Many businesses want to utilize social media, but only a fraction master it. The hardest part seems to be the process of breaking your company's foot through the door. (Especially, if you are a small business.)
What are the main reasons small businesses have such a hard time finding their way to success in social media and how do we address these issues?
1. There are many platforms and networks (and ALL are different).
To get something out of social media you have to decide which platforms and networks are best for you and your business. This question can not be answered for all businesses simultaneously, as every business (and industry) demands different goals, which yield divergent approaches, strategies, and content. Each business has to decide for each goal and target group, which outlets to take into account and what to do and act there. In addition you have to combine different outlets and platforms to get the most out of your efforts.
To make the decision which platforms and networks to use businesses not only have to know the basic facts about all the networks they take into consideration, but also to know their own goals, people and a basic concept for content. Only then can they decide on the right outlets for publishing and pushing their content.
2. Visibility is not a given.
Most social networks rely on connections in the form of friends, followers, fans and readers. If you are well connected in a large group of people, it is much easier to get your content spread. Without these connections, you would be fairly invisible within these networks. This makes social media benefits tough to reap if you are just beginning.
It can also be a challenge to integrate a business-oriented dialogue within the framework of the social networks that were created for social purposes. There is a large difference between personal contacts originating from private life and business connections. Your personal friends might be willing to help you spread business content, but what you are really looking for are people interested in your industry or professional field of interest. As these people are (most often) connected to others from your related field, having them share your content has the potential to have a much greater influence. Though first, you must find this target group and connect before your content will really start to work.
Very few social platforms let you have fun from the very start. In most networks, you have to collect handfuls of contacts before you can benefit from the platform. The same goes for your own blog: setting up a blog and posting does not get you any visibility. To attract readers (apart from Mom, Dad and your BFF), you have to first work extremely hard to attract visibility.
There are numerous social platforms. If you are a business new to social media, you have to figure out how all the networks function and interact. In this process, you will try out more than just Facebook to diversify your audience.
So where do you start? You connect to friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Besides being an inorganic readership, do you think they will be active on all channels? Even with organic followers, will the same people want to consume similar or identical content from you on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Foursquare, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg, Slideshare, and so on?
3. Learning takes time.
There is no "right" social media strategy. While many may follow the same basic principles, each company and business professional will tweak their techniques to suit their individual needs. You will find a lot of information (success stories, examples, opinions) on how effective the different networks are and there you can learn the basics. In the end, you have to figure it out for yourself and learn by doing (trial and error), and that will take time. Eventually you will understand which networks agree best with your line of thinking, which users react positively to different types of content, and where to find the people you are really looking for.
If you are looking for the quick return, social media and content marketing might not be the right method. It takes a decent amount of time to understand how the networks function, interact, and how your business can best build a following. Stay patient. In the meantime, you may want to consider paid advertisements to help jumpstart your following.
4. Some social media processes do not fit with natural business behavior.
When I started using social media, I had the feeling I was intruding on people. I had to figure out how much contact would not be intrusive to strangers and how much shyness would not get me anywhere. You will have to do that on your own, as people from different countries in different networks and from different industries, all act in different ways. There are many aspects that influence online behavior and code of conduct; age, profession, industry and network/platform are only just a few.
5. Why is it harder for small businesses?
Small businesses (usually) do not have an established brand that will inherently attract followers. Some of the large existing brands (i.e. Ferrari) have the luxury of customers, buyers and fans recognizing their name/label, making it easier to attain an influential following.
Smaller businesses also target smaller groups of people. In social media, the advantage of "reach" in the large networks is often more relevant for big brands. For some smaller businesses, it could make sense to start on smaller, more targeted platforms if the desired reach cannot be found on the larger platforms.
The budgets for marketing are also higher in large companies, thus there is more time allowed for achieving the desired return on investment. Some of the larger networks offer paid options to build a following, which makes the marketing budget important. Instead of establishing the initial audience, larger companies often have the opportunity to "buy" it.
However, there are some advantages for smaller businesses. The first: social media is personal. For a small business the person you talk to in social media often is a relevant person within the company and not an external social media manager. Within a smaller company, community discussion can take place with a member of the company that is closer to the source. Small businesses have the large opportunity to build personal connections via social media. Which potential client or consumer would rather talk to an external representation, than the CEO? Is the statement that comes from the PR firm more trustworthy than the explanation that originates from the internal expert?
So... can it be easier?
The simple answer is: maybe. Small businesses will undoubtedly face different (and potentially fatal) challenges that larger companies have the luxury to avoid. However, there are several things you can do to make your small business life easier. Ask questions on sites like quora to get answers from people who have struggled with the same obstacles you presently face. Once you become familiar with your own networks, you can answer questions on these same sites and establish your own expertise.
Tap into smaller social networks that are specialized in business interaction and are much easier to navigate. Smaller networks may not boast a potential client base as grandiose as the larger platforms, but the specialized nature of such platforms enables you to reach and be reached by those relevant to your company. Regardless of which social network(s) you use to promote your business and interact with your professional community, be sure you stick to producing high-quality content. With the endless amount of information circulating through the web, your education, stories and personality become increasingly valuable.
As your social media strategy develops (and you get more and more followers!), stay true to your company ethos and remember an organic following takes time. Listen to the leaders of your industry, involve yourself with innovators and community influencers, interact with your current and potential community, and eventually your social media investment will payoff.