholders
It is already hard enough to stay in touch with everyone. You might have an email newsletter, but these do not usually facilitate dialogue. Social Media networks help create an exchange between you and your stakeholders, and also amongst your stakeholders; Not only will you be able to communicate your messages; you will also learn what people think about you! If you’re not there, it’s easy to lose touch with them.

Lost credibility
As the use of Social Media and open communication spreads, those who do not employ them become suspicious. If you don’t communicate openly in Social Media , is it because you have something to hide?

All these issues don’t only sound bad, they are bad, and they are real. For some spine-chilling examples, stay tuned…