There was a great article on the American Express Open Forum for Small Businesses that provided some really interesting Social Networking statistics: Only 24% of businesses surveyed are seeing sales leads from social media. Why? They are simply not engaging and embracing Social Media as one of the most important tools in their marketing strategy.
One of the first questions JSN asks a prospective client of ours is : ”What is your business strategy to engage social media”. Our most frequently heard responses is “We aren’t sure” or “We don’t have one”. Social media isn’t going anywhere, so it is more important than ever to jump on the train so you’re not left behind.
A standout point in why a small business should immediately engage in some sort of social media strategy is the size. The smaller you are, the easier it will be to build your brand and engage your customers in a way a larger business may not be able to.
Since you’re working with a smaller customer base, you can also build customer Twitter Lists to separate different categories of customers into groups, which should help you offer more personalized customer service — something the big businesses don’t have the time or resources to support.
Here’s an easy example: Who are your most frequent customers? Make a Twitter List called “Regulars,” and add your regulars on Twitter to it.
In doing so, you’re associating patronage with prestige.
Firms like JSN can help you put a plan together. Even though you may not be sure how these networks are used, our expertise combined with your brand knowledge is what makes you successful online. Later this week, we will be introducing a Social Media RFP to our list of resources to help your business best utilize a service like ours. To read the complete article on why you should be using social media now, you can visit the Open Forum here: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/why-small-businesses-shouldnt-take-social-media-for-granted-jennifer-van-grove
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