Social Media and Small Business. Part 2 (Or, as the French say, Part Deux)

This is the second installment in a series on how social media networking and small business can begin a beautiful and mutually beneficial relationship. I should apologize for the lack of activity on the Blue Bike blog, but now that the holidays are over I will hopefully be able to blog a little more consistently. Enough excuses, here we go!

Now that we have an idea of what social media is, we can begin to identify the different SM outlets that are currently utilized. For this discussion I'm going to limit myself to just Facebook and Twitter. These particular outlets have very different manifestations under the umbrella category we call "Social Media."

We can start with Facebook, which is a wildly popular Social Media outlet especially amongst twenty-somethings. In fact, users aging 35-54 only make up about 3.5% of all facebook users. People use Facebook primarily to connect with friends. Whether they are finding new friends on the internet, staying in touch with people from their past, or connecting with the people currently in their life, the common denominator is networking with those we consider to be friends. Lately there has been a growing trend on facebook for users to network, promote and market their businesses. Scott Scheper does an amazing job of articulating the differences between facebook and twitter in his post, The Misunderstood Uses of Twitter and Facebook: Are you a Friend, Follower or a Fool? in which he say's that Facebook's main purpose is focused on "furthering and cultivating relationships with already established friends." The small business person can utilize Facebook for more than simply connecting with already established friends. Facebook offers you the ability to connect your pre-established friends with your business. It is not, however, the place for bombarding your friends with a myriad of sales pitches, specials and business updates. That's annoying. These are your friends, not necessarily your customers. The most beneficial way for your company to use Facebook is informing those people who would probably have no real reason for visiting your company's website. Why? Because these are your friends, they are the people who will recommend your company to others when the opportunity presents itself. The more information your friends have, the better they can refer your company. 

Twitter is one social media networking venue that is somewhat unique, in that the user is asked, "What are you doing?" But the user is limited to 140 characters within which to say what they are doing, which has been so aptly coined as micro-blogging. The use of Twitter has spread like wildfire within the business community over the last year or so. The reader might ask; "What makes Twitter so popular with businesses?" There are numerous benefits for businesses that use Twitter, so many in fact that there are countless blog posts about the very topic. The difference lies in the nature and use of Twitter. The primary drive behind Twitter is networking. You are able to increase your brand's awareness and network across the country (shoot, worldwide even) with people you have never met before. As Scott Scheper says in a post entitled, The Misunderstood Uses of Twitter and Facebook: Are you a Friend, Follower or a Fool? "Simply put, Twitter doesn’t position itself as a valuable use of time unless you’re a workin’ (wo)man. Twitter is a refreshing approach to social networking that benefits freelancers, designers, writers and people in the work-force."

Hopefully you now have a better understanding about a couple of the Social Media outlets available to you. As we continue our discussion about Social Media and Small Businesses we will address the particular benefits that come with the use of Social Media Networking. Stay tuned folks.

Small Business and Social Media. Part 1

This is the first part, out of a yet-to-be defined number, in a series of posts on introducing small business to social networking and how it can be beneficial for business growth. Stay tuned and it will hopefully be useful and on the verge of entertaining.

Social Media has become somewhat of a buzzword lately, or "buzzphrase," if I may, but has yet to fully infiltrate the ranks of the small business folk's vernacular in a truly substantial way. In an even less notable way, social media  has been found void in the marketing and advertising expenditures for a multitude of small businesses. With a quasi-shaky economy and the proverbial tightening of belts around the waists of marketing budgets, it's a totally logical step that "marketing professionals," (yes, I do realize that I, myself, fall into the category "marketing professionals," which I apologetically admit is laden with a young-gun, snooty and condescending undertone) are beginning to rethink the largely outdated models of yesteryear. So, the fact that social media has become a phrase that is buzzin' around  many of the communities in the business world, and perking many folk's ears, doesn't mean social media is brand-spankin' new. It just so happens that social media has been in place for a good while. But those who have continued to utilize the defunct marketing model have recently paid more attention as they look for a relatively free marketing option because of those tightened budgets. As a side note Beth Harte and Geoff Livingston co-authored a good, and funny, post about new social media "experts," called Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert is a Carpetbagger

But what does this mean for the small business owner? Well, before I begin to address the benefit of Social Media Networking for small businesses, I want to define Social Media Networking as "communication online." Pretty simple, huh? Well, sort of . . . For so many small businesses in the U.S. today the only online presence utilized is a mediocre, static-website and little-to-no user interactivity. I understand this dilemma, websites that are more creative in nature and more exciting to visit can get very expensive, which is not easy to fit into the budget for a small business owner. Social media networking/marketing offers small businesses a stepping stone towards overcoming the small business web-dilemma. 

In the days and weeks to come I will be introducing a variety of social media networking outlets for small businesses, demonstrate the multitude of ways social media can be beneficial to your business and brand, and a primer discussion on how to effectively participate in the social media networking community.

Get excited to shift gears!