Taking it to the streets

Nearly every day I hear from a small business owner struggling with the concept of using social media to market their business. The questions come tumbling: how, when, why, what for?  Inevitably, they feel shy, silly, even stupid as they poke around in the social media "nonsense."

I've been in the advertising industry for nearly three decades, and I admit, I had the same confusion. My Aha! moment came when I realized that social media has changed the very concept of how we reach our customers and how we engage them.

Let me digress. Traditional advertising is an interruption media. "And now, a word from our sponsors..." It claims that, while we have you as a captive audience listening/watching/reading what you enjoy, we're going to interject something we think you also will enjoy buying/ordering/using. The concept worked for a long time.

Aha! Social media is an engagement media. It says: I'm doing this and if you are interested, why don't you join me and we'll experience it together, or at least,  you can tell me about it and I will listen.

I just read an article quoting Don Shultz, a professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern. His studies show that only 4-5 percent of our customers make up the bulk of our sales and profits. The other 95% actually cost us. With that kind of margin, why wouldn't you touch this elite group singularly and specifically or "pick them up in a car and deliver them to your door" as Schultz suggests.

I suggest that part of our confusion is trying to stuff the big round peg of social media into the square of traditional media. It won't fit. Shultz suggests we need an overhaul in our thinking. Instead of delivering a message via media to your segment, find the customers and engage them there. (Four rules for media planning coming in the Feburary issue of Biz2Biz) 

Clear as mud?  Here are five ways Biz2Biz will be using social media in 2010.

1. To listen to our peers and community. By staying tuned in to the social media network we can hear what's on their minds. What/who are they talking about? What are their concerns? What are their interests? Where do they spend their time? With our listening ears on, we'll be able to deliver even more relevant content.

2. To introduce our stories and tips to those involved in the business community in Northwest Arkansas. Biz2Biz covers many different topics of business. Not all of them interest everyone the same. If you are interested in the topic, we're just a click away.

3. To find the movers and shakers and shine the spotlight on them. Our business community is full of professionals whose futures are so bright they gotta wear shades. Biz2Biz will spotlight every day small business owners who make up the backbone of Northwest Arkansas.

4. To introduce business professionals to other companies who have a wealth of product and industry information to share. Education is the key to good purchase decisions. With blogs, forums and email we can ask, answer and connect.

5. To expand the role of local entrepreneurship. Google for anything and you'll get a link. It may be for someone on the other side of the world, but it's unlikely it will be someone around the corner.  If 90% of all commerce is local,  90% of our contacts should be, too. That is afterall, where we find our best customers.