Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Benefits of Social Media for Small Businesses

With the opportunities that social media brings to the business world, now more than ever small businesses have the chance to run alongside big corporations to reach their customers where they frequent the most. Many small businesses shy away from using social networking because they are intimidated by the power of bigger corporations. What many small companies may not yet realize is that they have the undiscovered power to compete with bigger corporations with the new developments of social media marketing.

One of the biggest benefits smaller companies have over larger companies in terms of social networking is their size. Since social networking can be quite chaotic, managing a slew of these networks can often lead to disorganization and mixed messages coming from different sectors of a large company. While these big company divisions can strain marketing efforts, it is here where the small companies can actually benefit.

With attention to detail and more precise personalization, small companies may have the capability of delivering a more trustworthy type of customer service with a more strategized message. Though many larger companies segregate sections of the company to manage this up-and-coming social networking, the larger corporations aren’t necessarily focused on this new type of marketing. This can put large companies at a disadvantage and create a huge opportunity for smaller businesses to push through the corporate clutter to emerge as social networking leaders.

Smaller businesses also gain an advantage over larger businesses in social networking due to their smaller followings and unknown façade from a lack of exposure. Because most large corporations began before the rise of social networking, many maintain a social networking image similar to their prior social image, developed through traditional advertising, marketing and promotion. Smaller businesses have the advantage of molding and shaping this social image through the use of social networking with Web sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. As a result of this permeable image, smaller businesses can get ahead with social networking in ways that bigger companies cannot.

While it may seem that big companies have the money and manpower to facilitate a major marketing campaign, smaller businesses have the capabilities of using these new tools more efficiently if they strategize properly to get ahead in the new game of social networking.

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