Written on March 18th, 2010 at 12:03 am by Darren Rowse
30 Valuable Lessons Learned Using Social Media for Small Business
In this post Mark Hayward shares some great tips on social media for small business.
Image by jn is not here
Do you own a small business? How long have you been using social media as a marketing tool and what have you learned?
In a little over a months time I will have owned my business for just about three years. When I began using social media some thirty six months ago, I had no real marketing background experience, and I certainly had never written a blog post, interacted in a forum, or sent a Tweet.
My social media evolution began with a simple foray into blogging as a way to try and rank well for some keywords related to my business. From there I expanded to niche forums, review sites, FLICKR, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Man! Just trying to keep up can be intimidating and overwhelming.
However, my number one goal has always been to create a distributed social media footprint with all of my online marketing activities pointing back towards my small business website.
After almost three years of working hard, learning continuously, making lots of mistakes, and monitoring successes, below are thirty valuable social media marketing lessons that I have learned through my experience. I hope they help you:
1. Location is dead. We have now fully entered into the Interaction Economy.
2. It does not pay to engage in ‘pissing contests’ on business review sites or in forums.
3. When used properly, a small video camera like a Flip and a standard digital camera (or just an iPhone), can be like having your own marketing department.
4. Instead of trying to be everywhere in the social media space, determine what online activities work best for your business and focus your attention there.
5. Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is important but it needs to be combined with a well distributed plan for Search Engine Visibility (SEV).
6. Conceptualizing and then defining your social media goals can help to keep you on track.
7. Social networking sites can be a tremendous time suck. Use a site like Egg Timer to help limit the time you spend interacting online.
8. Get to know the online influencers in your small business niche, as well as, the social media pros.
9. There is gold to be mined with Twitter Search if you are willing to use it to listen, engage, and provide value.
10. Uploading well titled and tagged videos to YouTube and photos to FLICKR can drastically improve your Search Engine Visibility.
11. Consistent small business blogging pays the greatest returns.
12. Technology changes daily. Read often.
13. You should not fear customer review social sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. Rather, you should embrace them.
14. Helping people online when they least expect it can bring you great rewards.
15. Even on your worst day, you have to remember that every interaction counts.
16. Spamming and jamming your business down the throats of potential customers only drives business away.
17. Not everyone is going to like you, so be prepared to get flamed and read negative reviews.
18. Turn negative reviews into a positive by using them to help better define who your ideal customer is.
19. Your backstory matters and weaving it into your online business persona is important.
20. Social media is a lot like exercise. Doing a little bit consistently everyday will produce better results than one eight hour marathon session per month.
21. The people who criticize you the most for using social media to promote your small business are the one’s who are most afraid of embracing change.
22. One of the easiest ways for small business owners to measure social media ROI is to ask every customer how they heard about your business.
23. When starting your social media marketing efforts for your small business you will get frustrated. Try to keep a long term outlook like six months to a year.
24. Don’t discount the power of niche forums that are related to your small business.
25. Use Google Alerts to see who’s talking specifically about your business and anything related to your business.
26. If you are using social media as a customer service tool, when something goes wrong (and it always does!), being sincere, humble, and apologetic will be greatly appreciated by your future potential customers.
27. Utilizing free email lists like Help A Reporter Out (HARO) can help you find valuable public relations and news opportunities for your business.
28. Social media in the short term does not work. You must be in it for the long term and be persistent, consistent, and committed.
29. Anyone who owns a small business can ‘do’ social media, but NOT everyone ‘does’ it. (And that is your true competitive advantage.)
30. If you have a spare hour or two everyday to aimlessly surf the net, or sit and watch T.V., then you have more than enough time to commit to using social media for your small business.
How long have you been using social media for your small business? What have you found works best?
Mark Hayward hates the snow and cold! Luckily, he owns a small business in the Caribbean. Mark is passionate about helping other small business owners avoid the online mistakes he has made. You can follow Mark on Twitter @mark_hayward and you can subscribe to his RSS Feed for weekly small business social media marketing tips.
98 Responses to “30 Valuable Lessons Learned Using Social Media for Small Business” - Add Yours
Anne Lyken-Garner
March 18th, 2010 12:50 am
I definitely agree. I particularly liked the tip about engaging in social media a little a day rather than marathons once in a while.
Thanks for a very useful article.
Keith
March 18th, 2010 12:51 am
“4. Instead of trying to be everywhere in the social media space, determine what online activities work best for your business and focus your attention there.”
I wasted 6mos of my 2+yrs in social media trying to get involved in every site that launched. Concentrating on just a few now, I am able to be where I need to be, when I need to be there.
Doug McIsaac
March 18th, 2010 1:02 am
Great tips, there’s more valuable information in this set of tipes than in most of the courses being peddled by the social media guru crowd.
In my opinion, the biggest secret to social media success is getting started and being “cool.” If you wouldn’t like someone else to do it then don’t. If you think it would be great if someone else did it then do it.
Like #28 says it’s an investment — I compare it to working out. You need to keep at it and do a little bit every day and eventually you’ll start to see amazing results. But also like working out if you miss a day or two you start to lose what you’ve gained rather quickly.
Doug
brenda
March 18th, 2010 1:03 am
Great post I really enjoyed it.
Ryan Frusti
March 18th, 2010 1:08 am
Great article Mark, I got started in this social media world only within the last year. As an owner of a finish carpentry and design company. I find the ability to share photo’s and comments about our current projects instantly to an audience of “friends” on Facebook is absolutely amazing. I love small business and keeping up with those trends. It has been a slow integration process with website, blog, Facebook, and now twitter. So much to learn and share! Thanks for your insight, keep up the good work!
Gayle Pescud
March 18th, 2010 1:13 am
Oh this is excellent, thank you Mark. I responded “yes” to virtually all this, but the analogy that using social media is like exercise struck me as most similar to my experience. You have stick with it, practice it, sometimes fall off it (hopefully not as often as I fell off a treadmill), and experiment to work out what works for you. It’s not a “get there fast” rocket answer to marketing.
Twitter dumbfounded me until the day I put a small tweet out about needing to connect with an Aussie farmer who blogs to interview them for Blog Action Day last year in October. The theme was climate change. I was interviewing farmers in Ghana already, where I live, about their experience and I wanted to compare their existence with that of industrialised farmers who had access to education and knowledge of climate change, but also blogged! Within a day tweet people responded. Within 4 days I had a network of contacts in Australia and the ABC (national broadcaster) put an announcement out across rural Australia and that night I had myself a farmer who blogged!
All that from a room in the far north of Ghana! That’s when I finally understood the point of twitter. It took me months to get to that point! It was very frustrating, initially, but it’s worth sticking with it to see results–just like the gym.
No pain (or sweat in my hot, tropical case), no gain.
Melissa
March 18th, 2010 1:14 am
I just started using social media a couple months ago so I’m still new. Thanks for the post. I will keep the lessons in mind.
Darius Stone
March 18th, 2010 1:15 am
Interesting article.
I’ve only just started blogging professionally in the last 3 months and I agree that being strategic and having a long term view makes using social media more productive.
It’s important to be disciplined and to focus on the most productive channels that give you the best returns.
What I’ve also found extremely important is branding. I apply the same branding features in all social media channels that I use and it helps in promoting my brand out there.
IPBrian
March 18th, 2010 1:35 am
Some great tips Mark, though I think you could probably expand on each of these to full length topics. There are some great thoughts, but I would love to hear more robust examples of each experience. Future post possibilities?
Michael D
March 18th, 2010 1:40 am
Great list. Addressing #30 specifically. That is exactly where I found the “extra” time to devote to my business. Turn off the TV, disconnect the cable, and use that time to put into action the 29 other tips on this list.
Jeff
March 18th, 2010 1:43 am
This is a very solid list Mark. I found 14 and 15 to be really sound advice. Sometimes when your having a 15 day, a 14 moment can turn it around.
All the Best,
Jeff Hood
Sue Norton
March 18th, 2010 1:57 am
Thanks for the great advice! I am just starting my journey into social media so I’m sure it will be valuable information going forward.
Nate @ Practical Manliness
March 18th, 2010 2:14 am
Additional Tip: Don’t spread yourself too thin. If necessary focus on really using a few social networks rather than half-heartedly using every network.
Thanks for the great post!
Meredith
March 18th, 2010 2:17 am
Thanks – I plan to forward this list to my business partner, it will be a great conversation starter for us.
Meredith
Mark_Hayward
March 18th, 2010 2:19 am
@anne -glad you enjoyed the post. I’ve tried doing social media both ways (marathon sessions & little bit per day) and I just find I get much better ROI with a little per day.
@gail – yeah, it took me a while to get Twitter sorted too! If you need sources again, you might want to give HARO a try. :-)
Heather Allard
March 18th, 2010 2:21 am
Hi Mark,
Thanks for sharing these great tips.
I recently implemented #4 and #9.
#4 I ditched my Facebook Fan Page and my LinkedIn page because I just wasn’t utilizing them and felt bad leaving fans and connections in “limbo”. Now I focus on my blog and Twitter and it’s working well.
#9 I discovered something on Twitter and decided to use Twitter Search to see if there was more of what I discovered – sure enough, there was and I turned what I found into an information product called Get Famous Fast. :D
Thanks again!
Heather
Mike Stenger
March 18th, 2010 2:37 am
Great tips Mark, seriously great list. There’s a ton of things I could add but I don’t want to take up too much space and bore people to death ;-)
One thing I will do is go a little bit farther on using Twitter search. It’s great but there’s much better tools out there and more productive at that. I like using Twazzup or Twitterfall and you can reply, retweet, auto-load, and all sorts of things, all from the same page.
Kim Doyal - The WordPress Chick
March 18th, 2010 2:38 am
Hi Mark,
While each point resonated with me, I’ve seen the best results from consistent blogging (when I’m being consistent :-) ).
The key word being consistent, huh? That’s been my biggest challenge with social media!
Numbers 6 & 7- setting goals and using a timer are great starting points for me to become more consistent with social media!
Great post…thanks!
Kim
Mark_Hayward
March 18th, 2010 2:43 am
@mike – thanks for the tips on Twazzup or Twitterfall. I pretty much run everything through TweetDeck but will definitely give your suggestions a closer look!
@kim – consistency is a big one for me too. I try to get one small business blog post written per week, but if I go more than two or three weeks without posting, I try not to use that as an excuse to give up.
Z'da
March 18th, 2010 2:49 am
wonderful lessons. thank u 4 sharing. correct on all fronts and one has to use time to their advantage. perhaps it’s worth it to train someone to help you with conversation marketing, that is, someone who can reply to the generic and once per day you can scan your social streams and respond accordingly.
i have a physical egg timer to keep me on track. thank you for sharing e.ggtimer.com … wonderful to use when i’m not working in my office w/o my egg timer :-)
Ed Peterson
March 18th, 2010 2:53 am
Great post – key line for me is “Anyone who owns a small business can ‘do’ social media, but NOT everyone ‘does’ it. (And that is your true competitive advantage.)”
Thanks.
Ed
EF Cussins
March 18th, 2010 2:57 am
I am only a beginner, but everything I have read in this post is what I have been experiencing.
Michelle
March 18th, 2010 3:31 am
I love this post….You really brought it home and helped me to truly realize and appreciate that my efforts are working. I have gained 3 clients as a result of Twitter and I work hard at NOT spending too much time but enough. I spend more time completing social media tasks for others…and it does pay off. Thank you for writing this!
Zach Jordan
March 18th, 2010 3:32 am
Great post Mark! You’re definitely correct about technology changing; if you don’t like it today wait until tomorrow because there will be new platforms and tools coming into the fold. I would be interested to know your top 5 consistently relevant and informative news/tech blogs you turn to on a weekly basis.
Thanks!
Zach
Mark_Hayward
March 18th, 2010 3:51 am
@Keith – great point! Spreading yourself too thin is a recipe for certain disaster…
@Ryan – awesome to hear that you are using social media for your carpentry and design business! What percentage of your customers would you say come from Facebook?
Dave Higgs
March 18th, 2010 4:36 am
Thanks for another great post Mark.
I am new to both blogging and social media (in fact it is part of my “therapy” to stop living in the dark and being fed pizza from under the door. :)
I am going to try video next week. Small steps :)
Point 29 is going to be a challenge.
Thanks for the help.
Sara Hardin
March 18th, 2010 4:38 am
I have found that google alerts and twitter searches are hugely valuable.
Make Money Online
March 18th, 2010 5:28 am
I have been using twitter for a little more than a year and found out quickly quite a few people did not like me (your #17) I actually stopped posting to twitter after being told I was boring or if I mentioned one of my websites that I was working on I quickly became a spammer. This drove me nuts because all I do is work on blogs, forums, websites, ect so thats what I posted. I found that after a while the flame stopped and the followers that stuck around really liked knowing what websites were coming up.
I also really like your #28 I tried social media for a short time and found no results it took around 6 months of real networking before I started to see the pay offs and had quite a few online people that I could rely on. Anyway I really enjoyed your post very good tips.
Kris,
Elizabeth Ashe
March 18th, 2010 5:55 am
I so totally agree with everything that you have said. It takes time to build a business and the internet has changed everything is now more social interactive. The egg timer is brilliant and everyone should use one so that they can monitor there time truly.
Nick's Traffic Tricks
March 18th, 2010 6:52 am
Great list of tips! Sound like something Seth Godin might have written.
The best thing about social media is that it lowers the interaction barrier between business and clients and potential clients.
Kevin
March 18th, 2010 7:32 am
I started my site a few weeks ago and have been engaged in consistent social media every day (no more than an hour or two a day).
It makes small changes in short term, but adds humongous benefits in the long term!
A Sitting Duck
March 18th, 2010 7:47 am
I started my business venture in May 2008. I use Facebook, Twitter & You Tube.
For me You Tube brings in the traffic and also the revenue!. Being a “You Tube” partner is amazing for an on-line business.
My Top Five Tips:
1. Make 5,000 Facebook Friends.
2. Make 5,000 You Tube Friends.
3. Follow 100 people that interest you.
4. Read problogger!.
5. Add one photo to your blog every Monday.
Thanks
;]
Wilson Usman
March 18th, 2010 10:24 am
I agree with most of these tips. I been using most of them and they have helped me get connected with so many people out there. It so nice to be able to just post a question on twitter and get 100 responses in two minutes.
I don’t understand why some people and business think it’s a waste of time. I just think they are either old school minded or just ignorant.
Bob Kinnison
March 18th, 2010 1:32 pm
Mark – You’re living it…not just writing about it. Thanks for your generosity. I’d love to read a whole article about #8 and #9. How to reach the ‘players’ in my market, and how to best use Twitter search.
I’m new to the SM game, but much having success with many of the things that you’ve written. Thanks for confirming my efforts!
Cheryl Henderson-Khalid
March 18th, 2010 2:07 pm
I especially appreciate your tip on using Egg Timer to keep your social networking sites under control. One reason I find myself avoiding being a daily visitor is because I feel like I’m going to end up spending hours on there and neglect the other important things I need to do for my business. Thanks for the tip and the reminder — I’m in control of my time so I need to act responsibly.
forlan
March 18th, 2010 2:13 pm
poin #28 social media is for long term. Most people is not patient. They want get fast money. I think we must be patient to find money.
Julius
March 18th, 2010 2:46 pm
I enjoyed and found value in all of the points, especially the ones about egg timer, twitter search, and helping people at an unexpected time
Fernando Volk
March 18th, 2010 3:19 pm
I found your post very interesting, I like your idea about the six or 1 year to let the bussines grow in social media, is like bussines in the street, only when the people know the quality of your products, and you as a person, they can tell others about you. Is the simple human relationship and trust.
onlinemarket3
March 18th, 2010 6:07 pm
hi i am john i am creating 2 videos for my site, those videos are uploaded into different type of media sites like you tube,my space,flicker etc..after the i bookmark those site .but i didn’t get any traffic and my keyword position also not improved please give me any good suggestion. thank you…
Joel Turner
March 18th, 2010 7:55 pm
Great post. I agree that effective social media marketing is done by consistent work on social medias rather than everything at once and then nothing.
Mark_Hayward
March 18th, 2010 8:53 pm
@Zach – For my social media influence and reading list I pretty much stick with the stock standards: Seth Godin, ProBlogger, Chris Brogan, DoshDosh, Duct Tape Marketing, and a bunch of others. I also find that I get some great links to valuable articles from the people I follow on Twitter.
Mark_Hayward
March 18th, 2010 8:58 pm
@bob – what is your specific business? Perhaps I can use it as an example in a future post.
To all of the other folks who commented, *thank you*! It’s always nice to see (realize) that we are all learning this stuff together and that there really are no shortcuts when it comes to small business social media.
Christian Logan
March 18th, 2010 9:22 pm
Great pointers. Love the post. Thanks
Gregg Zban
March 18th, 2010 10:18 pm
So right about social media being powerful. As long as we use it as a relationship building tool first and a business tool second all should go well. Get the order wrong and everyone runs from you as fast as they can…lol!
Deborah
March 18th, 2010 11:31 pm
Hi Darren,
Wow, what a great post. I desperately need this info! I am all over the place and very lost right now in the social marketing arena.
I’m printing this out and studying it. I own a “gift shop” online and finding it hard to connect with people without sounding like a saleswoman.
Thanks for your help, I know it will make a difference.
Go ahead, make my day!
Nicole Phillips
March 18th, 2010 11:41 pm
Thanks Mark. This is so helpful as well encouraging since I also have a small business. What continues to ring in my ear is, consistency, consistency, consistency. Thanks
Toral D. Cowieson
March 18th, 2010 11:56 pm
Mark — great post. At the core of an effective SM strategy is being clear on your organization’s value proposition and then relentlessly reinforcing it in the channels that you can use to most effectively reach your targets. I think #19 begins to touch on this point about weaving your backstory and online persona. With so many options it is easy to become distracted. Asking yourself “Does this reinforce my value proposition? backstory? brand?” will help guide the day-to-day tactics.
Donna J
March 19th, 2010 12:27 am
This article on social media lessons was well-written and easy to read (though the number 30 in the title initially scared me). It was relevant and helped to confirm things I know/believe, while adding in some surprises that are helping me to keep learning.
Thanks!
BlogTech
March 19th, 2010 12:30 am
I strongly agree with you because I have started last november 2009 and there is no traffic to my blog since january before I join Twitter.After that I have got around 22 subscribers and more than 300 followers in twitter.When I check my click through It had raised fomr 0 to more than 2000.But always keep in mind if you engage in social media you have to give value in your niche.
Joshua Black-The Underdog Millionaire
March 19th, 2010 12:37 am
This is a really solid list of tips. I personally have found that social media is a fairly shallow pool of potential customers, at least on Facebook, because there are so many people in it for the same reason.
Marketers add as many firends as possible and don’t read each other’s pages or make comments. I only use these methods in small ways, but I have grabbed a few customers.
You just need to work in very high volumes with social media in order to get any kind of results.
I still prefer list-building over any other source. Here, you have a captive audience that has signed up to see what you have to say and its a powerful way to maintain a loyal following… of course when you combine it with a blog as well.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
Donna J
March 19th, 2010 12:44 am
Oh, and to answer your questions:
How long have you been using social media for your small business? – Since about 2008
What have you found works best?
–Getting rid of perfectionistic tendencies; typos ARE forgiveable; staying focused on giving accurate facts/info with relevant and accurate resources and links is more important and most helpful to and useful for my readers
-Being bold and courageous to just be myself online (authentic) and not try to please other people by fitting into their pre-formed boxes
-limiting my social media time. (I’m a homeschooling mom, so I kind of don’t have a choice on this one, unless I want to be a total failure at home.)
-Most Important: Staying plugged into Problogger! What I’ve been learning here has been the most valuable for me since 2008, more than any other SM info site (even more than Mashable … LOL!) because of the community of serious bloggers that gather and share here consistently and daily
So, thank you to all of you commenters, in addition to Mark Hayward! I love you guys!! (Seriously, not just being mushy, though friends tell me that’s a tendency for me. LOL!)
Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion
March 19th, 2010 12:54 am
Great list. I own a small, blue collar business and just by blogging twice a week over the past year we are now branded on a national level. No doubt, proper blogging can and will make you the ‘industry voice’.
CrazieGracie8
March 19th, 2010 1:45 am
Having read this article, I’m am definitely fortified to carry on…
Looking forward to receiving the Pro Blogger newsletter. Best and thanks to you.
Aglolink
March 19th, 2010 2:13 am
‘Technology changes daily’. I agree with this opinion, which forced us to keep learning and to recognize some of our existing technology.
Brandi Grays
March 19th, 2010 2:34 am
This post is awesome. Some of the things I knew already but I needed to hear again so that I would actually get them done. There were also some gems in here that I hadnt even thought of. Thanks so much for the great post.
Ashish Kulkarni
March 19th, 2010 2:51 am
Hi, really a nice post. The facebook and twitter can not only be used to stay in touch with friends but it can help you to earn few extra bucks by growing your business.
This is going to be next buzz.
Nice post
Jason Epstein
March 19th, 2010 4:02 am
As a small business owner, tips and info like this is incredibly useful. Perhaps the two lessons that i can relate to the most are
28. Social media in the short term does not work. You must be in it for the long term and be persistent, consistent, and committed.
17. Not everyone is going to like you, so be prepared to get flamed and read negative reviews.
These two things can discourage a lot of individuals, but you must remain positive and persistent.
Small Business Loan
March 19th, 2010 4:46 am
Great Post Darren. The items you listed are great lessons and tips for using social media, some of which I will put into practice
Loyan
March 19th, 2010 5:31 am
This was one of my favorite reads all month. My favorites were:
14. Helping people online when they least expect it can bring you great rewards.
21. The people who criticize you the most for using social media to promote your small business are the one’s who are most afraid of embracing change.
29. Anyone who owns a small business can ‘do’ social media, but NOT everyone ‘does’ it. (And that is your true competitive advantage.)
Thank you for sharing this (candid) list.
SkiWithMarty
March 19th, 2010 5:51 am
Forget the flip camera as th kodak 1028 is far better for its settings and also for the fact it has a mic jack and available accessories to buy like a recording start and stop remote
Jason Yarborough
March 19th, 2010 3:13 pm
Great post, very helpful for someone like myself just getting into social media to help Non Profits.
Thanks
Auto Repair Guy
March 19th, 2010 3:31 pm
Great Post Daren. I finally see where the bridge between social media and small businesses fits.
Samantha Milner
March 19th, 2010 3:44 pm
Hi guys,
I have tried to use the social media for my business. But I really didn’t get the results that I was looking for. So now I’m going to try again by using some of your solutions.
Kind regards,
Sam
X
Sparrow
March 19th, 2010 4:10 pm
Hello Darren,
For 2.5 years I only managed to get 3,700 results for my main site on a Google search.
Five months ago I started using social media. Today a Google search on the same site returns 517,000 results and increasing at about 50,000 per month.
This certainly proves many of your points especially a) small efforts daily and b) long term strategy give excellent results.
Sparrow
Ramsay Taplin
March 19th, 2010 4:19 pm
Great post.
Not sure I really agree with number one. Local is bigger than ever. Its not that being international and globalized killed it, its just the focus is different.
Now that Google has made a major shift towards local search, it is more important than ever to be over your local area.
Ramsay
Geri Dreiling
March 19th, 2010 9:39 pm
Hi Mark –
This post has it all!
You’ve managed to discuss the positives, the drawbacks, the challenges and the rewards of social media — and offer concrete advice for dealing with each.
A lot of takeaway tips in this piece!
Geri
Andrea Mercado
March 20th, 2010 1:28 am
Consistency is the key!
Nicolás Suárez
March 20th, 2010 2:36 am
congratulations, really interesting, social media is go into business,
all the best
Nicolás Suárez
Jason
March 20th, 2010 3:20 am
I like the egg timer idea! We have some nice video tutorials on Social media here: http://www.netsalestrainer.com/generating-traffic/module-9-social-media/
Deborah
March 20th, 2010 5:36 am
Jason,
I clicked on to your link but there is a problem with the sound. There’s music drowning out what the speaker is saying.
I tried it twice and thought you’d want to know.
Deborah
Conrad Weaver
March 20th, 2010 5:45 am
I like your thought on #20 – doing a little every day. I think sometimes the thought of maintaining an online presence on SM sites can be overwhelming. SM moves at a breakneck pace, and a business owner like me doesn’t have the time to devote tons of hours weekly to maintaining these things.
Kellie
March 20th, 2010 6:03 am
Hi Mark, I started blogging about 6 months before starting my business. I spent that time taking various classes & learning some of the things you have mentioned. I love seeing this information reiterated because it lets me know that I am starting off on the right track. Now if I could only figure out the whole Keyword, SEO & SEV I might be an even better blogger/facebooker/twitterer. I, like Heather Allard, dumped my LinkedIn but I’ve kept my facebook. I will visit your tips often to make sure I am staying the course. Thanks so much for these great tips, now I’m off to check out a few of the sites you mentioned. i.e. eggtimer & HARO
Lewis Loud
March 20th, 2010 6:40 am
“30. If you have a spare hour or two everyday to aimlessly surf the net, or sit and watch T.V., then you have more than enough time to commit to using social media for your small business.”
Do you realize how much of a time commitment that is? I for one, do not have an hour or two to spare everyday. I wonder how many small business owners do. I think with a well thought out marketing approach, you can reduce that time down significantly. Instead of taking the time to blog about your business to increase your SEO/SEV why not target a community list of tweeters and facebook users with awareness campaigns and discounts.
Karl
March 20th, 2010 7:46 am
I just started to approach small business owners locally with the social media advantage. Most feel they have no time so I setup and teach them to use it efficiently…brings in a few extra $$ for me, but benefits them longterm. Thanks for the additional points.
Karl
rososusilo
March 20th, 2010 11:21 am
I judge it, like a traditional market, (not modern market), a business that developed with the priority value of friendship and using good communication with others.
Dave Beck
March 20th, 2010 4:53 pm
I like the approach of getting involved with social media like twitter,facebook,myspace,etc.
I just like communicating and I feel that when you really get trusted by people then you will have a good amount of people wanting to check you out.
Thanks,
Dave Beck
http://www.MaverickMoneyMakersGenie.com
Joseph
March 20th, 2010 6:29 pm
Great Post, Great Tips. These are my favourite and i will be working more on them.
4. Instead of trying to be everywhere in the social media space, determine what online activities work best for your business and focus your attention there.
12. Technology changes daily. Read often.
Tina Louise
March 21st, 2010 1:02 am
Excellent read.
Honesty for me is they key ingredient to all social media activity – it is astounding (and thrilling) to see how quickly lies or over-sell are exposed when lit up by social media.
Reading voices I have grown to trust for a host of impossible to define reasons – brings such a broad and better informed view.
Namaste,
Tina Louise
Gin
March 21st, 2010 11:00 pm
I think promotion and engagement with others in social media is my favorite part. It is does seem challenging when initially starting but the end result is even greater. Great tips!
Omar Paulo
March 22nd, 2010 12:45 am
thanks for these valuable insights Mark. doing a little everyday is a good approach. it’s getting it into a habit that will ensure consistency.
it’s interesting you’re placing a 6 month to 1 year timeline, i guess when people are expecting results in a much shorter time period, they get frustrated right away and ditch social media marketing altogether. your article is really an eye opener, i will forward this to my friends.
Omar
Matthew Needham
March 22nd, 2010 1:28 am
Some great tips here Mark. I had been using blogging as my ‘exclusive’ method of social media promotion until about a year ago when I started using Twitter.
I since realised the error of my ways and have created a Youtube Channel. Fickr, Tumblr, Squiddo lens and a Facebook Fan Page. Still early days really, but so far having some succeses.
Jason Koertge
March 22nd, 2010 9:13 pm
Mark, great post.
I have been using social media to market my business and the business of others for three years. My pitches have changed from selling “why” social media works to “how” social media works.
The thing that makes using social media for marketing so great is that it is a way for businesses to not just communicate with their customers, but a way for them to actually build relationships, sincere and personal relationships.
Social media will “work” for every business, but you’re right, it takes time, patience and persistence. Results almost never come after a few months, I usually look 6 months or even a year down the road. But, when you start seeing results, what you’ll have are relationships you would have never before had. Those relationships are not only your friends, they’ll be your greatest customers, your advocates, the people that will tell everyone they know about you just because they love you.
Again, great post Mark!
www.domainsregistrationindia.com
March 23rd, 2010 11:47 pm
Great post, very helpful for someone like myself just getting into social media to help online companies. using social media’s also promote their domains and websites
Thanks
Mike Smith
March 24th, 2010 2:27 am
Great Post Mark
I work with accountants in the UK some of whom can be quite sceptical about Social Media.
Those that embrace the concept do very well but you’re spot on consistency is the key.
No too sure about ‘Location being Dead’ but take your point. Google Local Search and local SEM is very important to my clients
Regards
Mike
http://www.mikesmithconsulting.co.uk
Monica
March 24th, 2010 11:17 pm
Dear Mark,
Can you give us an example of your business being somehow disadvantaged by social media? or do you think if you don’t know to much about social media tools, certain comments could damage your business?
Thank you,
Monica
Mark_Hayward
March 25th, 2010 1:35 am
@monica – certainly a valid question. If someone wishes to damage your business reputation via social media, then I think that they certainly could do it. However, the value that can be gained by embracing the technology, as opposed to avoiding it, by far outweighs the negative. (Just my opinion. :-))
Jared Detroit
March 25th, 2010 12:15 pm
I completely agree with you on consistent small business blogging pays the greatest returns. Social media is great but it has to be a complement to consistent small biz blogging.
I’m also a huge fan of Google alerts. I keep up on my company name and my name.
ChrisMefford
March 26th, 2010 6:20 am
The key is to start. I think social media allows one to develop a personal brand. But when it comes to a use for advertising it really is an incredible way you engage your customers and seem approachable.
chrismefford.wordpress.com
Julie
March 28th, 2010 7:36 pm
I have been thinking about small biz blogging for 6 mths. It was all a bit scarey but this gives me an idea of how to start and a bit of confidence. Thanks
kate
April 3rd, 2010 12:06 pm
Great list. I am just starting out using twitter/facebook/blogging for my business, and this was a great reminder that it’s not a race, it’s a marathon. I like the tip that said your efforts may not be measurable for 6 months to a year. thanks for posting this!
Joe "The Connector" Kennedy
April 6th, 2010 5:35 am
That’s a great list with some really good tips. I have to disagree with your statement “Location is Dead”. Location is HUGE for many businesses – just look at the growing number of LBS (location based services) like @Whrrl @4sq @GoWalla
Paul Andrew
April 6th, 2010 3:47 pm
Thanks Mark – it’s a great article. I’ve been at it for about 18months now in terms of a real social media focus with big results for my business & blog.
Isao
April 8th, 2010 9:18 pm
Came from Ryan Rancatores’ shout. Great tips: this is my favorite.
21. The people who criticize you the most for using social media to promote your small business are the one’s who are most afraid of embracing change.
So true! Realizing it is one thing and dealing with those people is another (especially because many people who give me “advice” are my family)
Faiz Suberi
April 9th, 2010 2:57 am
True. I should keep that in mind. I think the main idea is consistency and time management. The rest is being a little more human in social media, and determine which is best.
Thank you for sharing us your expert opinion Darren. Two thumbs up! :-)
building confidence
April 21st, 2010 11:16 am
Have you ever well thought-outadding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I’m more of a visual learner,I found that to be more helpful well let me know how it turns out
Scarlet
April 24th, 2010 11:43 am
Tips 28 and 29 are why my business works! I totally agree!
cable and wire products
April 29th, 2010 2:20 am
pretty good article, thanks for sharing your priceless experience with others. Some years ago I also started a small business and it was really difficult without any help. In spite of the fact I have some marketing background experience now, I`ve read your advices not without interest :)
Benjamin
May 5th, 2010 6:01 am
Great article. I love learning how other businesses have grown by using social media as a means to grow their customer base. I created a facebook application called Storefront Social (http://storefrontsocial.com) to enable retailers and small businesses owners to turn their facebook fan pages into a showcase for their products! Check it out and watch your fan base, and traffic to your online store grow with this complementary tool for your social media marketing efforts!
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