Small businesses and entrepreneurs have tried to create presences for their businesses on social media services such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. However, creating a brand presence on social media is different from posting cute pictures of pets on personal accounts. Local marketing experts warn that major public relations disasters can happen to a well-meaning small business owner, if they don’t create and follow a careful plan.ìHere in Colorado Springs, people understand the power of face-to-face networking in groups like BNI and PEPNet,î said Gil Datz, owner of UZU Media. ìWe tell people that for any business, social media helps multiply whatever is going good for their business through the power of digital and the power of networks. Testimonials are way more powerful through Internet and social networks.îCurrent customers want to engage with the businesses they deal with, and be able to research and get to know the businesses they are researching. A business without a social media presence nowadays is seen as being old school or out of date, said Kelly Mirabella, social media trainer and consultant at Stellar Media Marketing.ìBack in the early 2000s and late 1990s, people said, ‘I don’t need a website,’î Mirabella said. ìNow you can’t have a business at all without a website. That’s what social media is today.î Consumers are asking people in their social media groups for recommendations for service providers, and the people responding often tag the page of the companies they recommend. ìThat’s one tiny piece of what people are sharing behind the scenes about your business,î Mirabella said.ìIf you’re ignoring social media, consumers may ask what else you’re ignoring in your business,î Datz said. ìIt’s a huge part of the research process for consumers. If they heard of someone, they’ll go and confirm what they heard on social.î Search engines such as Google have changed their algorithms over the years to similarly use social media signals about a business to decide how to rank the business in their search results. ìGoogle is looking for good regular content,î Datz said. ìIf you have a good Web page and good Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds, it shows you have a lot going on there.îìAll these things are just pieces of the marketing puzzle,î Mirabella said. ìIt’s showing you provide value. You want people to come up to you and say, ‘Gee, I see you everywhere!’î Mirabella cautions against paying too much to what she calls ìvanity matrixî numbers like followers or likes. ìIt’s about showing you’re the best person in your field in your area,î she said. ìYou don’t need to compare yourself to Starbucks or Pepsi. Stop focusing on the numbers and focus on what you can do for your audience.îCreating a social media strategy for a small business or solo entrepreneur takes planning and consistency. However, business owners need to be careful of seeing it as too easy or too hard. ìThe questions in our classes are the extremes,î Datz said. ìEither social media is too easy or it is too hard, and they steer away from it.î Viewing social media as a marketing tool is different from sharing news and photos with family and friends. ìIt’s a question of someone who is just on social media or who understands the marketing,î Datz said. ìMost of us can do an oil change on our cars, but most of us can’t change the transmission out.îSuccess on social media won’t happen overnight, despite how fast it seems, viral content comes and goes. ìSocial media has done something as a culture shift, creating impatient people,î Mirabella said. ìBecause it’s a fast medium and people immediately have access to my content, they are also impatient waiting for the results.îEven if it takes a while to create a loyal following and engagement with current and potential customers, social faux pas can spread quickly and damage the business’s reputation. ìOne thing about business owners running the accounts, we’re emotional about our business,î Mirabella said. ìThat can be a positive because people see the passion you have for your product or service.î However, the owner can ruin their brand, if they go on a written rampage about a bad review or a controversial subject, Mirabella said.ìBecause it’s social, business owners usually have a lot of their friends there,î Datz said. ìBut they figure everyone’s their friends. Social media multiplies the good, but it also multiplies the bad. If someone who has a large following picks up on your mistakes, it will go far. But social media generally has a short memory, or at least the edge comes off it quickly.îSocial media is a tool that small businesses can use or misuse much like their Web pages, print advertising or business cards. ìYou can’t just dabble in business and find success, the same way you can’t just dabble in social media,î Mirabella said. ìYou need consistency in messaging, posting and strategy.î
