Social Media Awareness by Small Businesses

Social media seems to be everywhere, seems to be used by everyone....but is it really?  And how about small business use?  

We participated in a Small Business Week event yesterday in Danbury, CT (sat on a panel) that was co-sponsored by SBA, SCORE, and Constant Contact.  The questions from the audience of small business owners were better, more informed, more detailed, and demonstrated a greater level of awareness and understanding than we've seen at any previous event.

Was it the Facebook IPO this week, was it the self-selecting nature of the attendees, was it the presence of the SBA that were factors?  Undeniably; anything that could be a factor probably was a factor.  But let's share some observations:

• Just about everyone knew about Facebook business pages, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn.  First time.
• About half the audience knew about Pinterest.  And half again knew about the shifting nature of the Pinterest user profile.
• Many were aware that there were different channels by which Google determines search relevance.
• When the panel was answering a question in relatively new territory (manipulating the Timeline page, for example), facial expressions were generally of comprehension rather than confusion.
• Only one expression about commercial emails being intrusive and spam.
• No expressions that social media was irrelevant to business - and not one disdainful reference to a 'what I had for breakfast' Tweet.

Qualitative, yes.  Observational, yes.  But real.  And it made for more sophisticated discussions both during and after the panel session.  Note to practitioners - step up your game.

Are small businesses moving up the 'hockey stick' of social media awareness, integration, and use?  Think so... 

The Business Sustainability Continuum

Sustainable versus Situational.  Representing opposite ends of a continuum, it is

instructive to analyze the relative position of a strategy, system, or process between

these two end points.  Some of the considerations to include in a business context

are costs, externalities, and stability over time.  Macro-level factors (demographics,

technology, etc.) feed into the 'stability over time' considerations.

This concept can be applied in practical business-related instances:

• Go-to-market sales programs designed to generate long-term revenue stability.
• Marketing communication programs that build a loyal following.
• Internal communication and collaboration tools that capture the creative energy of an organization.
• Market strategies balanced between domestic and international.
• Organizational strategies that match focus with capability.

The concept also works in non-business instances, too.  Think of the popular uprisings

and overthrow of long-standing regimes in the Arab world last year.  There were clearly

factors that impacted the 'stability over time' component and when the tipping point was

reached, the change came swiftly.

It is tempting to think in terms of time only; long-term versus short-term.  Sustainable policies

driving long-term stability; situational policies driving short-term results.  A more comprehensive

view is called for, however, in both small businesses and large.   

The basis for that comprehensive view will be the strategic plan.  Even if a small 

business doesn't have a formal plan, it has one by default through it's actions.  We 

always begin any engagement, whether marketing or collaboration-related, with an

overview of the business goals, objectives, and performance.  Or, where are you, where

do you want to be, what are you doing to get there, and how is it going?

In practice, there needs to be a mix and a balance between sustainable and situational 

polices and practices.  The goal of a business over time is to move that mix more towards

the sustainable end of the continuum.  The business then starts to run more on "auto-pilot",

and the next set of decisions revolve around new opportunities from innovation or growth.  Those

investments can often begin with a situational reference; and the cycle begins again.

The sustainability continuum provides an insightful and instructive method by which to think

about strategies, systems, and processes.

Lessons from the Office Live Small Business Transition

As a Microsoft Cloud Partner focused on small businesses and Office 365, we approached the announced April 30th shutdown of Office Live Small Business (OLSB) with equal measures of excitement and trepidation.  Excitement because Office 365 really is a better platform for a small business - trepidation because we expected a large number of OLSB customers began using the service because it was free and we weren't certain what their reaction would be when it came time to transition.

We began promoting our support offerings early in 2012, but interest really began to pick up in late February.  One thing that made a difference for the transitioning businesses is that we provided our phone number.  So they called.  Some had questions, some had complaints, some just wanted to know why something free was being "taken away from them".  We were sympathetic, and expressed gratitude for the time that it was free...and then focused on the strength of the new Office 365 platform for enterprise-grade capabilities at a price small businesses can afford.  Better collaboration as a means to drive extraordinary productivity gains for small businesses; it can be a real game-changer for those that adopt early.

Some understood the message; and we continue to work with them today to exploit these new capabilities.  We are on a journey together.  We can teach them how to work with the tools - but the real excitement comes from the success generated by a creative application of the tools to drive sustainable results.