Back in 1966 John Lennon was quoted as claiming that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. By this he meant they had more fans than there were Believers.
I have no idea of the numbers then but, according to Wikipedia there are roughly 2.4 billion in the world today.

“Please Please Me” and follow and like and connect …
Although that number is crazy high, these days it’s not as unattainable as it once was on a fan level to be huge Across The Universe.
For example, on the 30th May 2014, YouTube announced, on Twitter, that Gangnam Style had reached 2 billion views. Today, on Facebook, Cristiano Ronaldo has around 105 million likes and on Instagram Kim Kardashian has around 25 million likes.

https://twitter.com/YouTube/status/472584520597008384/photo/1

The difference being that back in the ‘60’s all we had then was black and white TV and newspaper ads and we were all lucky if we had around 10 people that knew of us, let alone actually liked us. Fast forward and we have the tools to be big if we want to.

“I Wanna Be Your Man” so just Google me
As a business, we can now get our message across much quicker and easier than even 10 years ago.
With a lot of tools being online, and a lot being free or low cost, everything is also much cheaper.

Before the bubble burst, I was easily earning a good few grand a week as a ‘freelance webmaster’ because the demand was high and the industry was new, now, obviously, the playing field has levelled out and you can set yourself up online for free if need be.
So, businesses need to be aware of what they can use to boost their exposure and be ready for the response.

Then, when I was working as a freelancer, word of mouth was the biggest pull and my mobile never left my side (obviously not so I could check emails and facebook every 2 minutes) just in case someone called.
We didn’t have Twitter, Facebook or even LinkedIn and so had to take a different route to ensure our message was received.

“All you Need is Love” and Twitter and Instagram and Facebook …
Now we have a ton of online options to getting heard but where does that leave us and where does one need to elbow into?
Well, that depends on your target audience.

Selling to teenagers? LinkedIn possibly isn’t the best platform.
Mums with a new baby, living in Gloucester aged between 23 and 37? Check Facebook.
And, of course, don’t forget that whatever you are doing, your competitors are possibly doing it as well so you need to be as professional as possible.

You do not need to be everywhere, but you do need to be where your audience wants to buy and you need to make it as easy for them to buy as possible.
Have you looked at your website from the POV of your customers? What usability tests have you carried out?

So, modern businesses have the tools, and the opportunity, to be bigger than the Beatles, but remember, you’ll be putting in A Hard Day’s Night working Eight Days a Week.

 
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