I was talking with my boss’s boss, Bruce Palmer (director of admissions and marketing for NOLS), today about how small businesses need to be leveraging social media as part of their marketing strategy. With a small budget, a local customer base, and a knowledge that you can’t beat the bigger competitor, it’s almost a no-brainer that you should be utilizing the social web. You aren’t even getting the short end of the stick here, it’s some of the best marketing you can do! (Although you do need to be creative and honest, which can be tough.)
That is why it is so amazing to me that more small businesses are not on Twitter, and do not have a Facebook page yet.
Lander, Wyoming is a small town. People stare you down at the grocery store here, not because they are mean, but because they think they should know you. Twitter has no place here, surely. Social media is for the hipster crowd in fancy San Fransisco. Right? Not true. If anything, social media can thrive here better than ever because we are one mega-niche, and we do all know each other.
Shane Parrot runs a local coffee shop, Folklore Coffee, here in town. He uses Twitter to let people know that the roast beef sandwiches are being made, or what the soup of the day is. He posts pictures of his foam art. He connects with other baristas around the world, and tweets out community news.
Folklore isn’t the only store on the block though. Wild Iris, the local outdoor store, tweets their hours, deals, and when the best days for climbing will be. The used book store, The Book Basket, updates their followers about when they get in new books.
From @The_Book_Basket: Hippie-era books? Just in: The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross; Knocking on Dylan’s Door; Herbal Highs and more! Turn on, tune out and read!
The takeaway here is that these updates are not for everyone. You, as a person not living in the middle of nowhere Wyoming, should not care about these updates. But I do. As a small business you don’t need a million followers to be successful on Twitter. But you should be on Twitter.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
thats a great point. it only has to be relevant to -your- audience, not everyone’s audience.
well said, sir. well said.