Social Media and Small Business
For a small business owner, jumping into the social media arena can seem like a daunting task. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the number of social networks out there today, but they provide a huge opportunity for small businesses to create online chatter.
Based on the statistics, it appears many small businesses will be entering unchartered territories this year. A recent study released by Aberdeen Group (published by eMarketer), states that 63% of companies plan to increase their social media marketing budgets in 2009. And more than 600,000 small businesses will integrate social network services in the next year, according to the latest study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.
As many know, social media (SM) can help companies manage their reputation, get brand or product feedback, provide an opportunity to interact directly with customers and gather business intelligence.
Let’s just call SM the “buzz builder”. But, small businesses don’t have to engage in every new SM tool. By choosing a few, businesses can interact and engage potential customers about their product or service in the early-to-middle stages of their buying cycle. This is an opportunity to provide information that the buyer is searching for that will ultimately be used in their buying decision.
Before starting a SM campaign, though, know it’s a commitment of time, money and effort. It takes time for companies to build their online brand and to attract and engage an audience. Give yourself a media budget to include social networking. Traditionally, business owners have looked at set categories for allocating marketing dollars. With American’s spending more time online then in front of the tv, SM deserves its own category in the budget. Before jumping into a campaign, a business needs to select the right SM activities that best align with their goals. Businesses need to ask how much time can be invested, what channels should be used, who will conduct the campaign and what are the goals.
Keep in mind, the campaign shouldn’t take away from the way a business is run and take away from real goals at hand. SM is simply a tool to enhance business, not the only tool.
Now it’s time to do your research. Identify where your audience is online. See what your competitors are doing. SM listening is imperative. Don’t try the newest media tool online if your audience isn’t there. See what tools your competitors use and measure the effectiveness of those tools. Do your competitors Twitter, are they active on LinkedIn or do they have a blog? Seeing what your competitors are doing gives you a good launch pad to learn what is working and what isn’t.
