You know what makes me mad; Besides those horrible spots GoDaddy calls commercials? That people don’t see what is happening right in-front of their face. Its ok though. You guys can make it up to me by paying close attention to what Im about to tell you. Ready? Here we go……. Social Media is NOT a fad. It is not going anywhere. Shocking huh? Let me explain.

When I first started writing this post, I went really deep into what social media was, the individual platforms and why you should give a crap. Ultimately, none of that mattered because you only need to know one simple fact. Social Media, as a whole, has completely changed our culture forever. What people thought was a fad has now become a complete ‘culture shift’.

Chris, by ‘culture shift’, do you mean like when TV was introduced and it made Radio pee its pants?

Not at all. Radio, TV, newspaper and magazines, were all tools that we consumed. With social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and Google+, we are the ones producing and the companies are the ones consuming. This has created a significant opportunity for everyone in business. Typically, a business will spend millions of dollars to attract and/or maintain customers. Well companies (very few of them at the moment) are starting to realize that the money they are spending on traditional advertising could be better spent by giving people the product that they sell. Yes, you heard me correctly; GIVE people the product. In most circumstances, a company’s product cost less than what they spend in attracting each person via advertising. Another words, if a company spends $150 in advertising to attract one customer, they can give that person their $75 product. Obviously, there are some exceptions to this but in its basic form, by giving that potential customer product, the customer is far more likely to not only become a new customer but also remain a loyal customer to that company. This isn’t some crazy idea I conjured up during one of my many nights of Insomnia. Nope. I know first hand that this is happening right now. The 4 bottles of OneHope Wine we received for free is only the tip of the iceberg. See what I mean? That company just landed itself in this post and onto your eyeballs and it only cost them a few bucks in postage. Business is changing, ladies and gentlemen, and you need to pay attention.

So how does that effect the motorsports world? Simple. Racing is a business. Business is the key word there. Don’t for one second think that motorsports won’t follow the same culture shift that I mentioned above because its ‘a hobby’ or doesn’t sell tangible goods. Millions of dollars flow through the motorsports space and most of that money comes from traditional, corporate franchises. When, yes WHEN, these companies start to transition, the face of advertising in racing will change as well. But why wait for that to happen? As a member of the racing community, whether a team or a drivers or a sponsor, you rely heavily on your fan base. That fan base essentially provides you with everything in your camp so it is imperative that we take care of them and maintain their support. That being said, what are you doing to attract more fans? What are you doing to keep the fans that you currently have? With Social Media readily available to us, we have the power to engage and grow our individual sports. The days of hoping your local news gave your series some air time are gone. The gate-keepers are gone. The middle men are gone. For the first time in history, a single person now has more power and better reach than traditional media. So stop sitting on your hands and start engaging. Start talking. Better yet, start listening. The information for success is staring you right in the face. All you have to do is notice it.