Social Media & Local Marketing: Common Misconceptions from a Small Business Owner

 The reason why most small business owners resist social media and local marketing implementation is due to misconceptions which is understandable, especially if you have teens and adult children who are on Facebook and Tweeting from their iPhone, iPad, iPod etc.  

Social Media is a Waste of Time and used Only by Kids

Most people think that Twitter and Facebook is a complete waste of time and are "just for kids".  I admit I used to think that Twitter and Facebook was another distraction to my already busy schedule, so I ignored both sites for a few years, until one day in 2008, I read a story online about a young man who was in another country and tweeted from a jail for a plea for help.  In a matter of days (or weeks, I don't quite remember), The U.S. Government took measures to get him released and back on American soil.  This story showed me the value of Twitter from a personal perspective and I began to look into Twitter further, by creating a profile and observing people on this site; by reading all the help documents on the Twitter support site, and by attending "social media boot camps" where early adopters shared strategy, tactics and best practices for Twitter.  Since then, I've been an advocate for the use of Twitter for personal and professional reasons.

Without a strategy and a 'know-how' set of tactics, Twitter (and Social Media can be a waste of time).  As with building anything, it's important to have a big picture overview of your desired goals and objectives to meet those goals and the blue-print/road-map and tools to accomplish those goals.  As with any project you're undertaking, it's important to track and measure how well your strategy is working and decide to fine tune your tactics if you are not reaching your goals. Depending on whether you have a strategy, goals and objectives and a viable plan, you could be wasting time on social media sites, so I suggest studying or hiring a consultant who can shorten your learning cycle and get you up to speed.

Social Media is too Time Consuming and a Waste of my Time The Bah Humbug attitude stems from fear of change and also about not understanding what social and local can do for you.  Most people are overwhelmed and because of that, immediately reject the idea of implementing social media and local marketing for their business.

I believe in sharing the WHY and the value of Social Media

• Provide an overview of the social landscape, platform and tools
• Local marketing tactics; case studies
• Demonstrate how simple it is to manage with tools 

When your platform is set up correctly, and you are provided technical training on the channels and tools,  it actually facilitates a better use of your time.  All you would need to do is plan, schedule, and use the tools to help you schedule your posts, check your streams to engage, comment, monitor; and to measure results.

Even better is the latest technology: an iPhone, iPad, Smart Phone, enables you to install the apps for Twitter, Facebook Page, Pinterest, Instagram, Foursquare and Hootsuite so you can check in-between times and not miss anything that is being said about you!

Social Media and Local Marketing is NOT Free.

In my experience, I have noticed a trend among small business owners where they don't understand the value of social media, and because they think it's a simple matter for their kids to use Twitter and Facebook, there is an expectation that someone would set them up for free or arrange payment through a barter system. As a consultant, these arrangements don't work so well.  You're being provided with valuable information (intellectual property, years of experience, hands on - in the trenches experience, technical ability, marketing certification or degree); it is difficult to accept an assignment like this in exchange for 1 year of free haircuts, meals, manicures.  Small business owners are in the business of making money, and that includes social media, online marketing business consultants.

1.  As a business consultant, I want to earn revenue, and I also have learned that most people won't value what you do for them if the arrangement is based on free meals, hair cuts, etc. I think there is a time and place for barter arrangements, but between a marketing consultant and a business owner, I think it is important for the business owner to have the right mindset: you must spend money to make money.  If you value your time, hiring the right person to help you with your social and local marketing plan will save you time and earn more money as a result of it.

2.  I want to clarify that Twitter, Facebook Page, Foursquare (and a number of other social channels) are FREE to use, but understanding how it all works technically and strategically will require help from a professional who can help define your goals and objectives, establish a strategy and provide a blueprint for social and local activities, which will help you implement social media and local marketing campaigns effectively. You will need help early on, until you get the hang of it.  

3.  Marketing consultants are specialists and have spent a tremendous amount of time, money and personal resources to learn the new way of marketing, technical and strategic, so expecting them to work with you on a barter system won't really work out that well.  Remember that marketing consultants are small business owners like you, and can't live off haircuts, manicures, clothes; they have bills to pay too. 

More on business related fees: it all depends on your business model

• Is your website OLD? Is it time for a new look and feel?  
• Do you have an effective website showcasing your products and services? 
• Is it clear what you want your visitor to do once they are on your website? 
• Do you blog as a way to inform and educate people about your expertise 
• Do you have a way to capture your visitors (such as offer a coupon in exchange for their name and email address?)  

- Building an email list is crucial, as you can email them once a week, offering deals and specials , updates, etc.  

- People check their email Inbox first thing in the morning and throughout the day, so imagine your local customers reading an email from you and reminding them to come into your place of business.

When you hire a business consultant to help you create an online marketing and social media strategy, you pay for a combination of their Time, Education & Expertise;Strategy, Tactics and Implementation (this is just an example): 

• Ideally, there is an assessment of your business model, what's in place, what's working, what's not working; what needs to be in place; competitor overview; website analysis; budget
• You will then get a blueprint containing Strategy, Plan, Phases of work to be done and an invoice
  • Architect: build out of profiles, and integration of tools  
  • Setting up Twitter and growing an organic following
  • Facebook Page Creation
    • Including branded Timeline and logo
    • Integration of Apps (Pinterest, Instagram, Foursquare)
    • Facebook Marketing Strategy
    • Curate Content and Publishing Schedule
    • Contest and or creation of coupons and "specials" campaign in order to get more fans, get more people into your store front at a specific time, etc.
  • Foursquare Strategy and Implementation 
  • For local, there is placing your business URL and information across local directories and niche directories 

Won't Make Time to Build and Sustain Relationships with Social Media

Most small business owners avoid social and local because they think it's expensive, time consuming, and a waste of time. Sure I understand that, I'm a small business owner too, and wear a lot of hats.  But I can't stand back and stay silent when I know that using social and local persistently and consistently will pay off.   The more often people see your posts, the higher the chance they will connect with you, will start to frequent your business and share their experiences with friends. Granted, people visit your place of business for a need (hungry, need a hair cut, manicure or a massage), but most importantly, they are coming in for the experience of feeling good, wanted, and are placing their trust and faith in your services via their pocketbook.  

People buy from those they know like and trust, so using social and local is a great tool to offer soft touches, updates, and deals to keep them coming back.   People frequent places where they feel a connection to someone that works in your business.  Whether it's the bartender at Il Fornaio, or a nail specialist at your spa, they come frequently because of the relationship with that person, and how they are made to feel when they are using your services or dining at your restaurant.

Social Media is NOT Managable 

In time, using Social Media becomes a daily habit, after all, once you start connecting with customers and potential customers, you look forward to greeting them, thanking them, and offering them a reason to come in and visit you!!

There are a number of Social Media Dashboards which help you

• Manage your time, 
• Allow pre-scheduling of posts
• Curate and schedule timely and relevant content 
• Monitor feeds   
• Measure results

I will only discuss two, Hootsuite and Crowdbooster. I wrote an extensive blog post about why I use Hootsuite and encourage you to read it.

Both dashboards offer a monthly subscription fee of $9.99 per month.

Hootsuite offers an array of social channel integrations, applications and is useful for a business that blogs often, integrates video, photos, and active on multiple channels (Twitter, Foursquare,Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, etc.)   

It all boils down to your strategy, effective planning and using the tools to schedule and manage it, so you are free to run your business, engage with your clients, and TRAIN them to use Foursquare and Facebook Check-in's.  

CrowdBooster is a great starter tool.  You can integrate your Twitter and Facebook page and Crowdbooster will sync, sort and sift who is active, engaged, ReTweeting and Mentioning you on Twitter and places active fans from your Facebook Page at your finger tips.  It's important to know who is active in your network, so that you can leverage the connections made thru content and comments.  Crowdbooster will also tell you the best times to post on Twitter and Facebook for maximum reach and engagement.  Note those times and be sure to be online to mention, retweet, and acknowledge others.  You can also post real time tweets or posts with a call to action during those times.

Be Open to Change

If using social and local is new to you, then I am going to say that it is important for you to be open to change, especially if you want different results.   I also want to say that not only is being open to change important but understand that if you hire someone who is well versed in social and local, their time spent on you involves education, set up and implementation, strategy and a campaign plan, technical ability and more.  This will shorten your learning cycle and get you up to speed in a short amount of time.