I
was reminded recently of that rather funny post on twitter. “If you’re not on
the internet yet please put your hand up.”
OK
you need to think about it! It amused me but actually it was an important Tweet.
If you’re in business and haven’t got a least some kind of presence on the
internet, even if it’s only a Twitter or Facebook account, then you are
definitely missing out. Digital is ubiquitous and those that bury their heads
in the sand are doomed.
At
the Bathroom Industry Conference in 2010 the key note speech from Larry
Hochman, the European Speaker of The Year, discussed at length the subject of
getting your business on line and I am really pleased to see that since the
Conference a number of the attendees have taken his message to heart and have
done just that. All BMA members have some sort of presence and some have now started
trading on line.
Some
members have an on line shop, some sell on eBay, and some use the ‘click and
collect’ system. Some use the internet to gather the latest news, watching what
is going on through Tweets. And others make sure that nothing bad is being said
about their business.
Social
media is becoming increasingly effective in developing communities within the
world of sustainability. A new report about the built environment shows that
Twitter is growing from a narrow community of individual sustainability and
social media advocates to one that is central to the industry. Twitter now
attracts manufacturers, merchants, retailers, contractors, architects, and installer.
The
BMA has a growing presence in the ether. Over that last twelve months our Newsblog
and Twitter feeds are proving to be an excellent way of keeping members
informed. They can see, at a glance, what their secretariat is doing and what
is going on in the Association.
Our
next digital challenge - getting to grips with the technology!