PHX Reporter

Best-selling author and DLA Ignite CEO and co-founder Timothy Hughes argued in favor of companies moving their marketing focus from physical stores and advertisements to social media in an episode of the podcast "Dominate Your Market" hosted by business growth consultant Michael Pedersen.

“If you want to find modern buyers, stop being in the physical analog world and move to the digital world,” he said.

Hughes stressed the importance of playing by the "digital rules," which include not spamming people with messages and advertisements. He encouraged companies to remember the "social" part of social media and focus on having conversations with potential buyers.

“We must understand what digital means," Hughes said. "It means going back to understanding that social media is social media, which means being social on media.”

The Australian government's official website for business defines social media as "online communication that allows you to interact with your customers and share information in real time." It offers businesses multiple benefits such as increased customer engagement, wider market reach, cost-effective market research and improved brand development. Social media can also increase company revenue by building customer networks, advertising and attracting new customers.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the COVID-19 pandemic has caused people to limit physical interactions and practice social distancing, causing traditional brick-and-mortar sales to decline. In the United States, retail sales dropped 7.7% from February to April 2020, although sales for grocery stores and non-store retailers (e-commerce providers) increased by 16% and 14.8%, respectively. The percentage of e-commerce in total retail also rose from 11.8% to 16.1% between the first and second quarters of 2020.