I’ve been reading a lot about how social media is taking over the world and I have to admit, I agree. There are articles all over Entrepreneur.com, Inc.com, etc. talking about how we all need to be taking advantage of social networking. It was something that I knew was important and I even enjoyed submersing myself into these sites and getting involved in the conversations that were going on through the social web; however, I didn’t really realize just HOW important it was for small business owners and entrepreneurs. At least not until I started talking about it to my friend and colleague, Conrad Flynn.
Conrad is our in-house expert and a go-to resource for our clients when they want talk about matching their social media efforts with their business’s goals.
My friends, do you know just how important social media is for YOU?
A few years ago when social media first became “big” for marketers, people thought that if you had a larger company than you’d have a lot more power on the social web. That makes sense, it seems as though more people would advocate on your behalf but recently, it has become apparent that that’s not the case at all.
Conrad says that, “regardless of company size, we see the same effects in leads and sales. Between 40-50% of companies regularly acquire leads from social media networks they’re involved in.” Large companies may have more time and resources available but that doesn’t mean small businesses are at a disadvantage!
Even more interesting, a Gallup Poll in July of 2010 says that consumers have a great deal of confidence in small businesses! 65% of consumers gave the highest confidence rating to small businesses where only 19% said the same thing about big business.
Confidence means trust, doesn’t it? Conrad goes on to say that this is KEY because well, we can’t buy trust but we can create it by providing great CUSTOMER SERVICE. Which is true! When you’re doing business with a smaller company, you’re actually able to see the people behind the brand and as consumers, we trust people…not things!
Alright, so we see that entrepreneurs and small business owners aren’t at a disadvantage so, what now?
The biggest thing according to Conrad is that we need to be blogging for multiple reasons.
Companies that have blogs get pages indexed by google 430+% more than companies that don’t. That’s more than 5x as many as companies that don’t.
Companies that blog actually get 55% more visitors clicking on their links to come to their site.
Loyalty to the company increases drastically
The loyalty point is interesting because it ties in nicely with idea that small businesses are TRUSTED by consumers. Blogging is just part of the process now. It’s expected whereas a few years ago if consumers wanted to research a company, they would just see a traditional corporate branding website. Now, customers have the chance to interact with the company through their blog because to put it simply, a blog is a digital publication that allows responses. It’s updated much more frequently than a corporate branding website and consumers like to visit and link to blogs because they love fresh, current, and relevant content that they can participate in.
Alright, now you’re on board, aren’t you? So if you’re just dipping your toes into the social media water, what do you do now?
If you only remember ONE thing from this post, remember this line that Conrad said:
One of those powerful things about social media is that you can be anywhere but you don’t have to be everywhere.
Really excel at the things that align with your goals and don’t try to do everything if you don’t have the time or resources. Blogging is important but other than that, find out what social media networks work best with your target market.
HOWEVER, if you do have the time and resources then be present on multiple social sites. This enables your business to connect with people in the mediums that they prefer. There are a lot of consumers who just use Facebook, OR LinkedIn, OR Twitter but most people don’t do it ALL.
Conrad also talked about a concept he called, “Internet Marketing 1.0” which basically means the company has a website, a newsletter, and an email address. That’s it. My friend, you don’t want this! Most people don’t want to leave a message in a comment box or send you an email when they can connect with you on the sites which they prefer.
To sum it up, what’s important to understand here is that CUSTOMER SERVICE (the thing that builds loyalty and trust and transcends industries, products, and budgets) is the one even ground that EVERY SINGLE COMPANY of every single size can compete on. All you have to do is just follow through and be present.
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