Introduction: learn by example
Lucia has finally started her business and now she has to make herself known.
Álvaro wants to improve his Portuguese before his next holiday in Brazil, but there is no language school near his home.
Catalina returns home after spending a year abroad and wants to keep in touch with all the people she has met during these months despite the distance.
We could all be Lucía, Álvaro or Catalina at some point in our lives.
Hyperconnectivity
But like everything else, starting to use something new is scary. And with the speed at which technology advances, we can even feel dizzy.
Lucía, Álvaro and Catalina have known how to ride a bike for years, so they are at ease with the new challenges ahead of them. But… What do bicycles have to do with Instagram, Duolingo or WhatsApp? I invite you to read on to understand the relationship between learning to use digital channels and riding a bicycle!
The purpose of using digital channels
Anyone who wants to start using digital channels should be clear about their goal. Continuing with the examples from the beginning, Lucía wants dissemination / e-commerce, Álvaro distance learning and Catalina communication / social media. Being clear about your goal will give you stability to move forward, like when you start pedalling.
Once the first point has been clarified, it is very important to choose the platform that best meets these objectives: should Lucía set up her own e-commerce or sell her products through third-party websites? Nowadays, the options are endless, and although this can be overwhelming, it also ensures the availability of a solution that is well suited to your needs. Today there are as many digital platforms as there are suspension types, shifting systems, frames and brakes. With a clear objective in mind (business outreach or cycling the Camino de Santiago), the key is to choose the right facilitator for your journey.
That we learn by observation is an indisputable fact. Understanding how other more experienced people with similar goals to ours use digital channels gives us guidance on how we might approach our challenge. Álvaro was surprised by the progress one of his colleagues made last year with English… Did he attend a language academy or does he instead take advantage of bus journeys to participate in conversation groups via an e-learning platform? Just as we watched our older siblings get on their bikes and start pedalling, we can look to people with similar concerns and adapt their method to our own particular case.
If observation is a clear key learning method, practice and experimentation is one of the best resources we have when it comes to gaining experience and improving. Nobody learns to ride a bike if they don’t fall off. But neither does anyone learn unless they get back up and try again, this time, doing something different. That’s how each person finds the method that works best for them and that’s how Catalina decided to switch from Instagram to Reddit as it wasn’t such a widespread social network among her friends in the country where she did the exchange.
Keep up to date. It’s true that they say that once you learn to ride a bike, it’s something you never forget. But clearly, if you don’t practice it, getting back on a bike after many years of not riding can be difficult. Technology and digital channels change rapidly so make sure you don’t rely on having something that already works for you. Because a solution could emerge that sharpens your target and allows you to increase the quality of the result or reduce the time spent to achieve it.
Last but not least, use experience. While digital channels will help you achieve your core objective, they can bring a multitude of ‘secondary’ benefits that can make your journey much more enjoyable.
Thus, Lucía, thanks to digital channels, will not only make her business known, but she will also find a new partner that perfectly complements her service. Álvaro will find a new job opportunity thanks to the networking of the language platform, Catalina will find a group of ‘Kubb lovers’ with whom to meet once a week to practice the sport that she became fond of during her stay abroad and that she misses so much and, whoever decides to do the Camino de Santiago by bike, will not only get to Santiago, but will also enjoy the ride, connect with other cyclists and make one of the experiences that, like riding a bike, will never forget in life.
Remember, no one is born knowing! Every pedal stroke will take you forward, so focus on pedalling and you will move forward. Once you have a rhythm, and you are always moving, you will orientate your movement towards more concrete objectives than just ‘moving forward’. Keep going!
