Does social media work for small businesses?

Pugliese on PR

By Tina L. Pugliese, APR, Pugliese Public Relations

tina pugliese That was the question asked in a survey and the answer was “No.” Many small business leaders said that they did not see results from their efforts on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Why does it seem to be all the rage for larger organizations, but not so much for smaller ones?

Here are some of the stumbling blocks that small businesses may have when it comes to social media:

It takes time to get results. The whole aspect of social media is about building relationships, and that cannot be done overnight. If a small business starts a Facebook Fan page or a blog and hopes for immediate results, it will be disappointed.

It takes up time. Small business owners have a lot to do just running their business. Building and maintaining online social networks takes time and consistency. And, unlike larger organizations with more staff members to delegate to, in a small business, it is hard to let someone else convey the corporate message.

It takes resources. Not only do small businesses need manpower to handle the online communication, they also need sources of information and research in order to establish that role of a thought leader. Large companies can do surveys and hire researchers to write innovative white papers, but with their limited budgets and staff, it is more difficult for small businesses to offer new and fresh information.

Some businesses may make a half-hearted entry. For the businesses that are doing social media because they are supposed to, it will not take much to convince them it will not work. The company president may have a LinkedIn account, but has few connections and does not strengthen those or build more.

Lack of hard results. Most of the stories of success using social media are anecdotal so it is difficult to show the actual benefits of using it. How do you know that a potential customer decided to call you because he saw you on Facebook? Can you measure the amount of people who developed a favorable impression of you after reading your blog?

Despite the negatives from this survey, social media experts are sure that small businesses can benefit from this form of marketing.

Tina Pugliese's columns on public relations appear in Palm Beach Business.com every other Monday. Her previous column can be found here.

Tina L. Pugliese, APR is an executive coach and counselor for Pugliese Public Relations, a communications firm in Boynton Beach, Florida. Pugliese is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, and is the author of the book, Public Relations for Pharmacists, and e-books, Marketing Your Business for Success, How To Work With The Media, Public Relations Manual — A Guide for Entrepreneurs, and the PR Survival Kit. She can be reached at (561) 889-3575 and by email at Tina@PugliesePR.com. Her web site is www.PugliesePR.com.

Article excerpted from e-book, PR Survival Kit, by Tina L. Pugliese, APR.