How Social Media
helps to grow the Small Business
The business press is full of stories about how small
companies are using social channels to attract and engage customers. But while
there are plenty of individual success stories, the confidence in what to do
specifically is not always clear for small business owners that are strapped
for time and online marketing resources.
Case study:
I was talking with a small business owner recently who was
lamenting not updating his website and also that his competition was showing up
“all over the place” online. The nature
of his product requires some education and an effort to dispel common misperceptions.
The rapid advancements in technology of his particular product category are not
very well known amongst his target consumer market. But there’s a substantial
amount of search volume and interest in the solutions his product
provides. He’s also a small business
with limited time and budget.
To me, this was a classic opportunity for the power of influence
through storytelling.
My tip for him was to start a blog that answered the most
common questions prospects and customers ask. And to do so in a compelling way that his
competitors were not: with video, images
and text. Each new blog post would be another potential entry point to his
website via Google and social networks where people share links. With 1 post a
week, he’d have 52 more pages and videos on his website in a year, each
offering interesting, useful content that could position him above the competitors.
Along the way, he’d be able to gather insight from web analytics, social
shares, comments and interactions with the blog posts to refine message
effectiveness.
A few key questions to start with his blog content plan:
- Why do current customers buy your product? This can come from sales people and/or the business owner.
- What are the misperceptions & objections? Document the things that are educational opportunities.
- What type of information helps them change the perception? What are the tipping points from skepticism to confidence? Is it demonstration, 3rd party data, credibility of the company, word of mouth?
- Where do prospects look for information on this solution? Talk to sales people, look at website stats and any logged information about lead sources.
By answering these fundamental questions, this small
business owner can create a blog content plan that specifically addresses the
questions, concerns and triggers that will influence prospects to trust, buy
and refer. Understanding the key
features of the product most relevant to the target customer as well as
prospect tendencies towards finding a solution of this type can literally
translate into topics for him to write or talk about on the blog.
Those topics can be run through Google AdWords Keyword Tool
to identify the keyword phrases that people are searching for most often.
Relevant search phrases can inspire blog post and YouTube video titles,
categories, descriptions and tags.
Some basic next steps might include:
Set up a WordPress Blog, template and hosting (Genesis,
StudioPress & Synthesis make this a no-brainer). Plan to write one blog
post or publish/upload 1 video per week (2-3 minutes) that answers a key
question prospects and customers ask.
The video can be captured using an iPhone or other smartphone and iMovie
can be used for editing. If you’re on PC, you can use Windows Movie Maker to
edit the video. For people not
comfortable just talking to a camera, have an employee ask the question(s) and
answer them while being captured on video.
Create a YouTube Channel and start connecting with other
channels and video publishers on relevant topics, 5-10 min a day. After
uploading a video, embed on the blog, and share on existing social channels
like Twitter and Facebook as well as through email to existing customers or
opt-in prospect list. Ashley posted some great examples of SMB Twitter
promotion yesterday. When embedding the video on the blog, write a description
of what is talked about in the video so search engines can make it easy for
people to find.
The initial focus for a basic video and photo blog should be
on getting used to the habit of creating useful content on a regular
basis. I know many readers might be
thinking that more substantial SEO and social media tactics should be setup as
well, but without good content, social networking and optimization won’t work
to convert prospects to customers anyway.
Time is usually limited for small businesses, so getting a small base of
content built is a great starting point.
Creating a cycle of listening for questions, answering them
through content and refinement can go a very long way for small business
content marketing. Once things are setup, 20-30 minutes per day can be spent
interacting with blog comments and social networks. Establishing a feedback
loop means you’ll always have ideas to blog or talk about. It also means you’re
connecting with real people, interacting with them and providing something of
value that they can share and act on.
In time other promotion channels can be added starting with
Facebook, Twitter and Google+ as well as SEO best practices with more specific
keyword research and link building. If the initial customer research identifies
Twitter as a substantial opportunity, a Twitter Marketing strategy might be
involved at the same time the blog and YouTube channel are created. The reason
I’m keeping these suggestions simple and basic is that I know how much small
business owners can get overwhelmed. Needs to grow outside online marketing
consultants or training can always be used to speed up things up.
What else? An email newsletter that re-purposes blog content
and the Q/A that happens on Facebook, the blog and Twitter can be delivered to
existing customers. Viewing every channel of participation as an opportunity to
interact and share will help grow networks, trust and credibility as the “go to
source” for the product category being promoted. It’s important to create
value, but also to not lose sight that this is business. Don’t be afraid to
suggest solutions or promote offers. Just do so in a relevant way.
Finally, make sure web analytics (Google Analytics is free)
and basic social media monitoring (Trackur starts at $18/mo, search.twitter.com
is free) are set up to assess how people are finding and interacting with blog
content. Watch for trends in network growth like fans, friends and followers
but especially with quality of interaction through comments, likes, shares and
the effect on blog/website traffic that drives inquiries and sales.
For a lot of small business owners not used to online
marketing, SEO or social media, these suggestions might be out of their comfort
zone. But with the way consumer behaviors are changing and increased
competition, getting out of the comfort zone and into a place where direct
customer interactions drive content and inspire business outcomes is an
essential investment.
Source: www.toprankblog.com
