Small Businesses: Use Social Media

From the buzz it generates, you'd think almost all small business owners would be actively involved in social media. But you'd be wrong.

This disconnect becomes clear in the latest Small Business Success Index survey conducted twice a year by Network Solutions (disclosure: they're a client of mine) and the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. While the SBSI showed an "almost universal awareness among small business owners of Facebook and Twitter" only 27 percent of the entrepreneurs used Facebook for business purposes, and a mere 7 percent were Twitter users. Linked In garnered 18 percent.

Despite the tepid survey results, Network Solutions is a big believer in the power social media has to impact business. To gain some insight I talked to Tim Kelly, Network Solutions' CEO and the company's Director of Social Media (known on Twitter as the Social Media Swami) Shashi Bellamkonda (@sashib).

And those small businesses who have tried social media often see results: 63 percent say it helped make their customers more loyal. Other say social media it has helped them:

1.     Stay engaged with customers.

2.     Build brand awareness.

3.     Identify and attract new customers.

So why aren't more small companies doing it?

More than half of small business owners (56 percent) worry that social media is too "time-consuming." Bellamkonda acknowledges that at the beginning, "it's hard for small business owners to keep up with their many responsibilities, without adding social media into the mix." But, he adds, "Rather than viewing social media as time consuming, you should integrate it into your marketing plan from the start. Once you become familiar with social media, you'll find it's an easy and affordable way to grow a loyal customer base, and more often than not, see that it's absolutely worth the time investment."

Bellamkonda believes the benefits are more than worth the time for small businesses. "If building a loyal customer base is a top priority (which it probably should be), social media is a great way to start. Its reach is immense with more than 500 million active users on Facebook and 1 billion tweets [sent] per week. Putting your small business out there gives you an opportunity to build relationships with your customer base, and allows customers to personally bond with your business."

Bellamkonda is a big proponent of Twitter, especially for dealing with customer service issues. "Twitter is fantastic because it's real time, and an easy way to [quickly answer] customer questions."

Even so, getting started with social media can seem overwhelming. Bellamkonda recommends starting slowly. "Ask your customers what social media platforms they use the most and start there," he says. "When you get a feel for your voice and presence on that network, you'll find it easy to expand to other platforms."

He boils it down to a 2-step process:

1) Listen. Where is your key audience online? Set up Google Alerts for your business. You'll begin to see where the conversations about your business are taking place. Listening helps you develop your voice.

2) Engage. Be sure you aren't just blasting out information and news about your business. Interact directly with your followers. Ask them what else they would like to see from you and your business.

Network Solutions CEO Tim Kelly puts it this way: "Social media levels the playing field" for small businesses, giving you "access to the exact same audience that the big brands" have. "No matter whether a business is large or small," Kelly adds, "you have to go where your customers are. Given the huge popularity of social media, odds are that's where many of your customers will be."

Entrepreneur and AllBusiness blogger Gini Dietrich, CEO of Arment Dietrich, recently put it in perspective: "This is not the Field of Dreams. If you build it, they will not come. Choose one tool, implement it into your overall business strategy, get good at using it, refine its use, and move on to the next one. And be patient. It does take time. After all, you're building relationships online. Online or off, relationships don't happen overnight."