That’s the question Citibank asked in a recent survey and the answer it got? No. Many small business leaders said that they did not see results from their efforts on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Over 60% of the 500 respondents said that social networks did not help generate leads. Only 12% found social networks somewhat or very helpful, and 13% said they were not very helpful.
Why does it seem to be all the rage for larger organizations, but not so much for smaller ones? Here are some of the stumbling blocks that small businesses may have when it comes to social media.
1. It takes time to get results. The whole aspect of social media is about building relationships, and that can’t be done over night. If a small business starts a Facebook Fan page or a blog and hopes for immediate results, she will be disappointed.
2. It takes up time. Small business owners have a lot to do just in running their business. Building and maintaining online social networks takes time and consistency. And, unlike larger organizations with more staff members to delegate to, in a small business, it’s hard to let someone else convey the corporate message.
3. It takes resources. Not only do small businesses need manpower to handle the online communication, they also need sources of information and research in order to establish that role of a “thought leader.” Large companies can do surveys and hire researchers to write innovative white papers, but with their limited budgets and staff, it’s more difficult for small businesses to offer new and fresh information.
4. Some businesses may make a half-hearted entry. For the businesses that are doing social media because they are “supposed” to, it won’t take much to convince them it won’t work. The company president may have a LinkedIn.com account, but has few connections and doesn’t strengthen those or build more.
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5. Lack of hard results. It’s true. Most of the stories of success using social media are anecdotal. Factual, but not always in hard numbers. So it’s difficult sometimes to show the actual benefits of using it. How do you know, for example, that a potential customer decided to call you because he saw you on Facebook? Can you measure the amount of people who developed a favorable impression of you after reading your blog?
Despite the negatives from this survey, social media experts are sure that small businesses can benefit from this form of marketing.
Mashable, a website specializing in social media, countered with several examples of small businesses that have seen sales growth and increased brand recognition through their social media efforts.
Other examples abound throughout the Web, from the success of Chicago’s Sprinkles Cupcakes on its Facebook fan page to the non-profit organization Epic Change and how it effectively used social media for fundraising.
But maybe there’s another option. Maybe small businesses could use a different type of social networking system that’s more tailored to their size and need for flexibility. rSitez, a software development company, helps entrepreneurs and small businesses create their own social networking sites by taking the best attributes of the popular sites and blogs and tailoring it to the individual company’s needs. In effect, they create a community for each company, making it much simpler for businesses to reach their target audience.
Where are you on the social media spectrum? Have you been using it for years? Thinking about testing the waters, or somewhere in between? What results have you seen?
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