Small Businesses and Social Media

I have to admit, I go to my fair share of networking events, but not nearly enough. And here's why. A lot of small business owners go to them, too, and in a medium sized town, that can be a good thing because you'll get to know a lot of people who do business in town very quickly. BUT, they all want to figure out how social media can help their business. And by help I mean, generate sales.

So I get asked a lot for what is the equivalent of free advice. I don't mind, I really don't. I have a pretty standard answer I give, and that's to consult and pay someone who does it for a living. Much the same as my attorney or physician friends say to the random questions they get 'That sounds interesting, you should really make an appointment with a specialist in that field'.

So what is my stock answer? It's pretty basic, 'Wow, so you want to figure out which platforms will help you and how much time it will take? You should contact a couple of marketing firms and get a proposal to see what they think. I'd also be happy to create a proposal for you if you'd like to sit down for a meeting to discuss your goals'. The long answer is too long for a blog post, and at this point in the life of social media for business, too complicated for a one-size fits all answer.

The thing I find most interesting is many small business owners think, and truly believe, social media is the answer to slow sales. And if we sit down and discuss their goals and what their expectations of social media are, I also discuss some of the marketing fundamentals. If the business owner is selling a service, I will ask who their competitors are and if they know (or care) how much they are charging. If you're selling a service and you're over or under priced, that's something that could make for compelling content. You can tell the story of why. And sometimes products are easier. Have you priced it like everyone else has on the web. If not, is there something that differentiates your product in such a way as to make it worth the extra money. I very rarely encourage anyone to price up. It usually takes a very quick internet search for me to determine the small business owner has decided to ignore pricing fundamentals and have priced themselves out of the market.

These are the business owners who want to use social media as a sales pitch. We've all seen the ads pop up in our timeline or in the sidebar. The ones that say you can get this great discount on our product. And the person who sees it says, 'huh, that seems like a good idea. I wonder if I can get it for less somewhere else?' and then they use the interwebs and discover they can get the same product for much less. I've told a couple of small business owners recently to review their pricing strategy in light of the quick research I've done. The end result of social media is never useful for them and it never meets their expectations, so the ROI isn't there. Bottom line - if you price your product high, then pay for the ad either through Google or Facebook, what you make has to be more than you've spent. And the ad teams for Google and Facebook are good! They never promise any sales, they promise impressions or clicks and tell you what the average profit is. And it's all about advertising.

I encourage small business owners to view social media as a growth opportunity for their business, and to use it as an extension of their networking, but in a slightly more commercial way. When networking face-to-face, it's easy and natural to discuss what you are doing and celebrate your achievements. When networking online, it takes a little more thought. You don't want to be in your face with a buy this, it's the greatest thing ever mentality, but you also want to provide content in such a way that it illustrates your product or expertise. It should be good, compelling content that encourages conversation or delivers something useful (not just that you have a product offering or service).

But I do enjoy the conversations I have had. It's very enlightening to talk to people about their personal and professional opinions about Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Google+. I can't tell you how many people have told me they just don't get it or they don't use it, but are sure it will deliver something useful if they just found the time for it. Well, yes, time is the key. Own it, develop it and measure it. And remember that it won't happen overnight.

Social Media on a Solo Mission

Businesses come in many different forms, and they all address the moving pieces of marketing differently. Large corporations tend to rely on large marketing departments and medium sized businesses either farm it out or work with a smaller marketing department that's frequently also part sales. So what about the solo entrepreneur or the small business who maybe doesn't do a lot of marketing because they are more focused on word of mouth or referral only?

I can't tell you how many solos I've run into recently who have decided that part of their job is to tackle social media. My advice, just like handling PR, is hand that off to a professional. It's not their job to know how to do everything, it's their job to know how to manage based on results. Results are often referred to as ROI, or return on investment. So you sit down with a professional, one who keeps up with the way Google measures analytics, one who understands what sending a newsletter will do for you, what the content calendar is and what to expect from said newsletter, and that not every social media opportunity is necessarily appropriate for your business, and you work out a plan.

It's a full time job for most marketing professionals to keep up with everything, it's even more important to assess what you want from social media before you spend the time and resources on it, and it's certainly not something a jewelry designer should have to keep up with in addition to creating their vision and learning new techniques. For instance, Polyvore is a great social tool for designers, stylists and other professionals in fashion, but not great for someone in the music industry. It's that type of knowledge the solo who decides social media is 'easy' and something the should 'handle on their own' misses out on.

And then there's the time factor. It takes time to manage social media, much less build a lead generation campaign. The same solos I meet who tell me they should be able to manage this on their own, are the same ones whose favorite response to just about everything is 'I'm just so busy'. So yes, I am mystified about the goals and expectations they have, and conversely, I wonder if these are the same people who tell everyone they know that they 'tried social media' and it 'just didn't work for them'.

So my advice, if you are a solo business owner or have less than say, twenty employees, budget for a marketing plan, including social media. Go out and have it professionally done. When you get it, pay the bill, read the plan, and then assign elements of the plan a priority based on what the plan estimates the ROI is, and what you can reasonably do yourself or have a member of your staff do. Keep track of how well you managed to complete the elements of the plan and evaluate at the end of the year. I think you'll be surprised at how much time and dedication it takes, and what the benefits were.