Should Small Businesses Really Worry About Social Media?

While the simple answer to the question this blog post poses is ‘of course’, I know the Blogworld community wants more than that, right? You want to know why social media is important, what you should be worrying about and how you can possibly get it all done. Let’s start with the why. To find your audience. Most small businesses clientele are the average consumer. This means they are neither the richest or poorest 10%, they have a computer in the home and are probably among the 900 million+ people that are active insocial media on a regular basis. Next, let’s discuss the what. Measuring conversation, engagement and analytics. Learning what your customers are saying is key to figuring out how to improve what you’re doing and to add more customers to your current buyers. In order to accurately and effectively do any of this, you need to be worriedabout conversing with them. This means 70% conversation, discussion and engagement (ie: about them) and 30% promoting your business and links to your content (ie: about you). Finally, let’s cover the how. With a strategy team. No one can do social media alone. It takes understanding the unique dynamic, having the tools for the analytics and having brand awareness that is a combination ofyou and their expertise. The monetary commitment into social media will vary but there is no free way to get involved. However, it is important to know that social is less expensivethan a lot of traditional media forms which is why the barrier for entry is lower and therefore more reasonable for small businesses. Of course, all of this just grazes the surface of social media for small business…but you didn’t think I’d tell you everything, now did you? What struggles do you face in social media as a small business? I am happy to hear from the big businesses too! Hear a bit more about Kirsten’s topic and why she is pumped to attend BlogWorld Expo L.A. in November: Go to our YouTube channel to see what other