If you use social media regularly for your small business these days, you know that the field is rapidly expanding. So many options and so little time to master them all, yet picking the right channel for your small business message is critical. Issues like target audience, traffic building potential and trust all come into play. Here at Small Business Trends, we’ve decided to have a little virtual meet up to talk about what’s important, what’s not and to let you have your say.
Overview
The trust factor: Which online channels are best? In this interesting overview of current privacy issues in the social media world, advertising and marketing consultant Scott Spaid asks the question, “…do we unwittingly sully our brands when we use trust-challenged social media outlets as the main communication channels with our clients and prospects?” in10sity
So why do we need SEO again? In the ongoing tug of war between traditional search engines (a.k.a. Google) and the social networking world (a.k.a. Facebook and Twitter), how important is conventional Search Engine Optimization when trying to get your site found online? Well, many SEO professionals have now lumped social media marketing in with their other services, but ask yourself, can your Facebook page really do all this stuff? BrickMarketing Blog
Strategy
Social media and search convergence? And speaking of the relative importance of search engine marketing in an increasingly social media oriented environment, here’s a look at the convergence between the two, at how social media and search impact one another and at how both are important to your online business marketing. If you want an overview of the new landscape, step right up! MarketingProfs
Finding the channel that’s right for you. The big ones, of course, are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but there are many other options for social networking including video sharing and bookmarking sites too. So how do you know what channel is right for your business? Why not start by asking where your customers are? SmartBloggerz
Tech
Social media tools continue to expand. This week Gtrot, a tool that will link friends on your Facebook account to your travel itinerary, is launching and creating a whole new potential for the use of social media in conjunction with location-based data. Enter your travel plans and Gtrot will hook you up with friends who either live in or have traveled to the cities you plan to visit. What possibilities might this create for small business location-based marketing? WSJ
Human Resources
Are you hiring socially? Amongst the many other possible resources for hiring online these days is social media. And, hey, we think you can even lump blogs in there. According to this post from Josh O., the main sites on which to consider doing your recruiting remain Twitter and LinkedIn, but you get the idea. Far from just a marketing channel, the right social network can be a new pool for talent from which any business can draw. Epic Launch
Tools
Building your non-profit with social media. Facebook has created new tools to get you started, but really any social network site can benefit your non-profit for the same reason they can help grow a small business. The key is to locate your “tribe” and build a community of like-minded supporters. Where are your members hanging out online? Chances are you can build a social community there and grow your organization in the process. Sprout Social Insights
Why entrepreneurs need Twitter chats. The world is always changing, especially for small business people. Though business advice about social media often stresses marketing and networking potential, there is also a lot of potential for learning in the social space. Way beyond making connections is the importance of the information that can be exchanged. Here’s a look at this important function especially with Twitter today. Epic Launch
Self-development
Tips for creating real value. Making connections and sharing your thoughts is an important part of social media, but like everything else in this busy, distracting world, your social media efforts must create real value if you are to get anyone at all out there to listen. Creating that value, though, is about more than simply grabbing your audience’s attention. It’s also about staying in their minds and holding their attention in the long run, a much more challenging endeavor. The Winning Mindset
Taking the bitter with the sweet. If Facebook and social media in general made it easier to spread misinformation about a coming judgement day by linking like-minded communities who ignored discent, it may also link like-minded communities who share a common problem to someone able to provide solutions. It may also provide a way to tune out the noise of a big media machine hyping solutions that don’t work for your special niche. WSJ
It’s no brainer to see that social media is here to stay for good. Given vast variety of the existing channels to choose and stick with, it’s time for such a hot space to enter into a new category. There is a need for a portal to provide a quick and intelligent decision for both the consumer and the enterprise about their online connections.
A Platform to Help us to Distinguish Our Quality vs. Quantity Friends, Fans, Followers, and Companies
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, Flickr and others have been doing a decent job of providing additional marketing exposure and even in some cases, additional revenue. However, as more and more social networking sites pop up, how do you manage your brand across all these channels? Maybe more importantly, which one of these sites should you select as the one that will help you best reach your target audience?
This glut of information reminds me of the early 90’s when WWW was adopted broadly by the general public. Every company rushed to have a presence, to the point it became literally impossible to find the right information on the Web. That’s when a better generation of search engines – at first the Yahoo! and then Google – entered the market and helped us find the most relevant information by just typing simple keywords in their search box.
Then came Web 1.0 & 2.0 – Youtube, Flickr, myspace, Facebook, Twitter and countless others have turned everyday people into content producers, influencers and experts. We basically tripled down on the information overload How do you know which channels to select for deploying your social media strategy? How do you know which one is the right channel to let your fans and followers to find you, your products, and services? Most importantly, who is Joe Smith that is recommending that person, that company, that product?
I hope my awesomize.me can accomplish such a mission. The site is not another social networking platform. Yet the portal to all your existing social media channels. The platform helps you, your fans, your potential clients to make an intelligent decision as to which company to connect to or follow via which social media channels and why? It’s free!
Elias
CEO & Founder
http://awesomize.me