Tag Archives: small business

February 17, 2012 · 3:29 pm

1 Way Small Business Can Easily Harness Social Media Power

The NFL and United Way have nailed it.  The theory is simple:  college students + smart phones + computers = brand connectivity to its target audience.

Mashable shared that the United Way is looking for social media interns to promote the philanthropic efforts of the 32 teams.  Actually, the interns will be called player promoters, not interns, as a perk.  They will be assigned a player — each who has his own social media following.  The interns are going to be responsible for creating social media strategies to reach the NFL player’s audiences.  These are unpaid positions, by the way.

The NFL knows what it’s doing.  It has more than 4.6 million people are NFL Facebook fans.  And they have 2.8 million followers on Twitter.  [Check out the complete story:  http://mashable.com/2012/02/16/nfl-social-media-player-promoter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29].

There’s a big lesson to be learned here for small businesses just wading into social media.  Many smaller to mid-size corporations feel they don’t have the manpower or budget to delve into the social media world.  Some even feel they don’t know how to manage the technical side of social media.  Well, there is a gold mine of knowledge — and hunger for a job in this economy — at your neighborhood college.  

Develop your goals and social media path, then tap a few college students to be interns to carry it out for you.  You’ll find that they are quick, have great ideas and can create other opportunities for your brand.

And no, you don’t have an NFL team or player to attract a student to work for you.  But you have plenty to offer — whether it’s experience or a paycheck or just a chance to work with your brand.

 


 

 

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June 22, 2011 · 4:50 pm

Using FourSquare To Your Advantage

Sometimes I think — why write  post when someone else said it better?

So check out this article from The Wall Street Journal.  Great thoughts about using FourSquare — especially in a city where people pride themselves on being on top of the latest trends.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703545604575407123264092684.html?mod=WSJ_SmallBusiness_sections_usingTechnology

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April 29, 2011 · 8:09 pm

4 Media (Social & Traditional) Things to Remember

It’s been a busy week of news and business.  It’s always good to take a moment and think about what you can learn from it.  Or, better yet, how it reinforces what you already know.  Here’s four I can share — what about you?

1.  Celebrities still rule.  As much as corporations are trying to steer away from using celebs as spokespeople — the average person still pays attention to the celeb.  Especially online.  Celebrities are aspirational in a tough world right now.  And, if you look at the online records broken (streaming and others) by the marriage of Prince William and Kate today — you could say they’re “hopes-perational.”  Many people still believe in the fairy tale…and hope they live happily ever after.

2.  If you build it; they will come.  But not instantly.  As much as the world tuned in via their computers to watch the royal wedding; many are not sure how Social Media works.  Yes, they can talk a good game,  throwing out phrases like:  did you see that YouTube video that’s gone over-the-top viral this week?  Sounds like success, but not every video is a viral homerun (in fact, the average YouTube video gets about 12 views).  And an overnight viral phenomenon is rare.  You need a strong campaign to push it through.  Be strategic, then patient.

3.  The Social Media Fab 4 aren’t for everyone.  Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube are on everyone’s minds.  And all four can play a role in your business.  But small business should choose wisely, since it takes a lot of push-pull of other activity to drive consumers to you.  Evaluate the right strategies for your budget.  Don’t be pushed into something you can’t keep up with — or consumers will see that right away and it will become a negative for you.

4.  Email is still king (queen?) for women.  As much as the world is now  smaller because we’re all connected on Facebook and other social networking sites, women — and Mom’s in particular — still rely on their own circles via email.  So even if buying an email list sounds antiquated — it isn’t.  It’s a direct line to Mom.

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April 22, 2011 · 4:42 pm

Three Ways Small Businesses Can Start Social Media

This week I listened to several comments about Social Media from small business clients and prospects.  Summed up, they were all commiserating:  they felt forced to join the Social Media world, yet didn’t know where to start, or who should handle it.

And they’re right on one level — managing your business through Social Media is price of entry now.  It’s expected by consumers and considered a right.  A right that can boost your business exponentially with fans.

So, how do you get past that “have to do it” feeling, when you want to focus on what you do best — running your business?  Here’s three tips:

1.  Think of Social Media as a selling opportunity.  You’re always looking for new ways to attract consumers/customers — this is one of them.  Reframe your attitude to motivational.  Move from “this is an extra thing I have to do today” to “this is a new opportunity to sell more products or services.”

2.  Stop thinking this will be expensive.  Social Media is tremendously cost-effective.  In fact, that’s how small to mid-sized brands are making their marks and competing with big brands.  Your actual costs for Facebook ads or video production can be very reasonable.  You may simply need to re-prioritize your advertising/marketing spend.

3.  Surround yourself with experts.  As we all know, a smart CEO surrounds him or herself with people who know more than s/he does.  The same thing applies to Social Media.  Now that doesn’t mean you need to hire a full-time staffer (maybe some day) or team.  Instead, think of hiring a Social Media consultant to work with you to develop your Social Media strategy and content — and ways to measure its effectiveness.  That can be a reasonable, one-time cost for this year.

Then delegate the execution to an employee or among employees.  You’ll find that you have experts you didn’t know you had.  It could be your receptionist or a sales clerk.  If you don’t have that internal luxury of adding to an employee’s duties, hire an intern.  Simply snatch an avid social media user from your local college (at minimum wage, for example) and use him to implement your strategy.

There’s your start, with minimal investment — time or monetary.  You can grow from there.

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