Most businesses and organizations today are grappling with how to be competitive in the online world. Much of the advice from others seems to be "you gotta have a website", "you gotta blog", "you gotta be on Facebook and Twitter". So what do many small businesses do? They go out, get a website and set up up those online social networking accounts. They run a few posts on the social networks, get frustrated because they get little reaction, and give up.
Social media and social networking is extremely important for businesses and organizations of all sizes today. And just as most businesses seek out professionals to do their marketing and advertising, it's important to consider a professional when it comes to being social online for your company. I set out recently to find a local professional, to get a better perspective for businesses . . . meet Socialsmidge! From owner Kelly Lohman's great smile to the fun logo and approach to the social world, you immediately want to be a "Smidgeon" (as Socialsmidge calls their "followers"). Everyone I've talked to immediately perks up when you ask about her and what she does.
Kelly Lohman, a former Marketing Director for a local company, started Socialsmidge 3 years ago and provides online social services for several businesses and organizations (click here to see some of her clients). Although, some may refer to her as a "Social Media Expert"; Kelly prefers the term "Guru" due to the ever changing landscape of the online social world. As she says, "I think it's nearly
impossible for anyone to classify themselves as an expert in the field when
everyday something is changing. From Facebook functions to newly
developed social networking sites such as Google Plus. The more it
changes, the more social media "guru's" as I like to call us need to
adapt, study, and learn."
Here's what Kelly has to say about the world of social media for businesses and organizations.
1. How did you get started in
providing social media services?
I began about 3 years ago when I worked for as a marketing
director for a local company. I based the majority of my marketing on
online trends such as social media, blogging, web ads, google placement,
etc. After working with them I realized there was so many companies that
just didn't have time or understanding of what social media was meant for and
that I could provide these services for them.
2. What do you see as the biggest
misconception today in regards to social media and organizations venturing into
this area?
The biggest misconception in regards to social media is that
companies believe they should sell their product on it, I know no one likes to
hear that but it's the truth. Social media is not for sales - it was
developed on the idea to network, chat, and interact with people.
Sometimes I pop on facebook and think; If I see another post that tells me to
buy a car from you I'm going to "unlike" you. Instead companies
should be having fun with their brand and toss a photo up a new car in
inventory and say "Hey Fans, this just rolled into our lot - what do you
think? Is it your color or would you rather it in blue?" See the difference?
The posts that we generate don't beg people to buy, instead it gently reminds
the audience that yes you do sell cars but let's have fun today and talk about
cars and get your opinion. If a company goes into social media with the
thought that they can use it to sell, then their posts or interaction will look
like sales and these days we are all fast forwarding through commercials so
just imagine how many people are passing over those posts!
3. A lot of times there is this notion
that to be "successful" with social media the company or organization
must have a large number of "followers" or "fans". Is
there truth to that and what should be the expectation for the company or
organization?
Having a large following or fanbase is not important. The biggest
insight we look at on services like Facebook is not the number of likes but the post
feedback. That tells us whether or not our messages are working. If the
post feedback is low then the connections aren't real. You can have a
1,000 fans with little feedback or 100 fans with high feedback. While it's
important to grow your base, it's more important to have authentic real
fans. For small business owners having a community that loves you,
believes in your brand, and wants to interact with you is always better than
having a large community who doesn't care about your brand, product, or
service.
4. There are a number of social media and
networking services (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Video, etc.), which one do
you see as the most beneficial? Or is it a "recipe" of a
combination of those to get the most benefit?
I think all of the social networks are
beneficial to businesses, but that doesn't mean a business has to be on all of
them. For instance, a restaurant will see the most benefit on Facebook
and Twitter but an insurance company will see the most benefit from Facebook
and blogging. It truly depends on each company and what their brand
is. Social media marketing companies have an understanding of the purpose
of each social network so it helps us place our clients on the right
ones. Many business owners will spend time on everything when instead
they may just need to blog or just need to tweet. The good news is that
there is a social network for every industry!
5. What do you see as the biggest benefit
to companies/organizations using an outside social media service compared to
doing it in-house and/or simply assigning it as a task for an employee?
One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing
social media is to a company like Socialsmidge is that the audience is typically
bigger and louder. Social media marketing companies do one thing - we
socialize. Business owners or employees have a laundry list of daily
tasks to complete and often the social networks are neglected. I've done
several consultations and trainings in Florida and after leaving I see a room
full of business owners with excitement of how they can use social networks. For about a month or so they are really into their social networks but then
something happens - they are not active anymore. Business may have picked
up, an employee left, they are training a new hire, whatever the reason it's
always the social networks that get put on the back burner. Like anything
in marketing you can't just do it a few times and expect results and especially
with social networks - you have to constantly be active in them. If
someone becomes connected with a business' social networks it's because they
like their brand and are looking forward to their messages but if they don't
get them often - companies are forgotten. I always tell my clients when a
client writes to your social networks you must respond and that's what we
do. We make sure all of our connections not only have a voice but feel
appreciated for having that voice. Not responding to someone is the same
as walking away from a client who entered your salon or auto body shop, but
businesses are busy and they don't have time to keep up with everything that
goes on in social media.
6. In terms of the social web, how do you
see social media benefiting businesses and organizations compared to say just
being listed on online directories and website SEO?
The social web is amazing. In fact if you
google "Kelly Lohman" the third ranking is my LinkedIn profile and
the 5th image on google is my facebook profile picture- amazing, right!
What a huge benefit to companies who might not have an easily recognizable
company name, but if a client or potential client remembers your name they can
still find you and your business! If I didn't have those social networks,
I might not be found. Another benefit is that unlike web or online directories
you can actually talk to your clients - I don't see many interactive websites
because they are what a web designer may term "complex" or "dynamic"
and can be quite costly to not only set up but also maintain. Websites
and online directories are very valuable for companies to build their SEO but
in terms of relationships with clients they don't offer that - the interaction
is what social media is meant for!
7. How does what you do vary from
traditional public relations and marketing?
What we do is extremely different than
traditional marketing because we have the ability to have a conversation.
When companies spend time, energy, and money on print marketing all they can do
is show or send. There is no option for the person who picks up your postcard or
sees your ad in the paper to respond to you. I don't believe that means
businesses should drop their traditional marketing efforts; they just really
need to see if it works for them. When they mail postcards are they
getting a return? When they print an ad in the paper are people
responding? That's the great part about social networking, we know
immediately if what we say today has had an effect on the community. I
can tell my clients if the post was not only seen but was their a response -
did anyone share the message, comment on it, like it, etc. That immediate
insight really helps us drive the conversation the next day.
8. What is different with your area of
expertise compared to web designers?
It's funny how closely social media and web designers work
together but how much are services are completely different. A web
designer can create dynamic "scenes" on a website with erupting
volcano's or bird's flying across the screen - I envy their talent! Social
media marketing companies create conversation, we use social networks like Facebook or Twitter to "talk" to our clients' ... clients. It's
a much different world; my area of expertise is being social - making things
fun. I can also build custom tabs into Facebook pages like a mini website, but
if someone needs a fully designed website outside of Facebook . . . well, I leave
that up to experts who focus just on web design. They are two
completely different products and don't require the same type of
"coding".
9. When a company decides to
purchase/contract for social media services what advice would you give them in
terms of what they should look for and what to expect from the provider?
If you're considering outsourcing your social
media I would highly recommend asking a company who their current clients are,
what type of services they provide, how often they provide their services. It
should be like an interview - you are hiring a company to do one of the most
beneficial marketing strategies in the industry today, so you need to know what
they can provide for you. Most social media marketing companies offer
different type of services so it's important to understand that while we all do
the same type of work, we might not provide it in the same manner. Some
companies don't provide insights or are unable to build custom tabs (Facebook Pages), so think
about what your goals are with social media and if that company can reach your
goals with you. I also believe that it's important to ask the company
about stats or social trends - if the company can't answer those for you, I'd
hesitate to hire. Think of it like this, if you're looking to buy a home
would you get a mortgage from someone who doesn't know the current mortgage
rate?
10. Many religious organizations are
placing focus on social media and networking. How does the approach
differ from a business?
I think religious organizations should use social media in
the same manner that businesses do. Businesses shouldn't seek to sell their
product and religious organizations shouldn't seek to sell religion with social media. They should
focus on educating the community about religion and helping people understand
the views of their religion. Their social networks should be a place for
people to feel comfortable to express their ideas or views on religion and also
provide help in time of need. I think one of the main differences between
religious organizations and other's is the "human touch".
Religious organizations should make sure that they do not use social networks
as a way to replace the direct human contact they have with people.
Individuals, as much as we love social networks and being able to find
everything we want to know on them, still desire to be involved in their church.
If a religious organization starts to replace their services with social
services instead, they will loose the human touch that is highly associated
with being in a church setting. Instead of replacing services, religious
organizations can offer video streaming for those who may have missed their
message but never totally replace services with streaming.
11. Where do you see your field going in
the next 5 years?
With the way things are changing, it's a mystery as to where
social networking will go. I do believe that social networking won't end,
the trend will exist but it's a matter of where it will be. Will Facebook
still be as popular today? My guess is no. The reason I say that is
because people by nature always want the next big thing - as soon as that
happens we'll jump ship to check it out and see all these new features and stay
with it. I still chuckle to myself at how I woke up one day and no one
was on MySpace! It was like, what happened? Where did everyone go
... well the world went to Facebook and the same could happen to Facebook.
We will wake up one day and everyone may be on another social network.
The thing to keep in mind is that even though the social network may change,
the goal doesn't and the way you communicate won't either.
12. What advice would you give to young
people seeking to get into the field in terms of college and/or after
graduations?
One of the biggest benefits of young individuals going into
social media marketing is that they most likely already use these networks for
personal reasons. So they have an understanding of how social networks
work. They are able to upload photos, generate videos on YouTube, and follow Twitter trends. Now they just need to understand the business aspect of
it. It's a great idea for anyone looking to get into this field to intern
with a social media marketing company to learn the business approach to these
networks.
- What questions do you have considering online social media for your business or organization?
- What questions do you have about outsourcing this aspect of your business or organization?
This free event features premium cigars, $2 drafts, a selection of red, white, and port wine, complimentary food and a bunch of fellow Flagler County business owners to chat, network, and relax with. 
Dave Ramsey Live: Entreleadership
This all-day event includes vendor booths, keynote speech by Dr. Ted Anders, lunch and cocktail party, and multiple workshops. If you are looking to take a positive step to grow your business, this is the event for you. The event is organized The Palm Coast Business Assistance Center in partnership with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UCF on October 7th at Hammock Beach Resort from 9:00AM to 5:00PM. Participation is $100 which includes vendor booth, lunch, cocktail party, and entry to keynote speech session and workshops. More info here.
