It’s no surprise that small business owners are overwhelmed by the choices of new and newly improved social media platforms and under resourced when it comes to finding time to manage them.
This is where the elephant parable comes in – “one bite at a time”.
And that first bite should be a big mouthful of “social”.
Social media is media that facilitates our ability to be, well, “social”.
Obvious, right?
Businesses, especially large Fortune 500 companies are now starting to see the benefits of integrating social into their business culture.
They do this by using technology to either create their own social networks within their organizations i.e. IBM’s Connections, or by using existing platforms like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter for internal and external communications and engagement.
But social business isn’t just for big business.
The same benefits of:
- Improved customer satisfaction
- More effective knowledge sharing
- Lowered costs
- Deeper employee loyalty and
- Strengthened brand reputation
apply whether you’re a company of 2 or 2000.
What is social business?
It’s a business that integrates social into how they do business.
It’s a cultural change that is driven equally by customers, employees, partners and suppliers.
A – Aligning your goals and culture to be ready to become more engaging and transparent. Do not underestimate the task ahead of you!
G – “Gain Friends through Social Trust” focuses on finding your fans, friends and followers, and forming best friends from your tippers or most influential clients or outside parties. It dives into what social trust is all about and how you instill it.
E – Engage through experiences focuses on how a company can engage its clients and employees and dives into gaming, virtual gifting, location based, mobile, or other stellar experiences to drive that engagement.
N – Network your processes. Since this is about business, figuring out how to add social to your processes is critical. Think about customer service — adding in Twitter to address your customer’s concerns. Or Crowdsourcing for product innovation, or Communities for incrementing your marketing processes around loyalty.
D – Design for Reputation and Risk Management! — managing the risk of having your brand online, your employees being your brand advocates, and even your clients becoming your marketing department! The value outweighs the risk …but see how to develop a Disaster Recovery plan as you plan for the worst, and expect the best!
A – Analyze your data! Social analytics are the new black! You need to see the patterns of sentiment, who your tippers are, and listen daily.
How does a small business become a social business?
The same way you become a business…
You make a plan then execute that plan; right?
Then you create a strategy that you hope will realize the goals that you’ve included in that plan.
Building a “social” strategy is as integral a part of your overall “business” strategy as marketing, finances and operations.
Whether you’re setting your business goals or your social strategy, you have to be…
Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. Focus on the 5 “W’s” – Who/What/Where/Why/When
Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.
Attainable – Do you have the resources? How important are they to you?
Realistic- To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. Having as many Twitter followers as Justin Bieber is not realistic.
Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. It gives you a sense of urgency.
How do you start?
…By finding out where you are and where you want to go.
What business problems are to be solved with social business activities?
What is the strategy for making this happen?
Which resources best support these objectives?
Which social networks support this strategy?
In a recent Leger Marketing Survey done for UPS, the reasons given for why businesses have problems with social are: lack of technical know-how and a lack of time.
Does this reflect your reality?
This video, uploaded in April 2010, by LeaderLab.com speaks of the evolution from social media to social business via examples from Starbucks, Google and Lego.
Ray Hiltz is a Social Media Strategist with management roots in restaurant, hotel and performing arts.
A strong proponent for the power of collaborative communication and "humanized" digital networking, Ray writes about social media, social business and Google Plus.
His clients include hotels, restaurants, consulting firms, entrepreneurs, writers and individuals just trying to make sense of "social".
Ray is a popular speaker on Social Media, Social Business and Google+.
I have always seen Social Media as Customer Service. Some companies have an excellent customer service, while others don't care about it. Yu know who notices the difference? The client! So no matter how small your business is, being Social, using social media tools or in person is key in any business. Who wants to make business with a grinch?
@connectyou I agree with you Keri, you should have seen Ray during his Social Media Breakfast présentation last week, his knowledge and interaction skills are top quality!
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