What Social Media, Pizza and the Roman Colosseum have in common

Social Media is similar to the Roman Colosseum.

Someone asked me the other day “why bother with social media?” and it’s a very good question, especially when it’s an arena crammed with everyone trying to get everyone else’s attention. It’s like a Roman colosseum, full of noise, drama, highs, and lows. There is even someone shouting “are you not entertained?” in the best Maximus Decimus Meridius impression ever (complete with sandals).

It sounds like a recipe for disaster. And sometimes it is.

If you use social media like a gladiator, posting sporadically and without any strategy, then it could be a roll of the dice as to whether this works for you. However, if you use social media consistently in a way that works for you, then it’s a different matter.

To explain, let me share with you a little tale that will reframe the colosseum scenario in a different way.

There once was a family who made pizzas, with the freshest ingredients and to die-for crusts (stay with me!). They went above and beyond with homemade tomato sauces and mozzarella from their own cows- these pizzas were out of this world. Every day, they would turn up to the noisy Roman colosseum and set out their stall, without any drama. Marinara, Margherita, Napoletana, they displayed their mouth-watering flavours, shared their story with their customers and people who visited the colosseum always knew where to find them. They lined up in their thousands, to be able to taste the best pizza in town. The family couldn’t make enough pizzas to keep up with demand.

The best pizza in town!

This somewhat weird analogy is the same with social media. This family run pizzeria turned up to the colosseum (social media) daily, shared their story (posts and content) with their audience (followers), and in the end they sold lots of pizzas (product, service or offering). If they didn’t show up with their stall, afraid of the noise and drama, then they would have missed out on the opportunity of such a large gathering of people who actually wanted to buy what they were selling.

Social media doesn’t need to be about going viral or having a large following (after all 100 genuine followers beats 100,000 wrong ones any day of the week). It’s about sharing the right content consistently, that connects to your audience that loves what you do and results in them wanting to buy whatever you are selling. It’s about forgetting the noise and drama that others cause and doing things in a way that works for you.

My answer to “why bother with social media?” is why not? Social Media can work for everyone, whatever their service, offering or product. It has opportunities it can give you, but you just need to do it in your own way. Post content that showcases your brand. Dig deep and share those stories that matter. Share why it’s important to you.

The right audience will find you… as they will be entertained and moved by what you do.