For many small business owners, taking the plunge into social media can be both exciting and terrifying. There is quite a bit to learn, but of course there is also the excitement of connecting with new people and reaching a larger audience.

Where Do You Start?

The question we get asked often is which social media networks should a small business owner join. Or worse, the client comes in ready to join them all! While we firmly believe there is a social media network for every business, we don’t believe that every business should be on every social media network. There is still a business to be ran, and plunging into every possible network out there is quite time intensive. And we definitely don’t recommend that you join them all and then automate everything (see our blog post on automating social media).

The Big 4 Social Media Networks

We’re sure you’ve heard of the big four… Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and newest kid on the block – Google+. Almost all small businesses should be able to find a home in at least one of the big four… if not several. When deciding where you want to begin, it’s our recommendation that you start where the majority of the people already are. Our infographic on the big four helps to break down the stats on each of those social media networks.

Quick Stats on the Big Four

Facebook = 800 million users
Twitter = 200 million users
LinkedIn = 115 million users
Google Plus = 50 million users (and growing fast)

Understanding Facebook

Facebook is a social networking website connecting friends, family, and businesses. To get started on Facebook – you must first create a profile. This then becomes your “personal” connection on Facebook. You can then seek out friends/family/colleagues/etc and request to “be friends”. Typically your personal profile should be kept personal. Connect with people you know in real life, and those you’ve met virtually. Others will likely “friend request” you as well. You can set your privacy to allow the whole world to see your updates, or set it where only the friends you accept can see your updates.

The Facebook Fanpage is the page you create for your business. You cannot create this page until you have created a personal profile. Keep in mind, once you create this fanpage, it does not automatically give your business fans access to your personal profile, that is still kept hidden from them unless you make it public.

In using Facebook for business, you could post items to your wall which would be relevant to the audience that has “liked” your page. These will likely be clients, prospects, colleagues, etc. Posting your blog posts, sharing articles relevant to your industry, uploading photos or videos of your staff – these are all excellent ways to start building your fan page content. Keep in mind however, Facebook is meant to be a conversation – so encourage interaction, respond to questions or comments. Branch out to other pages and participate in their conversations as well.

Facebook isn’t expected to be instant communication, meaning you don’t have to reply the second someone reaches out – but you should reply to questions and comments within a day or two, if not sooner. People will lose interest in your brand very quickly if you take 2 weeks to get back to them.

Last but not least – don’t use Facebook as a sales platform. There is nothing wrong with sharing specials or the like, but if this is all you are doing on Facebook – then people will move on very quickly. They want to be educated or entertained. It’s best when you can work in a combination of both.

We find that the majority of businesses can get a good return on their investment of time using Facebook. It has the largest audience, hence the greatest reach.

Understanding Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as “tweets”. Twitter is not like Facebook, and should not be considered the same type of social network just on another platform. Think of Twitter as a cocktail party. If someone asks you a question, you don’t turn around and call them back 3 days later with an answer. You have a very short window in which to reply to them before they turn and walk away and ask someone else.

On Twitter – there is only one type of account to create (no distinction between personal and business – though you can decide how you want to use Twitter). Twitter is a lot more active, fast paced, than the other networks. Unlike Facebook, you don’t “friend request” others. You actually find those on Twitter that you’re interested in following, and from their profile you can “follow” them. Similarly, others will “follow” you. There is no permission requests necessary.

Keep in mind – Twitter is NOT a numbers game. The goal if Twitter is not to have the most followers, or to follow the most people… the whole point is to actively engage and participate in conversation, in real time. Think about it – if you’re following 15,000 people, how can you possibly pay attention to their tweets and reply/connect with them? You can’t. Follow an audience of others that you truly want to learn from, talk to, and genuinely want to know more about. Keeping the number of people you follow small, you’ll be more able to get involved. Again, back to the cocktail party concept — if you attend and event with 30, you’re more likely to be able to connect with each person there, have a conversation, and strike up a relationship – on the other hand, if there are 300 at that same party, it’s going to be nearly impossible for you make connections and engage with everyone.

Like Facebook – Twitter is not meant to be one-sided. Don’t just use Twitter to push your own agenda/content. Take an active role, retweeting content of those you follow that might be of interest to those that follow you. Reply to people when you are mentioned, a simple thank you goes a long way.

Twitter will take more time for most people, and really needs to be treated like an active conversation. If you aren’t there, you’ve missed that conversation. It’s isn’t for everyone, and for certain businesses we recommend they stay away from Twitter if they can’t dedicate the time to actively engage.

Understanding LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 120 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals. Think of LinkedIn as the world’s largest chamber of commerce event.

Professionals create their online profiles, which are very similar to resumes. They list job information, education, affiliations, etc. Then connect with others they know either in the real world or virtually. Any connections you have, are able to see your other connections. Others hoping to connect with someone, may come to you if you are the connection between them and that person.

LinkedIn is used for business connecting, job hunting, joint venture development, and isn’t as “social” as the other networks. Because LinkedIn focuses strictly on business, you will find that the majority of the conversations on LinkedIn are business related.

You can post updates on your LinkedIn account that will broadcast to the network you are connected with… but the best way to get involved on LinkedIn is to join groups. There are tons and tons of groups to choose from. Some are public, some are private and require approval from the group administrator in order to join. You can also create your own group!

For many small business owners, LinkedIn doesn’t require the same type of time commitment as the other networks – unless you are actively involved in several groups. Participating in sharing knowledge with other members will help establish you as an expert in your area/industry, and tends to open up doors for meeting others in similar industries.

LinkedIn is a great business platform… but is not where you are likely to build a raving fan community (like you would at Facebook or Twitter). We do recommend that all small business owners at a minimum create a presence at LinkedIn.

Understanding Google +

Google Plus came on the scene as a mixture of some of the other social media networks, claiming to bring in the best parts of them, but do them better. While it’s too early to predict how Google Plus might change social media, or it’s significance to business owners… one astonishing piece of information is that it grew faster than any other network, reaching over 50 million users in a matter of months instead of years.

Google Plus lets your organize your friends/contacts by topic: friends, family, colleagues, college buddies, roommates, ex boyfriends, etc. The idea behind circles is that as you share information to your network, you can choose specifically which of your circles to share this information with.

Google Plus offers virtual chat rooms where you can start up video conversations and talk with your friends, it also has group messaging, where you and friends in your circle can chat amongst yourselves. Like Facebook, you can share videos, photos, links to websites you like, and of course status updates.

Admittedly I don’t know much more than that about Google Plus. I am a Google Apps user, and we were the last to be allowed to join Google Plus, so I’ve just recently setup an account. However, in my opinion, Google Plus appears to be trying to outwit  Facebook – and I just wasn’t impressed. Until Google gets it’s numbers up to compete more with the big 3 (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), you won’t likely see me hanging out over there.

Other Social Networks

Aside from the big boys… there are TONS of other social networks out there. There are other general networks, as well as social networks specific to certain industries (entrepreneur networks, human resources networks, medical networks, etc). You can check out some of the following if you’re looking for more networks to join… MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, Hi5, Orkut, Perfspot, Zorpia, Netlog, Habbo, Ning, Tagged, MyYearBook, Meetup, Badoo, MyLife, Classmates, Entrepreneur Connect, PartnerUp, StartupNation, Biznik……. the list just keeps going and going. Try searching on google for social networks in the industry you are in, you’ll be surprised by what you might find.

Final Thoughts

Social media platforms come in all shapes and sizes, and there are definitely networks out there perfect for you and your business. Choose wisely, find the networks where you’ll have the best reach, and connect with the right people. Don’t join all the networks just because you can, otherwise your time and attention becomes so divided between them that you will find you aren’t getting as much out of them as you could. And don’t jump into multiple networks all at once. Start with one, get your footing, and then branch out to another if necessary. But remember – social media is meant to be social – share and engage.

 

Tagged Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Social Media, Twitter

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