Thinking like a toddler to grow your business

Aug 20, 2010 by Stephanie

Image via Wikipedia

My son was born nearly 2 years ago in September 2008. He was born just before we’d elected our first African American president, before the financial crisis and before the iPad.

And he is a digital native.

It amazes me to think about the things that he is growing up with which are fused into his lifestyle. He has his own iPod Touch (handed down from Mom when she got her iPhone) loaded with all sorts of educational and clever games, plus the just-for-fun motorcycle game. He is a whiz with the iPad, selecting and watching videos, pushing the pause button, and easily switching over to the guitar and piano apps for a little musical interlude. And we are constantly connected to his grandparents, aunts and uncles via video calling on Skype or Google.

But it was Facetime that really got me. I recently got the new iPhone 4 and dialed a call to my dad who also has the phone. We connected via Facetime and I was really astounded at how perfectly it works. I remember when I was a kid going to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and seeing the Bell Telephone videophone and thinking that it would only be in our homes when we flew around in spacecraft like the Jetsons. But here it is – the true videophone.

So I go over to my son, phone in hand, and say, look, it’s Grandpa. What does the kid do? Says, “Hi Grandpa,” waves, then it’s back to his soccer ball. Because for him, it’s a totally normal everyday occurrence to see Grandpa (or Grandma or Auntie) on video. Part of his regular worldview. So will my son read his first newspaper via Flipboard? Carry an iPad-like device instead of textbooks? Will he work with his Bogota-based Spanish tutor via video? It’s not only possible, it’s highly likely.

Are we ready for these digital natives? How can those of us who are “digital immigrants” relate to, sell to and compete with the kids that have never touched a typewriter? The most important thing is to be curious. We have to be willing to touch everything, try everything and learn new tools and techniques. Toddlers are pretty fearless; we have to forget our insecurities about learning new things and try them out.

Another way to be ready is to understand where digital natives are engaging and what they’re doing. If you own or are in management at a consumer or B2B business, you should at least do the following:

Setup a personal Facebook account. Check it out. You don’t need to do much, you can ignore friend requests, but you should at least look at some business pages and see what they’re doing. “Like” a few and see what they send you in your stream. Here are some good examples: Slurpee, The Container Store, Swell.com.
Same goes for Twitter. Again, no need to engage immediately if you’re shy about it, but you should setup an account, follow a few people or brands, and watch to see what they’re doing. Some good Twitter examples: Pepperidge Farm, Progressive, Starbucks.
Look at a few brand channels on YouTube to see how brands are leveraging video content. Here are some good examples: Home Depot, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, State Farm.

I could go on, but I know, getting involved with social media feels like a slippery slope which will take a lot of time. So start with a little intelligence gathering and see what you learn. You may find that with a few minutes a day (or week) of intelligence gathering you can get a great deal of new awareness and insight.

Do you have other thoughts for quick ways to dip a toe into social media? What are you doing to keep up with the natives? Please leave your comments below.