Sometimes I think that social media is misunderstood. People talk about is as if it were a new “tech” thing, a fad, something that only “geeks” will enjoy and that it’s better to leave it alone. It’s feared, because some people consider it a new way for “kids” and “stay at home moms” to exclude themselves from society and be in front of the screen all day.

To these people I say: there’s a reason it’s called “Social” Media. That social part is the key. It’s not something that people do looking to stay away of interaction, it’s something that people do because they need even more interaction. We need communities, we need belonging, and on top of it all, we need real contact. Social media can help with all that.

Consider a site like MeetUp! What this site is doing is using the right tools, building the right buzz and taking advantage of the possibilities that today’s connectivity allows to build thousands and thousands of communities in real life. Anyone with an interest for, let’s say, Los Angeles Lakers, can start his own get together and meet many others with the same interest. These people use the tool, the “social media” part, to get to know each other and connect with like-minded people in a real way. That’s as human and social as it gets.

For example, once I went to a meet up called “Spanglish”, held here in Buenos Aires. The idea of this meet up was to connect people that spoke Spanish who wanted to practice their English with people who spoke English and wanted to practice their Spanish. It’s really nice for everyone to take the online personality and put it in a real face. What’s interesting if you are a company is the endless possibilities that these sites bring to you if you reach out to the people using them. In the case of Spanglish, they offered us a tour, some coffee, and some other touristic things for a price. We all went and had a blast.

Hear me on this: when the event is social, the price is never that high. People love the gathering and meeting of new people too much to be analyzing every cent.

So, what is the lesson here? Do some research, figure out where the people that you are trying to sell to are meeting, and see how they are connecting through social media. Look for communities, where people with similar interests gather and talk to them. Maybe you can sell them transportation, maybe you can provide them with some products for them to distinguish their community, maybe offer them a touristic package of activities, the opportunities are infinite. It all depends on the community and the value that you can provide for them. Whatever it is that you end up doing, the important thing is to always remember that, for regular people, social media ends up being “real and social” at some point. Be there, show up, and profit will come.

Carlos Miceli. Argentinian. Questioner of things. OwlSparks’ blogger. Freelance writer. Entrepreneur. Every day philosopher. Skill learner.

Tags: applications, community, Social Media, Strategy, the right way