Weekly Review Social Media and Small Business (Jan9th)

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Small Business Thinking with Our Outside Voice
How does your perspective match with these voices? read all 75 here

1. Katja Presnal - @katjapresnal
   “The key to Twitter success is realizing it is all about community; and by supporting and helping others in your community makes your community to grow and prosper, including your own business.”
2. Melissa Garcia - @ConsumerQueen
   “Make sure you are using the ‘Social’ part of Twitter! Don't just advertise, Engage with your followers! Make sure you follow the same advice you tweet out. People are watching you. Give yourself a personality on twitter!”
3. Jyl Johnson Pattee - @jylmomIF and @momitforward
   “1) Be authentic and open. Open meaning opening yourself up to the possibility of lots and lots of friends, advice, information, news, fun, and opportunities. 2) Build friendships and/or business relationships. Take it one step further by converting those online relationships into offline friendships. Nothing like meeting someone on Twitter one week and having lunch with them the following week! And more than anything, 3) Do something positive with the space to help make it a safe, fun, trusting, and amazing community: Participate or host a fundraiser, share positive comments about others, retweet, reach out to Twitter newbies, offer tips or information, etc.”
4. Barb Likos - @chaotic_barb
   “Twitter is all about making connections. You wouldn't stand on a table in the middle of a party and keep screaming your business commercial. Don't do it on twitter either! Unless people know YOU, your tweets about your business are being ignored!”
5. Linda Sellers - @shortpumppreppy
   “Twitter has been the best tool to connect globally, but I find as much success connecting to local people and businesses that I might not find on my own. I'm amazed at how many times a new contact says ‘saw you on Twitter’. It's a fabulous way to introduce yourself and your business...your personality shines through!”
   

Social Perspective on Business
Looking at the Social side to give Business a leg-up on the Business of Social Media. Punam Keller looks a litter deeper on the Social side of Business and has interesting information that can help small business understand the Social side!

1. Sharing Brand Experience: Instantaneous information being share at an increasing rate of accessibility with a high level of accuracy which is not based on paid opinions seeded by the Brand.
2. No longer do customers want to be regarded as the "Target Audience". They want to be involved in the development and experience of the Brand
3. The Average JOE will be the new spokesperson
4. Consumers are increasingly weighing the Social impact Brands have upon society at a global level
5. MORE....

Social Media Budget
Which statement best describes how social media marketing is perceived within your organization at budget time? This is the question asked by the marketingsherpa

Small Business Work

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Social media can be simple, fun, engaging...Social media is work. Lauren Fisher goes as far to say that having your small business become social media-izd  by signing up at your favorite social sites malls is only 1% of the effort. The other 99% comes from building an active social community around your brand.   Who knows your business the best?  You! "Don’t get mis-sold with the fancy tools and designs. They’re not going to sell themselves and the real skill comes in knowing how to take these tools and convert them into actual conversations that are a benefit to your business." Connect, Engage, and Share.


Small Business Strategy
Kim States (CEO) BBB Southern Arizona says that small businesses are shifting strategy and dollars to include more engagements with social media. 70 percent of small business plan to increase social media while at the same time 79 percent of small business say they will not run traditional media advertisements. Kim offers this suggestion, "after having plunged into the social media “pool” myself about eight months ago, I have one piece of advice for small business owners: don’t plunge in." Her article offers tips on how to Connect, Engage, and Share.


Remember, being social is a behavior not a tool.

1. Don’t go in thinking about ROI: Start by Thinking Networking not Numbers
2. Focus on the actions that matter: Listen Give Engage
3. Schedule time for it: Just like anything else of Value
4. Seek out local prospects: Its about selling awareness
5. Look outside Twitter the box: Social Malls all accross the Web
6. Learn from those before you: Top 150 social influencers
7. Take it Offline: We were social off line first!

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Small Business MC
The 10 Commandments of Marketing Today.  Augustine Fou, has more details in his article, but here are his 10 Commandments:

1. Thou shalt not target customers with messages they don't want. (No "Push" Ads)
2. Thou shalt be truthful. (Too many voices - stop the SPIN)
3. Thou shalt respect your customers. (Today's Customers R empowered)
4. Thou shalt make it easy for people to find you. (Be where UR customers R)
5. Thou shalt be useful. (Add value)
6. Thou shalt make it easy for people to pass along. ( Use Ur social tools )
7. Thou shalt measure and optimize. ( Yes )
8. Thou shalt listen to customers. ( Because Ur past, present, future customers will )
9. Thou shalt remove any organizational barriers to speedy, collaborative innovation. (speak w 1 voice )
10. Thou shalt not do brand-ing. ( the act of telling what UR brand is... )

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