Social Media and Small Businesses
When I spoke with Mindi McCreless, membership director of the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce, she said a lot of businesses were turning to social media during the recession. On top of having an informational website, social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter attract or maintain customers. Bankrate.com posted five social media tips for small business. A lot of these tips seem pretty intuitive, but are very important when trying to build up a loyal customer base:
- Use free sites: Bankrate has a point – why pay for a service that can alter the way you do business when you can get it for free? Many social media websites that garner a lot of attention are free, such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress and Blogger (a blog does count as a form of social media). The article encourages sharing important events like daily specials, discounts, and sales through these sites to their followers.
- Shift marketing costs to social media: It’s not just economically sound to do your advertising online – it’s also green. Stanya Doty, owner of a wine and high-end gift shop in Ohio, is one example of the type of success you can see through encorporating social media into your business plans:
In April 2009, she began promoting monthly wine tastings via a Facebook page for the shop that quickly attracted 100 members. Combined with an e-newsletter created using the do-it-yourself, e-mail marketing Web site Constant Contact, she keeps enough buzz going about her shop that her advertising budget for local print ads no longer seemed necessary. She usually sends out about 700 e-mails, with the response rate sometimes reaching nearly 50 percent. It sure beats a postal mailing.
- Do your own social-media optimization project: If you’re a florist, can people find you when they Google “florist Chicago”? No? Doing research in what makes your fellow florists more searchable online can increase your online presence and customer base, said David Spark,”founder of Spark Media Solutions, a San Francisco-based firm that helps companies tell their story through social media.” According to the article, Spark said blogs and newsletters increase the number of keywords associated with your business.
- Take social media to the next level: Put the social in social media – interact with your followers to create customer loyality or interest about your business. As Kortnee Doss, owner of Verse Chicago mentioned, it’s all about word of mouth.
- Use blogging to drive search results and help new customers find you: Traditional blogs are still helpful in getting the word out about your company. Design Dance Chicago began as a blog to get people’s attention, said owner Debra Guinta. Now it is used for class schedules, registration and studio news.
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