Can Social Media Help the Small Local Business?
The answer for just about any local business is yes. After all, so much local business activity is generated through word-of-mouth, and social media is the digital variation of this. The degree of success depends on a number of factors, including – the nature of your specific business, setting achievable objectives, identifying who your customers or prospects are, and where they “hang out” online. As with anything else, your execution and follow-through matter.
According to a recent Forrester Research study, 75% of Americans are spectators to what’s happening on social networks. And, while the big social networks (facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for professionals) are international in scope, they can also be quite effective on a local basis. You can find a host of local groups defined by location and interest on the big sites. Then you have sites like Merchant Circle and Yelp that combine local search with user-generated reviews and other social features. Or, sites like Meetup for local networking on a wide array of niche interests. Add to this, local social clubs, news groups and local blogs and you have a huge pool of options. You can even find local blogs by location with http://www.placeblogger.com.
The rules of engagement are basically the same for local and national social networks.
- You must have something interesting, useful or of value to share on a specific topic related to your business.
- You need to connect and engage.
- You need continuity.
- You need to establish yourself and your business as a respected and trusted source.
There are numerous success models such as local restaurants that Twitter updates on daily food specials, ice cream parlors with the flavor of the day and retail stores that notify customers that follow them of new arrivals and special sales. This applies to professional service providers as well, from local realtors to accountants to local attorneys who use these networks to establish a position of authority enabling them to garner referrals via digital word of mouth.
Before you enter the arena, do some research. Find out where your customers are, listen to them and follow their conversations. Check out how local competitors may be using social media as a marketing tool (e.g. you can use Twitter as a real time search engine – http://www.search.twitter.com – to see what’s going on in your area). Once you decide to jump in, don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t seem to be working – try testing different approaches. You will never know unless you’re willing to try.
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Posted on 15 September 2009 by Alan Hecht in Social Media