Is it time to ditch the terms 'digital' and 'social'?

January 2, 2018

Over the past five years or so, the words 'digital' and 'social' have crept more and more into everyday business usage. In fact, I even refer to myself as a Digital Management Consultant.

And it's hardly surprising when we are living through a revolution in the ways that human beings interact with one another - whether socially or in a business environment.

Now we live in a predominantly digital world it is inevitable that there should be a massive increase in the word 'digital'. At the same time, with social media now becoming mainstream, the word 'social' now appears all over blogs, job advertisements and marketing plans.

However I believe that things are moving on and we need to stop referring to 'digital this' and 'social that'. Paradoxically I believe things have come full circle and rather than referring to digital strategy, social selling or digital marketing, we should instead just call it business strategy, sales and marketing.

Why, because these terms have become red herrings and conveniently mask what is really needed within organisations. Instead of getting hung up on the technology, businesses should be concentrating on the key steps within DNAsix® - strategy, culture, content, community, advertising and data.

This are not reliant solely on digital or social processes. In fact in many ways, these are the basic foundations for any business. Some time back, I wrote an article titled Social Business and the Making of the Model T Ford, which showed that in 100 years, although technology has changed, in many ways the basics of business have not.

So, if you are looking at growing your business in 2018 rather than getting distracted by the shiny baubles represented by the latest buzzwords of channels, concentrate instead on getting the basics right.

Happy New Year!