Comments on: SMB’s, Social Media and Reality

By: Frank Reed

Frank Reed — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:47:19 +0000

@allison – Great point. Just think how much of that is sunk into Yellow Page ads that are not tracked at all. I think there can be some great opportunities for SMB’s that are willing to step out but most do not have the spine, the time or the people to make it happen. Good time to be a progressive SMB but how many are there?
.-= Frank Reed´s last blog ..Social Media Bait is Here =-.

By: allison

allison — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:31:30 +0000

I am actually more concerned with 79% SMBs spending less than $5,000 a year in marketing, which is probably the one thing typical about these respondents and all SMBs. This indicates they don’t believe in spending on marketing or marketing is worth the money.

By: Small Business Social Media Insights – CloudProfile | Web Analytics Blog | Web analytics

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:28:53 +0000

[...] much of a clue on how to do Social Media or measure the ROI of SM. I gathered as much reading SMB’s, Social Media and Reality in Marketing Pilgrim, today. Here’s some of the highlights published in the post which came [...]

By: Small businesses and social media: the real story « Blinded by Marketing

Small businesses and social media: the real story « Blinded by Marketing — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:17:06 +0000

[...] small businesses have gone down the social media road. Frank Reed has a great post on this topic on Marketing Pilgrim that really started me thinking about this (I posted some of this as a comment on his [...]

By: Dr. George

Dr. George — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:48:16 +0000

There is companies out there that will handle your social media marketing for you. They are not free of course, but they will save you time.

I have had much success suing social media for marketing. It does take time however to see results.

By: Krim Stephenson

Krim Stephenson — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:26:04 +0000

Great post on a subject close to my heart. I’ve seen so many stats on small business social media adoption that gave me pause, it makes more sense now that I see the numbers broken down and how they really define “social media”. I also run a small business, and have for years also consulted with technology enterprises that are launching small business-focused products and services. None of my direct experience or past detailed research into the segment jibes with these “most SMBs are diving into social media” claims.

Thank you for breaking the numbers down – it’s clear that while many/most SMBs do *something* that could be considered somehow social media related, a much smaller number have built it into a rewarding, sustained part of their business. My very non-scientific thoughts on four reasons why most SMBs fail or don’t even really get started with SM:

1. They find technology hard to understand. This is getting better as SM goes so mainstream… but the vast majority of SMBs are not at all tech-forward, but in fact strongly tech-averse.

2. They have little or no existing marketing behaviors. I saw a poll a few years ago that something like 60% of SMBs had no defined marketing practices whatsoever. It’s much easier to “get” that SM can help you reach customers if you’re already thinking about and trying to reach customers in a conscious way.

3. They don’t have the time or, often, the skills for social media. Social media means creating content – which means steady, diligent focus on your blog, Facebook, Twitter. That takes rigorous application of time and also requires the ability to communicate and tell your story in an interesting, distinctive way, that fits your customers and the SM platform that you’ve chosen. Both resources are not broadly available in the small biz population.

4. They are in a business type or have a customer base that is not ideally suited for social media. I know that many think that *every* business can be made better with social media; I don’t disagree. But some products and services can more easily be translated into the type of customer passion that leads to ongoing relationships. Would I follow the blog of my quirky, knowledgeable local wine merchant, or the pet store where I get my dog stuff? I might well. Would I follow the Twitter feed of the guys that change the oil on my car? Or my drycleaners? Probably not. If they created really great content, then obviously, but my baseline level of interest in that product type is just lower.

Wonder what you or other commenters think? Do these reasons feel right to you?

Krim

By: social media montreal » Out of the Stream – Oct. 11 to Oct. 17 2009

social media montreal » Out of the Stream – Oct. 11 to Oct. 17 2009 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:54:13 +0000

[...] “My experience with SMB’s that are not engaged (which I will very unscientifically peg at th… Business Book Summary #20: “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk [...]

By: FFcommunicator

FFcommunicator — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:53:24 +0000

Maybe this article, “The No Duhs of Social Media” will help. http://www.famefoundry.com/646/the-no-duhs-of-social-media

@FFcommunicator
.-= FFcommunicator´s last blog ..Breaking Boundaries =-.

By: Neil Devlin

Neil Devlin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:42:29 +0000

I know I use social media to try to promote my websites and other ventures but I must say it isn’t free. I put in hours of work and although this time is dedicated to improving my output and income it is still time that is worth a lot more to me than the ‘nothing’ quoted.

If people are willing to carry out the work for me for nothing then I ask them to contact me because I sure know I could spend the time I lose doing something far more enjoyable.