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How Can Small Businesses Get Started with Social Media?

Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends is arguably one of the most read and well respected online publications. Reaching over 300,000 readers per month, Campbell and her team continuously provide relevant and interesting content regarding the online world as it relates to small and local businesses. Small Business Trends helps its readers learn new skills, help with time management regarding social media, and get informed on new products. Anita Campbell kindly answered our questions about small businesses, how she sees them using social media, and her recommendations for getting started.

1. Tell us a bit about the background of Small Business Trends. Was it always internet/social media focused?

Small Business Trends has always been focused on providing online information. Traditionally we used blogs to do that, but in the past 18 months we’ve really taken on a lot more to do with social media. Rather than viewing our website as the sole destination to send traffic to, and where we wanted to focus all of our efforts, we saw that we had to have micro-communities or outposts on a variety of different sites. We need to be seen where our target audience is, which means reaching out on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

2. What do you see as the most effective social media platforms out there for small businesses?

I think it varies so much on the type of business you have, and if it’s business-to-business or business-to-consumer. The three big social media sites really are LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. LinkedIn is terrific for professional services since it allows you to connect with corporate executives and lets you establish your own expertise. Twitter is probably the most flexible and versatile of them all. I’ve seen it work very well for local businesses, online businesses, and e-commerce businesses. Facebook probably works best for business-to-consumers companies. It’s a very relaxed place and tends to muddy the lines between personal and business. It’s very much in keeping with people who are looking for something interesting for their personal lives or brands who provide them with information they can use in their everyday lives.

3. What are the common sentiments you’re hearing from small businesses regarding social media adoption?

I think the place of adoption has really increased in the past year and to some degree I attribute that to how big brands and visible media outlets are making the public aware that they’re on Twitter and Facebook. There is now a high level of familiarity with what these platforms are given that so many people are talking about them. It’s a real challenge for these small businesses though because getting started can be incredibly time consuming. You’re looking at either spending time or spending money to hire people to do it for you. That’s a real dilemma for small businesses.

4. What method do you think is the best way for small businesses to learn about the ins and outs of social media?

I really think the best way is to just setup an account. Pick Twitter and Facebook first and learn how to use them. And by this, I mean go spend time on them — jump around, read things, see what other people are doing. It really is one of the best ways to learn.

5. What are your thoughts on Foursquare and how do you see its adoption?

I think I’m having trouble seeing the widespread adoption in the near future of location-aware applications such as Foursquare. I understand the concept that customers could check-in with your business and could get a special deal, that’s where the real incentive lies. There’s something very clear that drives you to chat or see what people are doing on Facebook and Twitter. I think that the concept just has to be made clear and provide a benefit.

6. What three tips would you give to small businesses just getting started with social media?

First, I’d say sit down and try it out (again, starting with Facebook and Twitter). If you’re in some sort of professional or knowledge-based service, get on LinkedIn. Watch and learn, start interacting a little bit. Second is to schedule a specific time block for social media. If you don’t make it a clearly priority it never will become one. Maybe it’s 15 minutes a day that you spend during your coffee break. The last one would be to set goals for social media. Ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve from social media?”. Tie it back to your marketing strategy. This can help dictate which sites you should be on and which ones will wind up helping you out the most.

1 year ago 13 notes