Social Media and the Small Business
I’m really excited to moderate a rapid-fire small business panel at Blogworld on May 24th in New York City. We are going to dig into the challenges and successes of the small business, when it comes to social media communications. In preparation for the panel session, I was reviewing some interesting materials, and came across a great chart from the Vocus 2011 Planning Survey, which compared the size of the company’s revenues to its social media sharing and contributions.
What’s really interesting about the chart is the highest statistics of meaningful social media sharing or contribution run the gamut from the large billion dollar companies down to the companies that have revenues less than $1 million dollars. You would think that larger companies, with their deep pockets for marketing dollars, would be sharing or contributing significantly more than smaller companies. According to the chart, that is not the case.
You can check out the numbers on the chart, but here are a few highlights. According to the Vocus Survey:
- The revenue size shows that larger organizations are very confident in their social participation (sharing and contributing), with survey responses over 80%. However, small and midsized businesses follow close behind with 55% and 60%, respectively saying they are either sharing or contributing.
- There is greater confidence in social media maturity, particularly among small businesses, which is reflective that these organizations have changed their expectations of social media.
- Organizations are giving themselves high marks for social media participation whether they are large companies or smaller businesses, which shows the importance of sharing and contributing in the social landscape.
So, for all of the small business out there, you can use social media effectively and share and contribute with meaning. And, you don’t have to be a large company. Yes, it does it take time, resources, and a consistent approach. It also requires a strategy, proper planning and meaningful communication to engage audiences. But, you don’t need to spend millions on your social media outreach. I would recommend taking a realistic approach to what you are trying to achieve and setting the proper expectations in place with your leadership team. In order to set expectations, you may need social media education, which includes examples of what other companies are doing, especially the competitors in your industry.
Remember that social media has to be a part of a media mix to reach your constituents where they congregate, and to provide them with value at every touch point. I hope this information is helpful and gets small business owners motivated and looking at social media through a different set of glasses!
