Social Media Is Getting Up-Close And Personal With Small Businesses, And They Like It

Small businesses are now jumping on the social media bandwagon in order to keep their businesses booming or in some cases, afloat! In today’s economic state, all businesses are feeling the repercussions, but especially small business owners. Although our economy has been on a dwindling spiral over the past several years, social media has not. Social media has taken off and no one can catch it. And like the old saying goes, “if ya can’t beat em’, then join em’. ” Using the expression is exactly what small business owners are doing.

In an article from Mediabistro.com, Social Media is Making a Big Impact on Small Business, you can see that 73% of small business owners are using social media. Facebook is in the lead with 82%, followed by a close 73% on YouTube, 47% on Twitter, as well as 47% on Linkedin. These are all essential media outlets for small businesses to help promote a buzz about their business and take it to the next level.

However, the previously stated social media outlets are not the only ones benefiting small business owners. What about Yelp and Foursquare? On Officialblog.yelp.com, Reflections on Yelp’s Small Business Advisory Council, Yelp is expressed as a site in which you can track the amount of traffic your business is getting on your Yelp page over a period of 30 days, 12 months, or 24 months. The site also allows you to publicize your communication traffic between you and your customers. Therefore, prior and potential customers can review information about your business.
Now this brings me to Foursquare. Do you own your own business, or dream of doing so? Do you love the community in which you live? If so, then Foursquare is the site for you! On Ducttapemarketing.com, 7 Reasons Why Small Business Should Take a Look at Foursquare, it truly gears towards the importance of a neighborhood type of hyper local branding, as well as community building, which are essential to the marketing aspects of owning a small business. Those are just a few among many reasons, of why small businesses need to jump on the Foursquare bandwagon fast!

So there you have it! These are just a few examples of how social media platforms are getting up close and personal with small businesses and providing them with endless tools for networking and exposure. Keep in mind; if you’re a small business owner, or potential small business owner, social media is only going to get more advanced. It’s simply a free ticket into possessing a successful and profitable business. You have all of these social media platforms at your fingertips that are the floodgates to opportunity. If you don’t jump on this bandwagon, then you are only cheating yourself and your business.

- Courtney Griffin

 Cgriffin@flagler.edu 

Engaging with Blogs

Before hitting that send button you might want to hold off for a second and check out these 5 tips for blogger engagement, so you can start building rewarding relationships! Another helpful hint is to stay off sites like Bad Pitch Blog and Gawker PR for Dummies.

1.Do Your Homework– Take time for yourself to research and identify a specific group of blogger's to connect with about your client’s initiative.
2.Get Their Name Right – Take the time to learn how to spell the person/ blogger you are reaching out to,don't just start with a‘Hey There'.
3.Be Relevant – Remember that you have a responsibility and that the content must make sense for the audience you are reaching out too.
4.Have Assets to Share – Take the time to give something that will either inspire or engage the blogger's interest further.
5.Understand the Meaning of ‘Partnership’ – Today a blogger's relationship goes beyond the coverage and many times beneficial, for example exclusive access to something.

[via KetchumBlog]

Pinners rejoice! You can now measure the success of your Pinterest campaign

Yes, you’ve read right. Finally two years after Pinterest’s original debut in March 2010, a Pinterest analytics tool has reared its beautiful face. It’s name? Pinerly.

For only opening in its beta stage two weeks ago, Pinerly already has over 35,000 registered users urging them to "take control" of their Pinterest accounts. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself.

The Pinterest analytics dashboard currently only offers basic measurement tools such as how well Pinerly-tracked pins are doing but plans to unveil more complex tools such as offering detailed information on pin performance and the ability to schedule pins in May 2012.

While I’m unfortunately still on the waiting list for an account, Mashable offers a quick taste of what’s soon to come with a registered Pinerly account:

1. Pinerly

Your Pinerly homepage gives you an overview of your account, and quick click access to each of the service's tools. The site's design echoes that of Pinterest, and is very easy to navigate.

 2. Create a Campaign…

You use Pinerly to create “campaigns.” These are pins generated within Pinerly so their stats can be tracked.

 3. …From a Website

Similar to the Pinterst web interface, you can create campaign pins from a web link.

 4. …Or From a File

Or from a file uploaded from your computer.

5. Add Link and Description

Once you’ve selected the content and chosen the correct image, you can add a link and a description. Then you “Pinerly it” to send it to Pinterest.

 6. Select a Board on Pinterest

Over on Pinterest, select a board as usual.

7. Save the Campaign

Then back on Pinerly, hit the finish button, which starts the stat tracking.

8. Your Pinalytics

Once you've created campaign pins, you'll start seeing your "Pinalytics." The first step is a chart which details how many clicks, likes and repins you earn on a given day.

9. Campaign Breakdown Stats 

Next, you can view your "Campaign Breakdown Stats." This useful tool shows you the clicks, likes and repins for each campaign pin you have created through Pinerly.

Although basic at this early stage, the metrics are handy to see what kind of content is doing well.

In the screengrab here, for example, a pin linking to a retro camera did better than those for a birdhouse or a photo album, suggesting that more consumer tech pins might do well in the future.

Pinerly also offers follower and pin suggestions to help jazz up your pin board and increase followers. The full service rolls out next month and will offer various premium account services as well as the standard free account option for poor people like me.

What do you think about Pinerly? Do you think this is something you'll use in a future campaign?

-Vanessa
@vanessaswain