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If you aren't already barricaded in your basement with a wing stove, a supply of food and water and a small arsenal, chances are good you're wracking your brain trying to figure out how your small business will weather the economic storm. The talking heads have been telling us the bottom is about to drop out for months and with eleventy billion dollars about to get dumped into a mysterious "bailout" package, the rest of us are picking up our buckets so we can start bailing out ourselves and our businesses.
One possible solution for small business owners can be summed up in two simple words.
Social. Media.
If you're one of those companies that's been afraid to dip your toes in the pool known as social media, it's time to get over it and dive in. Why? Because economic crisis is going to push both companies and consumers straight into the arms of social media and the companies that get there first are going to reap the biggest reward.
Rather than bore you with a super long article explaining why social media will play such an important role, I decided to play with pictures and make a nice little chart for you.
If you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
People will have less money to spend, so they'll do more research before spending it. Thanks to the web, they have all the opinions, thoughts and information available at their fingertips. Thanks to social media, they can make good decisions on how and where to spend their money.
Companies will have less money to spend, so they'll start searching for cheaper ways to get in front of consumers. Thanks to the web, they can listen to opinions, thoughts and questions from consumers. Thanks to social media, they can engage those consumers, meet their needs and win the sale.
Sooner or later, your competitors will figure this out.
Figure it out first, and you're going to come through these economic times in quite a bit better shape than they will.
Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.
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