Small Business Social Media

We hear everyday of how we can get small business growth from the use of social

Small business growth from the use of social media

you can get small business growth from social media

media, and most of us consider it free to use. Jeremy Morgan, senior vice president of marketing and consumer insights of Smashburger says “The common misconception about social media is that it’s free, Facebook and Twitter are free, but for small-business owners in particular, time comes at a premium.” Smashburger has gone from 3 locations in Denver, USA in 2007 to 150 USA wide, mainly the owners attribute this small business growth from the use of social media. So the warning here is to be careful to use your time wisely, it may be prudent to pay a consultant to get the best from whichever social media channels you use for your business.Laura Petrecca, from USA TODAY reports on the Smashburger example below.

Small Business Growth from the use of Social Media

Smashburger offers coupons and trivia contests for its 67,000 Facebook followers, replies to questions and complaints on its Twitter and Facebook profiles, and actively reaches out to bloggers who might write about the new Smashburger restaurants opening in their areas.

“The brand was really built on social media and PR strategies,” says Jeremy Morgan, senior vice president of marketing and consumer insights. “Social media is an opportunity for us to engage with consumers and have a conversation, which is different than paid media, when you’re just shouting through a bullhorn.”

Wielded wisely, social media can help a growing business boost brand awareness, improve customer relations, garner market research, even bolster sales. As the number of people using social media rises, marketing experts say it’s essential for even the smallest of companies to consider diving in.

“Everybody should take a look at it,” says Dan Galbraith, owner of marketing support company Solutionist and a National Small Business Association board member.

“Whether they chose to jump into social media or not is a question that only they can answer,” he says, but all firms should at least explore how social media could work for them.

It just takes a few clicks to potentiality connect with thousands of business contacts and customers, he says. In addition to networking, business owners can use social media to glean useful insights by reading comments made by customers, industry experts, even competitors.

Don’t think that you have to use coupons to get traffic, what to do is only limited by your imagination, here’s another tip, though adapt for your market.

They post customer recipes on their Facebook and Twitter profiles, offer trivia contests and T-shirt give-aways, and answer questions on how to buy, store and serve the cheese.

And how often do you need to post on social media

While marketing experts advocate joining the social-media conversation, most say that doing it poorly — such as combining personal and professional updates or not posting information consistently — is worse than not doing it at all…..

….She first suggests that business owners “baby step it out,” to see what feels comfortable to them and is do-able. Those who can’t contribute on a daily basis might want to hold off on creating a public profile.

I’m not so sure about having to post everyday, mainly my concern is that my followers will get sick of what I have to say. I know that I certainly don’t read all of what comes up on my personal facebook page, so others might be the same. My view is that quality rates higher than quantity. But that doesn’t mean I’m right 🙂

To Read more of the article and another example of small business growth by the use of social media click here

I was quite happy with my social media efforts for my kids shoe shop until I came across an article by James Debono which has got me thinking. Do I use social media in small business correctly and if not what should I be doing.

Here’s an extract from his blog

is this a marketing site or a social site?

Social media for small business should be more social and less about marketing. Those businesses that see it as another vehicle for advertizing their products and wares will find a very mute audience.

To make the most of social media, small business needs to have a complete change of strategy.

Apart from the fact that the facebook fan page was started as ‘that is what you do in business these days’ I am not doing a good job on the ‘social’ front. What I have turned it into is a place where I can contact customers quickly, at no cost, with what’s new in store and advising any specials. There is nothing social going on. So is it a bad thing that I’m not creating warm fuzzies with cutesy pics and sayings?

More from James:

Many businesses want to get involved in social media because they see it as a free means of marketing their company information. It is NOT!

Social media provides the unique opportunity to engage with mass audiences on a more personal level, which can help increase awareness, boost revenue, establish authority or create stronger customer loyalty.

Whoops, looks like I’m doing it all wrong. I am having real difficulty in thinking that my customers want to engage in a ‘more personal level’, or maybe it’s my own bias. Don’t get me wrong, Iike all the inspirational quotes and cute dog and cat pictures that I get from friends on my personal facebook page. I just think that there is enough without a shoe shop doing the same, I can’t see how it would establish my authority or promote customer loyalty. Or am I missing the boat? There must be a middle ground and the only way to find out is to test it.

The use of social media in small business will differ from industry to industry. I certainly don’t want to alienate my customers by posting too often, or not enough. So my plan of action over the next couple of weeks is to add a few little snippet’s here and there and try to be more engaging. Lets see if my valued customers want this sort of interaction by responding with posting comments and sharing.

click here for the small business help facebook page

Small Business Growth from the use of Social Media

How do you use Social Media in Small Business