using social media

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

Marketing benchmarks for small businesses are hard to find. Benchmarks for marketing, in this instance, is to compare what you are doing with others to find out what is considered ‘best practice’. So firstly consider where you are planing to spend your time, energy and money in marketing your business. Are you going to use Social Media and your website to bring in new customers in 2012? Then find out what others are doing in order to asses your strategy. Be mindful though, following others may not be the best thing for your business.

The following infographic looks at what other small businesses are doing in regards to marketing, social media and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on the net. See if what other businesses are doing aligns with your plans. Do you think that they are on the right track, do you need to adjust your strategy? These marketing benchmarks are easily to understand and follow due to the graphical format.

While blindly following the pack is not a suggested strategy, knowing what they are up to can give you tips of how to effectively use for marketing dollar. I hope these marketing benchmarks have provoked you into at least thinking about what your next step is.

Click here to visit the original source of this post

How do you use Social Media in Small Business

Small Business – Marketing Benchmarks for social media and websites