Small businesses excel at forming connections with their customers and network. Well before the Internet and online social networks, small businesses had real life social networks where they probably knew just about everyone in their town or village. Being part of a community is still important for any small business, but the Internet and online social media allow the reach to be extended to customers and partners that would never have been reached otherwise.
I grew up in a small town. My dad owned a saloon. I’ve been thinking a lot about his social networks and how they relate to what I do online. Truth is what my dad did with his cash register I do with my computer … the biggest difference is the speed and reach of the Internet. And I believe that entrepreneurial view is what gives every small biz an advantage in establishing a web presence using social media tools – Why Small Town Small Biz Has an Advantage at Using Social Media Tools (Small Biz Survival)
Using social media to extend the community and network of a small business makes a lot of sense if you stop to think about it. A blog allows you to share your expertise, answer questions and provide information that your customers are interested in. Your website (or blog) is where you let customers know what they can purchase from you (and how). Various other social media are where you go to listen and converse with your customers where they are. To help you visualize specific social media, the article above uses some nice metaphors for LinkedIn (Chamber of Commerce), Facebook (company picnic) & Twitter (networking event).
In a lot of ways, small businesses are more equipped than larger businesses to use social media the way it should be used. Small businesses already have conversations with people and they know what their company stands for. They’ve probably also figured out (to a certain extent) how much personal brand combines with company brand. And since there are fewer people interacting on social media, it’s easy to understand corporate policies and be consistent in terms of dealing with customers. Small businesses are also more likely to be successful at forming personal connections online because they have a smaller, more intimate audience. These personal connections are likely to be more efficient and effective in terms of getting messages out and providing useful feedback (remember to listen and incorporate any feedback).
The obvious drawback for small businesses using social media is time. It takes a lot of time to interact and converse with people – online or off. But if you think about social media in the same light as in-person networking, the benefit of such time will probably be obvious.
What do you think?
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