Look before you leap: Social media strategy for small business

By Monica W. Wamsley

Even if your small business is already head-first into the social media pool, it’s never too late to develop a strategy for making your splash. 

The Web is teeming with ways to connect with your clientele: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, blogs, Instagram, and MySpace (it does still exist).

According to this sweet Mashable infographic based on Myers-Briggs personality research and networking platforms, two-thirds of all “online adults” use social media. (To add a little perspective: We haven’t even had voter turnout that high in more than 100 years.)

So, should you utilize social media for your small business? Yes. But you don’t have to utilize all of the platforms.

Don’t spread yourself too thin, Social Media Today warns: Focusing on one major platform helps your business stand out — and be exceptional.

But first things first to guide yourself toward a perfect 10: Is your business based on services or products? Are you focused on your local area, or are you national? Should you go the visual route, or are press releases your strength?

Network choice aside, always keep in mind your goals: Are you trying to build your customer base? Are you looking for a forum to interact with your customers? Are you building brand recognition? Are you working to generate buzz? Are you promoting specific marketing campaigns? These questions will help lead you in your platform selection and your posts.

If you answered “yes” to all of those queries, you have an even bigger job on your hands.

Alas, social media success does not operate on a “just add water” approach. Social media — and engaging your followers — requires your attention every day.

Although social media platforms themselves are free, you will find yourself investing in social media in other ways: investing your time if you are the one managing your account(s), or investing in wages if you hire someone else.

And it is no small project: The social media manager will schedule posts for optimal times, write blog entries, add photos for behind-the-scenes looks, answer questions and provide customer service, reveal special promotions, keep followers abreast of news, research praise and criticism, build the customer base, and even seek out stories and angles. Your social media manager (or you!) might use a smartphone to do all of this on the go.

The social media manager doesn’t have to be on her own island, either. Harvard Business Review stresses embracing top-down social media pursuits, encouraging CEOs to take to the networks to interact with and relate to customers, suppliers, and even employees, regardless of company size.

Social media means being connected, engaged, tethered — but not tied down or drowning. 

Warm up on the diving board before you jump, and then make your splash.