Why Small Businesses SHOULD Be Better Suited for Social Media

Social Media crosses a variety of disciplines and, if done properly, allows you to undertake a multiplicity of tasks:

• Customer Service.
• Branding.
• Marketing.
• Public Relations.
• Sales.
• Market Research.
• Promotions.

If you work for a major corporation, chances are there is a separate department, or at least person, for each of those tasks. And that’s where the problem begins. When Social Media is added to the overall strategy of a larger business, the question becomes: Who is in control? Does marketing oversee everything, including the customer service aspects? What about sales?

These different departments can be terribly territorial and don’t give up control very easily.

But in a smaller, local business, you generally don’t have these problems. Why? Because all of these tasks are generally the job of just one or two people. If you own a small business, chances are that YOU are the marketing department, the PR department, the customer service department, the sales department…and so on.

In other words, if you own a small business, you’re one step ahead. You already take care of everything, or perhaps share those duties with one other person. You answer the phone and take both sales calls and complaints. You may even be the delivery person.

Small business owners: don’t be afraid of social media. Grab the reins and enjoy the ride.

Larger businesses: Get over it. Social Media is about community, relationships, collaboration, and sharing. It’s time all of these different departments learn how to get along and learn how to work TOGETHER. There is no room for a territorial mindset when it comes to Social Media.

Oh, and, Big Business? If your budget is tight (and I’m sure it is), now is the time to re-evaluate your marketing/sales/customer service paradigm; both from the perspective of staffing/departmental makeup and budgeting expenditures/time.

This is not to say that small business WILL engage in Social Media better than big business. There are big businesses that are doing it well, while others do it poorly. And certainly the same goes for small business…but they should be able to adapt more easily and quickly.

This is the year that Social Media stops being “that new thing.”

How are you looking at Social Media differently this year? Is it an integral part of your integrated business plan?

Tagged as: Marketing, small business, Social Media