When author and small business expert Steve Strauss was commissioned to write the third edition of the best-selling Small Business Bible, his publisher asked if enough had changed in the business world since the 2009 second edition debuted to warrant a new installment.
Short answer? Hell yes. “The only social network around when I wrote the last installment was Myspace,” he laughed when he stopped by FORBES this week to discuss the release and a new survey revealing new insights into the ways small businesses should (and are and in many cases aren’t) using social media in their marketing efforts.
“Hands down, the biggest mistake small businesses are making on social media is not using social media,” he says, pointing to a stat from the recent STAPLES study that found that while most small business owners want to use social (in fact, on a wish-list of small biz marketing entrepreneurs rank amassing
To quote Seth Godin, “How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of one of the greatest shifts of our generation,” Strauss writes in his book on the imperative for small business owners to embrace social. To that end, he shared with FORBES three clear-cut tips to make social make sense for every small business entrepreneur.
You could read them, or you could follow Strauss’s own example. For his own promotions as a small business owner (he is also the President of TheSelfEmployed.com), he cut the bullshit. “I hired a Millennial,” he says. The youngsters who eat sleep and breathe social media might not understand the vision of your business but they can save you the days, weeks and months it can take to embrace technologies. You can teach them about insurance sales in their down time.
Still, in the recent STAPLES survey 85% of small business owners who use social say they are the primary managers of their social accounts, which seems to indicate most enterprising entrepreneurs are DIYing. Since every penny counts, read on.
Love Just One
Strauss says a small business owner’s best bet is to choose a single social network (for our purposes we’ll go with
LinkedIn, he advises, can be the best for sourcing leads, or in the case of LinkedIn groups, for finding like-minded business owners who can help to problem solve. “You find a lot of common interests on LinkedIn,” Strauss says. “Many small business owners go through similar struggles and can benefit from talking to each other here.”
He says Twitter is a good first choice for professional service businesses. “For professionals looking to establish themselves as experts and thought-leaders it’s the place to be while Facebook definitely works best for the retail and hospitality sectors,” he says, particularly if your business does promotional offers. “Put the word free in a post and watch what happens,” Strauss laughs again. Into Pinterest? “For the female demographic or consumer goods there’s more engagement there than anywhere else.”
Set Realistic Goals
You’ve tried selling insurance via Twitter but gave up after weeks with no return on investment, you say? You’re not alone. It’s easy to grow disheartened or frustrated with new technology when it just doesn’t seem to be working. But from Strauss’s perch, most small business owners do themselves a disservice in two ways. One, by setting unrealistic goals (ie “I’m going to join Twitter and watch my sales skyrocket.”) or by looking for a return on the investment of time into social media too quickly.
So how long is too short? Strauss says six months is a realistic time frame to test whether a social media marketing campaign is working for your business. “Remember that you’re looking for long-term success,” he says. Building a reputation and a community around a brand online takes time.
As for goals, he says the more specific you are with yourself, the better. Rather than “build a community of loyal customers,” try “I want to add 100 Facebook fans each month and keep them engaged.” Instead of “Sell one million cupcakes via Twitter,” try “Send 10 messages a day to cupcake fans on Twitter and aim to convert five to followers.”
The 80-20 Rule
The 80-20 rule is commonly cited as one of the most important rules for using social media—but also one of the most commonly broken ones. We spend too much time sending messaging out about ourselves and our brands and our content that we seem self-absorbed and unaware of our audience and customers’ needs. For small business owners, this is critical, Strauss says.
“80% of the content you distribute via social should be about your customers,” he says. What they’re interested in, what their needs are and new solutions to their problems. “Only 20% should be about you and your business.”
What seems counter-intuitive is actually in keeping with another social media dictum: that listening is critical. You can’t engage new customers online or off until you know their needs (or pain-points). Does the 80-20 rule apply to listening as well, I ask Strauss? “Sure,” he says. “How can you sell someone something if you don’t know what they’re willing to buy?”
For more resources on social media marketing for small businesses, click here.
