Local Business: How to Plan for Social Media Success

Before business owners take the plunge into using Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and Pinterest as digital marketing tools, we first need to consider what it is the business wants to achieve.

1. More new customers - check.
2. More return customers - check.
3. Increased productivity - check.

Those are some ambitious but attainable goals, now how do we get there from here?

We need to plan for success.

Local business owners need to take some time to really think about their products or services, what their customers experience, and how they can continually improve the customer interaction and recruitment process.

For example, how will Facebook improve sales?

Seems like a simple question, until we start identifying opportunities and begin knocking down barriers to interaction.

• How can Twitter act as a personal coupon network?
• How do people find the business online?
• What are the top 3 new customer referral sources?
• Should visitors get directed to the blog through Facebook or vice versa?
• Is it possible to align a local business with other local businesses through social media?

For the local Carlsbad retail business – whether it’s a juice bar, dry cleaners, or day spa - social media is a complementary marketing component; an inbound marketing tool requiring other ingredients in order to achieve maximum benefit.

Foundational Elements

An effective team that is on board with clearly defined goals and a business owner that cares about what people say is a great foundation.

Websites, SEO, newsletters, and online video are some ways most businesses are probably already using to build off that solid foundation. Now we can add mobile marketing to that growing list, ensuring any business web presence and social media identity is well formatted on cell phones and tablets.

Social media is another arrow in the digital marketing quiver. Businesses need to use it, but use it wisely.

If all goes according to plan, social media will help digitally amplify a business’ word of mouth – if that’s not a good thing, then there are more pressing concerns than Facebook or Twitter.

It will serve the efforts best, any marketing efforts, to take an objective and consistent look at things from an outsider's perspective.

• What’s it like to walk in the door for the first time, what’s the first impression communicated to potential customers?
• How does staff feel about the customers - and vice versa?
• How do customers feel about available products or services?
• Is there any promotional calendar?
• Are we maintaining (or segmenting) our mailing lists?

These are just a few questions, but the point is taking an objective look and making sure we develop a plan before taking our small business into the social media realm.

Even if it’s just an informal type outline compiled before the next staff meeting, or a simple survey hand-out (or email); we need to start the conversation and take some time to plan before taking that first step.

Don't Fail to Plan

Mistake number one most small businesses make, is jumping into social media with both feet - but without a plan.

That and setting up a personal Facebook profile rather than a business page. And believe it or not, even in Spring of 2012 - there are still local businesses out there that are not represented on some of the most popular websites in the planet!

Click the link for the proper BUSINESS PAGE setup for Facebook.

You’ll want to complete that registration process for your business Facebook page, which is totally different from the PERSONAL PROFILE set up.

Be sure to choose the correct category:

• Local Business (most local retail businesses will fall in this category)
• Company, Organization or Institution
• Brand or Product
• Artist, Band or Public Figure
• Entertainment
• Cause or Community

And then there are the issues of having a dedicated person to handle the updating, linking, optimization, promotion, integration, posting, customer communications, account management, technical support…etc.

Get started with Facebook, then get a Twitter profile started. 

Initiating the Facebook and Twitter profiles should be relatively easy, even though there are some potential minor pitfalls it’s pretty straightforward - just take your time and read the directions.

Develop your social media plan, and decide how that is going to integrate with any existing marketing plan for your local retail business.

Facebook and Twitter profiles are a great start, then there is Foursquare, YouTube, Pinterest, and Google+…but that's just the beginning.

Plan for after the beginning.

Are you a Carlsbad small business owner currently experiencing technical difficulties realizing return on social media engagement?

- Click over to 1LocalBusiness.com for your FREE Carslbad Digital Marketing Manifesto -

Please feel free to post comments, questions, sneers, jeers, and snide remarks!