From MASHABLE:
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
Twitter (
). Facebook (
). LinkedIn (). MySpace (
). Foursquare (). Brightkite (). Posterous (). Tumblr (). The list of social networks and social media tools goes on and on, and as a small business owner, the biggest limitation you’ll run up against when planning to use social media is not likely going to be cost, but time. Utilizing social networks and web tools properly requires a significant time investment, both for learning how to use the networks and setting them up, as well as maintaining an active presence and building a community. Unlike corporations, most small business owners do not have the ability to hire a dedicated social media or online community manager.
How does a small business owner know where to invest their time and resources?
Talk to People
It may seem simplistic, but the best way to figure out where to put your social media energy is to talk to your customers. You probably already have a good relationship with many of your customers, so just ask them: “Do you use social media? Which sites do you use? Would it be useful for you if we started using those sites too?”
Asking these sorts of questions of your customers can be invaluable. You’ll learn which sites the people who buy from you use, and what uses of those social media products and services would be most useful to them. By spending a couple of weeks talking to your customers and getting their feedback, you’ll be able to hit the ground running and dive into social media already knowing that your time and resources will be well spent.
Do Some Preliminary Searches
Even after talking to customers, before you commit to putting a lot of time and effort into building your presence on a specific social media network, you should do some searches to see what’s out there. It’s possible that your customers are already on the network and talking about your business. And it’s probable that your competitors already have a presence there. Spend some time searching around the network or tool to see what’s there.
Start by searching for your company name. Are your customers already talking about you? What are they saying? The types of things they’re talking about might inform how you should utilize that platform. Next search for your competitors and evaluate how they’re using the platform. What seems to be effective for them? Is it something you can emulate? Finally, do some more general searches for keywords related to the product, service, or industry you’re in. You might be able to attract new customers through social media, but only if the people in your key demographic are using that social network.
Keep Communications Channels Open
Once you’ve committed to the social networks and social media tools you plan to use, you should keep the channels of communication open. Social media is all about conversation, so you should take advantage of that by continually striving to keep a finger on the pulse of your customers. Don’t stop talking to them, and make it easy for them to let you know when you’re doing something wrong, or if they have a suggestion of something new that you should be doing. By constantly reevaluating your use of social media, you’ll make sure that you’re never wasting your valuable time and resources on a network or strategy that won’t bring you an optimal return on investment.
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