There was a TV commercial in recent years, I don’t recall the product, where people walked around a city and had thought bubbles above their heads.   I envisioned that scenario  this weekend as I walked by businesses in downtown San Francisco and saw those that were promoting their Social Media services to customers by asking them to follow them on Twitter or Like them on Facebook.  These business owners had green bubbles.

Then I began to notice businesses that really should have Social Media outreach, but do not.  Businesses that are inherently Social by nature, like real estate offices,  large restaurants, boutique hotels,  book shops, and stores with multiple locations.  These establishments had red thought bubbles.    And I wondered, what is stopping them from joining what is essentially “Business 2.0: The Interactive Customer”?

The green thought bubble firms have obviously outsourced or assigned their Social Media internally and have made it a part of their marketing, customer service and branding efforts.   What are the red ones thinking?  That Social Media will go away?  That they cannot be bothered dealing it?  That they do not have the time to create and maintain a presence?   Because we can tell you with the utmost certainty that Social Media is here to stay — customers expect it and firms that lag behind or, worse still, ignore it,  will soon see the consequences of not moving forward with the rest of the world.  Move forward like business leaders did with other new means of communication as they were gradually introduced, such as radio, television, computers and the Internet.  Social Media is the next frontier and you’re either on the bandwagon or left behind.  So as we would post on Twitter: #justdoit via @Nike.