SMC of SLC

by Scott Cowley, SMC of SLC member

Social media for small business is awesome! It can quickly level the playing field with publicity, promotion, and market engagement at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing channels. I’m convinced that any small business that engages consumers with blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (among other platforms) will always win the battle for mindshare and market share over those that rely on traditional marketing alone.

What you often read about are the “Cinderella stories” of small companies that went from the bottom of the barrel to top dog using social media. What you don’t see are the countless times that social media fails in the small business arena. By fails, I mean that the business stops doing it or continues doing it with no real results. Often, this failure leads small business owners to become disillusioned with social media, which can put them farther behind the curve. And it’s such a shame, because social media has the greatest potential for small businesses.

So why does social media fail so frequently for small businesses? In my experience, here are some of the biggest reasons:

Failure to act. Social media may be free, but it takes time and many small businesses jump into it without recognizing the commitment or becoming familiar with the platforms first. There’s a definite learning curve and a consistent time investment required for writing blog posts, Facebook posts, Twitter posts, creating YouTube videos, etc. A business can’t just stick its foot in the social media game once a month and expect to be effective. Many treat it that way.

Failure to view social media as more than an advertising channel. There’s a time and a place for everything, including self-promotion, but too many company blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter streams are populated completely with advertising. That’s not social. That’s selfish. Even businesses should try to follow the “90-10 rule.”

Failure to target. Businesses may engage people with social media, but engage them in the wrong conversations. If you talk to anyone about anything and everything, you’re treating social media like a chat room. Social media should be tied to relevant business and conversation goals. Adding your voice to industry discussions establishes a business’s credibility. Helping individuals meet their own life goals and objectives through your products and services, and especially your expertise, helps both of you.

Failure to humanize the brand. Many companies act and engage as though the company is the human. This is the old media approach. Small businesses that are most effective at meeting business objectives with social media aren’t afraid to introduce people to the business and the people behind the business. When customers are friends with your employees, they’ll be repeat customers and advocates (which underscores the importance of hiring the right people).

Social media isn’t ideal for every small business, but it can work for many. It needs to be consistent, helpful, engaging, relevant to the business, and human to the public for it to succeed. Small businesses that learn how to do these things now can expect to be big businesses down the road.

About the Author: Scott Cowley does search engine optimization and social media for SEO.com and is passionate about helping clients catch the vision of how social media can be put to use. He enjoys making friends through SMCSLC and SMCUV and currently resides in Provo with his wife Kathy.