social media for small business

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

Is it time to look at the question, does my business need a website or facebook page or both? Can we do away with the traditional website and only be on facebook? There are actually a small number of businesses that have not bothered with a website have only a facebook presence. One young business owner I know of, that deals in Chinese takeaway food, insists that it’s target market does not bother searching on the internet, but uses facebook as a search engine. Their market is very much continuously on the go and uses facebook via their mobiles.

The detail that they would show in a website can be easily replicated in facebook. Maps, address, phone number, description of the business, opening hours, current specials, it’s all there and further tabs or pages can be added via 3rd party applications. You can also add a page to gather email addresses or phone numbers to add to your customer data base. Have you noticed these business fan pages with the extra tabs? If not, find some to see how they differ. For other businesses now there are even e-commerce shops on facebook. Tabs with business information, coupons and products including detailed descriptions and payment options which can be processed right inside facebook. So website or facebook page or both? [Read more…]

How do you use Social Media in Small Business

Small Business Help – Website or Facebook Page or both