Social Media 101 for Small Business

Written By Libby Issendorf

YouTube visitors now watch 1 billion videos every day. Almost 95 million Americans (and over 300 million worldwide visitors) logged into Facebook in September. The first photos of a tornado in Minneapolis, a plane crash in New York, and protests in Iran emerged not on CNN or even CNN.com, but on Twitter. It's obvious that social media is important, but figuring out how to use it to promote your brand can be overwhelming. This guide will help you map out your social media plan and offer tips on how to get started.

Why should small businesses care about social media?

As a small business owner, you already understand the power of word of mouth. Social media is word of mouth amplified; it intensifies both a rave review and an angry rant. Instead of telling a few close friends about their experience with your business, your customers are now writing blog posts or updating their Facebook statuses for hundreds to see.

Small businesses are at an advantage when it comes to social media. Your customers take pride in being fans of a local business in their own neighborhood. You have flexibility and control in the content you post. You're inherently passionate about your industry and your business, and you can easily translate that passion to social media.

Where to start?

Step one: define what you want to achieve. Your social media goal will usually be one of your existing marketing objectives. It could be to raise awareness of your business, to increase phone calls or visits to your website, or to improve your reputation among potential customers. Limit yourself to one goal so you don't spread yourself too thin or complicate your message.

Next you'll need to create your strategy for how to achieve these goals. Your strategy is your roadmap; it will dictate how you reach your goals. For example, if you want to improve perceptions of your hardware store, your social media strategy could be to establish yourself as the go-to authority on DIY projects in your neighborhood.

Before you create a strategy, you might want to get more familiar with the purposes and capabilities of leading social media sites. Click here for a crash course on the 5 most popular social media spaces.

Listen to what people are already saying.

After you have settled on your strategy, take time to familiarize yourself with what's going on for your industry in social media. Search for your business name, your competitors' names, and your city and industry (Minneapolis hotel or Grand Forks photography) with tools like Google Blog Search and Twitter Search. Get a feel for what people are talking about and what your competitors are already doing.

Develop your arsenal of tactics.

Now it's time for the fun part: what you're going to do. All your tactics should map back to your strategy so you don't waste resources on an idea that won't help achieve your goals. Some examples to get you started:

• A hardware store who wants to be seen as an authority on home projects could create quick tutorial YouTube videos on how to tackle home projects.

• A museum that wants to showcase its collection could post daily pictures of featured artwork and exhibits on a photo site like Flickr or on a blog and invite fans to

• An accounting firm that wants to demonstrate its customer service could host a live Twitter event in which they answer common tax questions in real-time.

Tips for success

• Stick to the strategy. As stated above, your strategy is the roadmap to your goal. If your strategy for raising awareness is to give referral incentives, a Twitter referral program would fit your strategy. A YouTube channel of how-to videos, while entertaining and useful, would not.

• It's about your consumers, not about you. All social media is opt-in; people must choose to follow your Twitter feed or read your blog. If you aren't offering them something they care about and something they can actively participate in, they won't choose to be involved.

• Keep content fresh. Dust gathers quickly in social media. Content that takes a long time to produce, like videos, should be updated at least weekly; easier content like Twitter should be updated a few times a day.

• Spread the word. If you set up a Facebook page, e-mail your current customers about it or hand out flyers in your store. If you want your customers to submit their own photos for your Flickr page, include a call for entries in your advertising or put a banner on your website.

Resources to learn more

SmartBrief publishes great timesaving newsletters in which they compile the day's top headlines in one email. SmartBrief for Entrepreneurs and SmartBrief on Social Media both regularly feature articles about small businesses succeeding in social media.

Online consultants, ad agencies, and other sources also write great blogs on social media. The Flint Group Blog frequently features tips and insights.