WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

Social media value to businesses.

Your Business Opinion of Social Media

  • RD SUX

    Votes: 19 46.3%
  • Social is a cesspool & worthless

    Votes: 12 29.3%
  • Great for brand awareness

    Votes: 21 51.2%
  • I use it to network

    Votes: 2 4.9%
  • I use it to generate leads

    Votes: 5 12.2%
  • I pay an expert, but have no idea what it does for my business

    Votes: 3 7.3%

  • Total voters
    41

Sportin' Wood

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Our company just completed a six week summer social media blitz. I want to try and learn what the value is to our company. I'm not convinced social still matters. I would like to hear what business owners on RDP think. My first pass of the data does not excite me as much as it does others.

I don't share the company I work for, some of you know, please don't post the company name. We are publicly traded so I appreciate the courtesy since RDP SEO is pretty good I don't need the heat. Google alerts has bit me before.

I built a popular desert off road race many years ago highly leveraging social platforms and message boards. I don't think we could do it today. The game has changed.

What say you?
 

BHC Vic

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Our company just completed a six week summer social media blitz. I want to try and learn what the value is to our company. I'm not convinced social still matters. I would like to hear what business owners on RDP think. My first pass of the data does not excite me as much as it does others.

I don't share the company I work for, some of you know, please don't post the company name. We are publicly traded so I appreciate the courtesy since RDP SEO is pretty good I don't need the heat. Google alerts has bit me before.

I built a popular desert off road race many years ago highly leveraging social platforms and message boards. I don't think we could do it today. The game has changed.

What say you?
We do a lot of social media but lately it’s posters in like airports and billboards on the side of the freeway. I’d imagine some of you have seen the carpenters union billboard off the way to the river.
 

Cole Trickle

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I know several people that work for large companies that are directly involved in marketing and social media.

They all basically say the same thing. They know they need to participate and engage but there is no real metric for tracking or figuring out the real world worth.

Its a dangerous game as it can help brand awareness and absolutely pay off but on the flip side one wrong move by the person in charge and you can get canceled or loose a ton of $$$.

One of my clients wife's started a small makeup company out of her garage and built it up and was seeing sales of about 4k a month. Not bad for a part time gig. Fast forward and she ended up sponsoring a couple influencers on Instagram. Overnight the company started selling 300k+++ worth of product and is now in Target , Wallmart as well as other giant makeup stores.

She made him quit his 200k a year job because it was interfering with her vacation schedule....lol

Basically you need to do it but it sucks or maybe it doesn't ...lol
 
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Mr. C

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Our company just completed a six week summer social media blitz. I want to try and learn what the value is to our company. I'm not convinced social still matters. I would like to hear what business owners on RDP think. My first pass of the data does not excite me as much as it does others.

I don't share the company I work for, some of you know, please don't post the company name. We are publicly traded so I appreciate the courtesy since RDP SEO is pretty good I don't need the heat. Google alerts has bit me before.

I built a popular desert off road race many years ago highly leveraging social platforms and message boards. I don't think we could do it today. The game has changed.

What say you?
Jmho. Your last paragraph says a lot.
Social media can be a good hype. Until it’s not.
The game has definitely changed. And negative fuels negative. True or not.
 

FENDERFAB

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i recently had new websites designed for my companies. That was a great investment in my eyes, has alot of information all in one place and its designed in a way that i can use it as a presentation tool to inform new clients about the services we offer.

Being a commercial only company i dont know if social media is the best avenue for us in regards to advertising. We do a small amount of it but feel its more geared to residential clients and homeowners etc.

I know there is alot of good social media advertising companies out there, the company that designed my website wanted 15k for a 3 month hardcore advertising campaign on all platforms which i declined. Ultimately theres not a good way to quantify those sales or really identify where the leads come from. Again i feel this is more geared to homeowners/residential clients or people selling products instead of a service.

With that said i am big on advertising on our vehicles. All of my trucks are either decaled or have full vinyl wraps which has gotten us alot of attention. I think having cool looking trucks shows some pride in the company and the image and is free advertising aside from the cost of the modifications. I have people stop me all the time and say they see us driving around town and how they love our trucks. That has gotten me more business so far than any social media advertising.
 

whiteworks

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I have been propagating some social media feeds for the new business. Latest video got 16K views after I threw $50.00 at an add campaign. We’re looking for a regional based customer. I think the exposer has been decent as it’s a very specific demographic I’m targeting, I have no way to track if it’s turn into business or not.

That being said most of the shit is free so I have no real expectation. If you figure out how to buy business, let me know as this marketing/advertising thing is my real lift at this point. Product, service, operations are on point, just need more asses in seats🤷‍♂️

Here is my last video I ran on all the platforms. One thing I’ve noticed is people that respond to these adds are sorta dumb as they will watch the video and then ask questions that the video specifically answers 😂 I’m kinda thinking that finding us is actually part of qualifying as a good customer at this point. 😉
 

cyclone

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Our company just completed a six week summer social media blitz. I want to try and learn what the value is to our company. I'm not convinced social still matters. I would like to hear what business owners on RDP think. My first pass of the data does not excite me as much as it does others.

I don't share the company I work for, some of you know, please don't post the company name. We are publicly traded so I appreciate the courtesy since RDP SEO is pretty good I don't need the heat. Google alerts has bit me before.

I built a popular desert off road race many years ago highly leveraging social platforms and message boards. I don't think we could do it today. The game has changed.

What say you?
what does your company do? what was the primary goal of the social media campaign?
 

rivrrts429

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It’s the same thing that went on before social media just a different portal.

For instance, Coca-Cola had/has a strong presence in NASCAR. Can they verify every time the winner takes a drink of Coke as he’s getting interviewed in victory lane how many people ran out and purchased a coke because of it? Same with the vehicle manufacturers.

The problem I see is that even if you have any quantifiable data it’s all going to be rear-view mirror data. There’s no way to gauge it in real time, yet. I’m sure A.I. will come into play at some point though.

There’s a bit of trust involved and if you’re looking at profitability annualized and it’s growing you have to account some level of that to the marketing aspect. The question is how much?
 

Cobalt232

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It's been huge for our company. Almost 300K IG followers and now working on Tik Tok heavily with I think around 50K followers. I don't participate in it, but I realize it's worth.
 

DRYHEAT

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No, I’m serious. Is it considered social media because a lot of people don’t consider it to be social media?
Well, in all honesty, I think it’s social media, but I think a lot of guys deny it because they don’t want to admit they’re on social media.

As to the original posters question, I suppose it depends what kind of business.
 

Travmon

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No, I’m serious. Is it considered social media because a lot of people don’t consider it to be social media?
I do not consider this site social media , I consider it more of a hobby hangout but i would assume to many it is a social media platform. Whats the definition of social media ?
 

sonicss31

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is rdp considered social media?
Personally, for me it could be considered as such but I’m only on here because most on here have similar interests, hobbies and outlook on life. Also our families are the most important part of our lives. I don’t do do FB, IG or TT. Links to those sites on here are not clicked on by me.
 

napanutt

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is rdp considered social media?
I think so. I’m way more social here than anywhere else.
I do have FB. I don’t post a lot but I certainly scroll and definitely do my share of commenting there.
Like I said somewhere, RDP is kind of like family. FB, these days, is like people of Walmart.
 

hallett21

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No, I’m serious. Is it considered social media because a lot of people don’t consider it to be social media?
I don’t. I think RDP is RDP lol.


FB, Insta, X, tick tock etc are social media to me.
 

Activated

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My daughter works for a large construction company back East. She is in the marketing department as a graphic designer and has done a lot of different things for them, including rebuilding their web site.

Once they found out she had experience managing social media, they gave her that as well. They had different people doing different parts of it and under one person, it is very uniform and shares the messages/info exactly how they want it. Every post has to be approved by an Executive of the company before it is allowed.

Does it help, I don’t know but it is paying her bills. She is starting to manage some friends social media accounts for the businesses.
 

rivrrts429

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No, I’m serious. Is it considered social media because a lot of people don’t consider it to be social media?


You’d be crazy not to consider it Social Media. It’s all intertwined with your FB and Insta pages. Not maximizing that network of businesses in some manner would be crazy.
 

RiverDave

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You’d be crazy not to consider it Social Media. It’s all intertwined with your FB and Insta pages. Not maximizing that network of businesses in some manner would be crazy.

Is rdp itself social media?

Believe it or not my fb and IG pages are pretty separated from the forum. I am hiring a member to help develop our social media and the forum ads etc!

But is the e forum itself considered social media?

Look at the original post..
Our company just completed a six week summer social media blitz. I want to try and learn what the value is to our company. I'm not convinced social still matters. I would like to hear what business owners on RDP think. My first pass of the data does not excite me as much as it does others.

I don't share the company I work for, some of you know, please don't post the company name. We are publicly traded so I appreciate the courtesy since RDP SEO is pretty good I don't need the heat. Google alerts has bit me before.

I built a popular desert off road race many years ago highly leveraging social platforms and message boards. I don't think we could do it today. The game has changed.

What say you?


Is social media important.. I want to know what the rdp biz owners think.

Even in that post is differentiated or at least implies rdp is different than from social media.

Some say this is the only social media I’m on.. some say they won’t do social media only rdp.

So my first question is “is rdp social media?”
Are we counting the forum in the question or is this geared more towards platforms like fb, ig, tiktok etc?


RD
 

rivermobster

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Is rdp itself social media?

Believe it or not my fb and IG pages are pretty separated from the forum. I am hiring a member to help develop our social media and the forum ads etc!

But is the e forum itself considered social media?

Look at the original post..



Is social media important.. I want to know what the rdp biz owners think.

Even in that post is differentiated or at least implies rdp is different than from social media.

Some say this is the only social media I’m on.. some say they won’t do social media only rdp.

So my first question is “is rdp social media?”
Are we counting the forum in the question or is this geared more towards platforms like fb, ig, tiktok etc?


RD

You need to be infected for thread crapping.

Three days in the box for you.

👎😁👎
 

Sportin' Wood

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what does your company do? what was the primary goal of the social media campaign?
Mike you likely know my company, 90% of this forum as well. I can't post what we do online. Happy to take it to PM. I'm truly sorry I have to dodge this question.

I know that RDP is a network primarily of people who fit our target demographic so it's a semi safe place for me to gather intel. I'm curious how others are using it to add a data point, or maybe toss my perception out the window. This is about the only place I can think of that gives me access to old dudes that own businesses. :)

I debated asking this question here because I like being able to have a safe space to F around on the web.I'm not looking for improvement ideas just to be clear, I'm looking for how others use it and perceive it's value. I'm fortunate we can hire an expert if we feel it is worth it. I've long graduated from social media management. Thankfully.
It’s the same thing that went on before social media just a different portal.

For instance, Coca-Cola had/has a strong presence in NASCAR. Can they verify every time the winner takes a drink of Coke as he’s getting interviewed in victory lane how many people ran out and purchased a coke because of it? Same with the vehicle manufacturers.

The problem I see is that even if you have any quantifiable data it’s all going to be rear-view mirror data. There’s no way to gauge it in real time, yet. I’m sure A.I. will come into play at some point though.

There’s a bit of trust involved and if you’re looking at profitability annualized and it’s growing you have to account some level of that to the marketing aspect. The question is how much?

Ironically we also sponsor many different types of sanctions/event and we can quantify that value, but it is not the same as advertising for us. We could have this same debate over print, which we killed off for the most part years ago and it did not introduce a negative impact. I guess I'm kind of studying social in the same way we studied print. Hopefully I did not trigger @cyclone with my print comments. :) I do miss print BTW.

is rdp considered social media?
I consider Forums social media, it's just the vintage version. I think if we found the right forums and had the right people they would be more effective than the new social media offer. I built one as a test a few years ago, but none of my "kids" understood how to interact on them and hated it. They seem a fantastic tool for service departments and technical support teams to help with post sale support. Connecting with people and supporting them is really what social should be IMHO. Networking. That's what has kept me around RDP all these years. Forums are as good as the admins and the content creators that participate regularly. Keeping people here all these years says something.

The biggest issue we had with Forums was that employees stepped over the compliance line using the forum platforms. Feeding trolls was a common problem. These show up in search much better so they are great self help tools, but they come with risk. Risk I am flirting with right now as I type these responses. Our employees don't engage on social because the compliance issue and that is what diminishes the real value of social for a company. When a company is smaller and privately owned, customers can build strong connections, when you are big it can come off as bland, canned and fake. The SMEs are afraid to post. So you get a social media "expert" not a product expert.

I've personally abandoned FB maybe 5 years ago, LinkedIn at least two years ago, X (twitter) never got into it. IG about a month now since I left.

They were just non stop selling me something. Porn, products, lifestyle, very little connection with friends and family. The value was so little to me. The exception is FB Marketplace, I'm addicted to that and use my wifes account. LOL

I don't have an expectation from this thread, I'm just curious how others see it.
 

Englewood

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If you are not leveraging social media then you are missing out on sales.
 

cyclone

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Mike you likely know my company, 90% of this forum as well. I can't post what we do online. Happy to take it to PM. I'm truly sorry I have to dodge this question.

I know that RDP is a network primarily of people who fit our target demographic so it's a semi safe place for me to gather intel. I'm curious how others are using it to add a data point, or maybe toss my perception out the window. This is about the only place I can think of that gives me access to old dudes that own businesses. :)

I debated asking this question here because I like being able to have a safe space to F around on the web.I'm not looking for improvement ideas just to be clear, I'm looking for how others use it and perceive it's value. I'm fortunate we can hire an expert if we feel it is worth it. I've long graduated from social media management. Thankfully.


Ironically we also sponsor many different types of sanctions/event and we can quantify that value, but it is not the same as advertising for us. We could have this same debate over print, which we killed off for the most part years ago and it did not introduce a negative impact. I guess I'm kind of studying social in the same way we studied print. Hopefully I did not trigger @cyclone with my print comments. :) I do miss print BTW.


I consider Forums social media, it's just the vintage version. I think if we found the right forums and had the right people they would be more effective than the new social media offer. I built one as a test a few years ago, but none of my "kids" understood how to interact on them and hated it. They seem a fantastic tool for service departments and technical support teams to help with post sale support. Connecting with people and supporting them is really what social should be IMHO. Networking. That's what has kept me around RDP all these years. Forums are as good as the admins and the content creators that participate regularly. Keeping people here all these years says something.

The biggest issue we had with Forums was that employees stepped over the compliance line using the forum platforms. Feeding trolls was a common problem. These show up in search much better so they are great self help tools, but they come with risk. Risk I am flirting with right now as I type these responses. Our employees don't engage on social because the compliance issue and that is what diminishes the real value of social for a company. When a company is smaller and privately owned, customers can build strong connections, when you are big it can come off as bland, canned and fake. The SMEs are afraid to post. So you get a social media "expert" not a product expert.

I've personally abandoned FB maybe 5 years ago, LinkedIn at least two years ago, X (twitter) never got into it. IG about a month now since I left.

They were just non stop selling me something. Porn, products, lifestyle, very little connection with friends and family. The value was so little to me. The exception is FB Marketplace, I'm addicted to that and use my wifes account. LOL

I don't have an expectation from this thread, I'm just curious how others see it.
Most magazines aren't worth more than a glance at. It's sad but true. I still read a shitload of books, though. lol
 

evantwheeler

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I look at RDP as a 1. a source of entertainment, news and 2. a mastermind type of networking environment (knowledge.....). The benefit forums have over other forms of social media is long form discussion (think podcasts vs. TV talk shows) and the database is easily searchable. It appears forums are much easier to moderate as well, though I have no experience moderating on either. Its just seems there are WAY less idiots here per capita than any other place I visit for content, but maybe that's because of liberal use of the ignore button.....

I have a hard time understanding sales and marketing because the only thing I buy on impulse is rusty old trucks. If I'm buying something, I do research and figure out whos stuff sucks the least and look for the best value. Made in America counts too. I cannot say I've purchased one item from a targeted ad on social media, but I have bought some tools for our shop after seeing an "influencer" use them on Instagram. I didn't buy it because I wanted to be cool, I bought it because it was a useful high quality tool I wasn't aware existed previously.
 

Roosky01

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On another note, I think we as a public are ready for the next “Bikini” Team.

Hooters Girls, Hawaiian Tropic, Swedish, etc. We are craving the next group of girls. I suggest they are blonde, blue eyed, and not a tattoo to be found and you will be printing money. If done right, $50-100k would yield millions, IMO.
 

4Waters

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is rdp considered social media?
Forums were the model that social media was built on, forums are a form of social media but it's not social media like FB, IG, X....I think it's a little gray
 

Melloyellovector

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Social media FB, IG, tiktok, X, etc
For construction, you can get exposure. So many people focus on followers, yet very few companies have real followers. Many many marketing people that will promote your stuff come along with cubic BS followers, that bring BS stats and likes, that give business owners the feeling of hey this works.
Ones that do build up and get real people following, you get to spin your wheels with well over 75% waste of time, calls, meetings, designing plans, estimating etc.
Now if you have a large company and 20% close rate on a call that you didn’t have before, maybe that’s great.

But for me, my business always has been by referral. With pre Covid close rate typically 75% + on every call. I have social media really just for customers to see we exist. I can count on 1 hand how many customers I have signed from social media only exposure in 10 years.

Only advertising I do is here on RDP. Many mutual friends, that refer me anyway. So is there a return on that investment, nearly impossible to gauge. Stats can be seen, but they don’t follow click, to call, to contract.

Actually another form we do. I sponsor misc boating events, regatta, ski racing, etc.. Basically same reason to just have company name exposed to like minded people. So hopefully if and when they have a need, they think wait isnt there a pool company …..
 

NicPaus

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I ran a few FB ads for my business page. Waste of money. You pick the area but from what I got in response was nowhere near the areas I selected. Last year I was waiting on a few big jobs and figured it was worth a shot. Maybe spent a $1000 to 1500.

I have got jobs off the local city group pages. Most are tire kickers. But I have a few repeat customers now. One has given me so many leads I had to tell her to stop. As I am so backlogged with jobs I can't take on anymore. I quit posting on my business page until I can get caught up.

I took a while to get accepted in the local groups. Had to help rescue a dog and a parrot.
 

Your ad here

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I think it has to do with what people are into attracted to purchasing. If your business doesn't offer something of a trendy interest of buying I don't see where social media will provide enough customers to keep the business successful or really even help.
I move dirt and cut concrete. It's boring, tough work, and not trendy. Who's gonna spend money on that? I bet people will watch it but I don't see any money being generated from it posting it on SM.
Now if you're a hair stylist or a graffiti artist I can see social media will help your business because for some reason people are into their image and if they can have hair done by some high profile person or their house "tagged" by someone popular they'll pay for it because it's trendy. Those providing the trendy service can update their SM with the last job they did and keep the demand up.
Forums help businesses but they reach as far as the members and the lurkers. Thing is majority of those people are joining the forum to look for a solution to a problem. Then you the business needs a reputation of providing a good service and hope other forum members will refer you.
 
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Ace in the Hole

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It's lead gen to us... and I've talked to @RiverDave about advertising here so I know the prices here.

For FB we spend roughly $0.48/click on an ad.
Reddit Similar
BBB site/forum $37/click (not worth it and once contracts is up I'm cancelling)
TikTok IDK we just started.

RDP isn't a per click for us...but I'd have to close solid roofs, or solar deals a month in AZ from the site to make it worth on our marketing budget structure as it currently sits.


I have a goal for social media leads (fb etc) to be less than $25 total by the time they get to a sales rep...that includes screening cost.

The tracking is time consuming bc you have to get creative...such as dummy numbers etc.
 

arch stanton

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I’m with your ad hear
I move dirt demo and equipment my only social media is River Dave’s and Glamis dunes while I have posted pics of my equipment hear I have not received 1 call inquiry about my business but the dump trucks run San Diego north county mostly and the lowbed runs about 100 mile radius so many people are out of the area that were I could be price competitive, things like FB and Twitter are too far reaching and would only cost me time dealing with incoming requests that I could not really do.
I still work for Jerry that gave me my first haul when i bought my first truck more than 35 years ago in fact his son now calls me and another person that hires me the most I started hauling for his mother in about 94 and my other big customer I started doing grading for about 2000 now work for his 3 sons they now do there own grading and I just run trucks for them so hear is my first real social media advertising DM me if you need a dependable trucking company I’m am not the cheapest,and will not try to be the Walmart of the trucking business

IMG_1902.jpeg
IMG_1036.jpeg
 

Ace in the Hole

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I’m with your ad hear
I move dirt demo and equipment my only social media is River Dave’s and Glamis dunes while I have posted pics of my equipment hear I have not received 1 call inquiry about my business but the dump trucks run San Diego north county mostly and the lowbed runs about 100 mile radius so many people are out of the area that were I could be price competitive, things like FB and Twitter are too far reaching and would only cost me time dealing with incoming requests that I could not really do.
I still work for Jerry that gave me my first haul when i bought my first truck more than 35 years ago in fact his son now calls me and another person that hires me the most I started hauling for his mother in about 94 and my other big customer I started doing grading for about 2000 now work for his 3 sons they now do there own grading and I just run trucks for them so hear is my first real social media advertising DM me if you need a dependable trucking company I’m am not the cheapest,and will not try to be the Walmart of the trucking business

View attachment 1410490 View attachment 1410492
You take care of your equipment, that is key...pride in appearance is a big deal IMO in the trades. I was with ABC for while setting up a program in AZ, those guys keep their trucks shinning like diamonds, their uniforms clean, etc. That alone is great advertisement..I'll hire the one who takes care of their stuff far before Ill hire the guy who doesn't...
 

arch stanton

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You take care of your equipment, that is key...pride in appearance is a big deal IMO in the trades. I was with ABC for while setting up a program in AZ, those guys keep their trucks shinning like diamonds, their uniforms clean, etc. That alone is great advertisement..I'll hire the one who takes care of their stuff far before Ill hire the guy who doesn't...
Thank you it takes a lot of time to keep them safe and dependable I do all the painting myself and probably the only guy that builds his own dump boxes just finishing up a new floor and and Hinges on an old box should not have to do it again before I retire original floor lasted 22 years I have 5 trucks and 3 loaders and my mechanic Roger and me have hard time keeping up but I have started hiring out some major repairs to others so I can have a little more free time
 

MARCYTECH

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I have a side business which consists of two parts, billet off-road parts for prerunners/ sxs’s
And CAD design services for offroad manufacturers that do not have a in house cad department.

Because of the following and personal branding I’ve worked very hard to create, instagram posts directly lead to sales. I manufacture limited run, high quality billet parts and I use Instagram to advertise product drop dates as well as restock dates, also use it to showcase cad consulting work I’ve done. 100% of my clients have been from Instagram. I’ve been turning down work lately because it’s too much of a load for me.
 

pkrrvr619

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Here’s my take.

Rdp is a form of social media. We all have screen names so the interaction is social in nature, just like Instagram or Facebook. There’s just more perceived value in a forum as it is niched down and isn’t the wide net that traditional social media platform have.

In regards to social media platform and business, any business that’s not on social media is crazy in this day and age.

I don’t care if you pick up dog shit for a living, your business should have a social media presence as it builds trust with the younger generation and social media impacts many of the next generations buying decisions and offers a chance to become credible and an expert in your niche.

Hate to break it to you all, but we are getting older and need to adapt to the younger generations way of doing business and social media is a large part of that.

Social media doesn’t have to be a big mystery either. Name of the game is to add value at every turn. Educational, entertaining, inspirational, and funny content performs the best and is what everyone should be making.

Doesn’t have to be hard. Example of the dog shit picking up business I mentioned above, “3 ways to effectively pick up dog shit”

It’s that easy.
 

paradise

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I think it depends on what type of work you do or product you offer that will determine whether social works for you.

If your product is a consumer product that can be purchased online I think social is probably the way to go. Sponsor an influencer and your sales would skyrocket.

If your product is quality/value based, higher priced and not a consumer product I think it is harder to get those qualified leads in the door. Qualified being the primary word. Like MYV said, most of our sales calls lead to contracts as They are warm leads coming from referrals so the client already has some idea of what we do, what we cost and the value we bring.
 

calkid

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No, I’m serious. Is it considered social media because a lot of people don’t consider it to be social media?
Interesting question that takes a little thought. I suppose it depends on the member and what they use it for. It can be similar to a digital magazine for some. For those that participate a little more, finding out what security system to use or helping find a stolen boat, it's clearly more of a social media. We even get the opportunity to help heal or finish tearing apart a relationship once in a while :cool:
 

OkHallett270

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Is rdp itself social media?

Believe it or not my fb and IG pages are pretty separated from the forum. I am hiring a member to help develop our social media and the forum ads etc!

But is the e forum itself considered social media?

Look at the original post..



Is social media important.. I want to know what the rdp biz owners think.

Even in that post is differentiated or at least implies rdp is different than from social media.

Some say this is the only social media I’m on.. some say they won’t do social media only rdp.

So my first question is “is rdp social media?”
Are we counting the forum in the question or is this geared more towards platforms like fb, ig, tiktok etc?


RD
I think forums are most definitely a form of social media. If it wasn’t for forum platforms Facebook wouldn’t have had any market to compete in. I think what Facebook has done is take something that was sort of niche and make it where your kids and grandparents can operate it. Then they came after us. You basically can’t buy or sell anything private party anymore without marketplace. Which sucks because I refuse to get a fb account. So I guess to me a forum is a predecessor to modern day social media. On RDP we all interact socially on a media (the internet) therefore it is a form of social media.
 

bonesfab

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I have insta and fagbook for my business. I really don't think I have seen a whole lot from them. Granted I am not the best at updating them, so there is that. I am lucky to be as busy as I am so I don't really worry about it. Me driving my different cars around does more for the business than the socials do.
 

cyclone

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Here’s my take.

Rdp is a form of social media. We all have screen names so the interaction is social in nature, just like Instagram or Facebook. There’s just more perceived value in a forum as it is niched down and isn’t the wide net that traditional social media platform have.

In regards to social media platform and business, any business that’s not on social media is crazy in this day and age.

I don’t care if you pick up dog shit for a living, your business should have a social media presence as it builds trust with the younger generation and social media impacts many of the next generations buying decisions and offers a chance to become credible and an expert in your niche.

Hate to break it to you all, but we are getting older and need to adapt to the younger generations way of doing business and social media is a large part of that.

Social media doesn’t have to be a big mystery either. Name of the game is to add value at every turn. Educational, entertaining, inspirational, and funny content performs the best and is what everyone should be making.

Doesn’t have to be hard. Example of the dog shit picking up business I mentioned above, “3 ways to effectively pick up dog shit”

It’s that easy.
you have an excellent grasp of the power of social media and how to execute it well.
 

DILLIGAF

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I am glad I am done with all this. So much of social media is a wasteland. You have to at a minimum list a digital biz card. For me my biz ran on word of mouth for over 30 years and was very successful. We made inroads into the corporate world and did nationwide work. It was a helluva ride
 
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