DISQUS

Saravanan Sahadevan · 1 year ago

Very informative indeed.. Helps not only for small towns.. As well For many developing countries, where social media awareness is in dim.

Will · 1 year ago

So many people use Facebook

Ricardo Bueno · 1 year ago

My favorite social media tool is LinkedIn. But have you ever found that sometimes your connections don't utilize LinkedIn as much as you do (at least sometimes). This is where FB comes in handy.

Think about it, "top of mind" marketing means staying on peoples' minds via various networks: from blogging, to FB, to LInkedIn, to Twitter, etc. But through it all, remember to keep the social element present.

If you're blogging for business and all you're doing is spewing blatant advertisements out, consumers have a keen radar for that sort of thing so they'll be less receptive to your message...so again, just remember to keep it social.

Richard Dale-Mesaros · 1 year ago

Here, here Becky,

I'm in the world of real estate investing and I heartily support your comment regarding local companies being able to benefit from the new marketing, even though they are small and local. Jim Cronin's www.RealEstateTomato.com is a super resource for real estate agents (or ANYONE) to learn about successful blogging - check it out, you'll be glad you did, especially if you're just getting into blogging.....

Yours with boundless enthusiasm,

Richard Dale-Mesaros :)

Chief Deal Weaver
www.BlackWidowNetwork.com

Kevin Skarritt · 1 year ago

Hi Becky,

I'm looking forward to the other comments to follow.

This past week I was a panelist on the Mt. Washington Valley EDC Forum (reviewing three NH companies in the hospitality industry). It had never dawned on one owner that the thousands of humming birds that annually migrate from South America to her backyard could be used as a marketing tool. Operating a small 12 unit lodge at the Canadian border, she is now going to use social media to connect with aviary enthusiasts world-wide to come visit, study, learn ... and network.

Living in NH, where 87% of the businesses are micro enterprises (<$500K and/or <5 employees), these "small town/small business" issues seem to be the center of daily discussions.

Regards,
Kevin Skarritt
http://www.AcornCreative.com
http://www.BlackWidowNetwork.com

Kim Dushinski · 1 year ago

Great article Becky. Lots of practical and smart tips for small businesses - anywhere!

beckymccray · 1 year ago

Saravanan, glad it's helpful. We have more in common that most people realize.

Will, true! Good or bad, it is still a tool.

Ricardo, you raise some excellent points. In my small town, I think I am the only one on LinkedIn, but one of many on FaceBook. And you're right. Keep it social.

Richard, thanks for that resource!

Kim, Thanks!

beckymccray · 1 year ago

Kevin, that is a terrific example! It's a pleasure to meet other people who are thinking about these same small town business issues.

Mr. Purchase Order Financing · 1 year ago

Hi Becky.

I guess the type of business one is in is also important..? For example a liquor store in a small town could not benefit as much from social media than a similar store in a bigger city with more prospects...

In my humble view, blogging/etc eliminates (or reduces) geography from the equation for many businesses. This means that a small town companies can compete with "big city slickers" in an almost equal footing. They can use blogs/etc to establish themselves as experts. After that - locaiton is almost irrelevant.

Personally I don't care where an expert is located provided they are good.

And, there is not a day that goes by where I consider leaving the Miami with all its hassles and settling in a nice quaint and small new england folksy town... say like Boston or Providence.

Cheers,
Marco

beckymccray · 1 year ago

Marco, I agree that generally a bigger city business will draw more local customers through social media, smaller town businesses will draw more benefits in other way, by learning, networking, and expanding perspectives. Tomorrow, I'll have lots more on that in my article with examples at Small Biz Survival. Thanks!

Charles Woodall · 1 year ago

This is a good list Becky. One thing I would add is to participate in local online forums and message boards. I have noticed that in my area, there are many more locals reading and commenting on two local sites than on twitter or linkedin. Networking in these places can benefit a small business as well.

Mari Adkins · 1 year ago

Apex Digest / Apex Publications has been allowing me to explore social media to get the word out. This has been as fun as it's been interesting as it's been a learning experience all the way around.

beckymccray · 1 year ago

Charles, you are right about local online forums. Most every town of any size has some local meeting place. One word of caution: most are riddled with local politics, so tread carefully.

Mari, experimenting is how we all learn. Enjoy yourself while you go!

Mari Adkins · 1 year ago

Thanks Becky! :)

Eric Brown · 1 year ago

Becky
An excellent post. I actually just started reading blogs recently, and in the last few weeks was asked to be a guest blogger on a site, and I have been thrilled with it. Writing and or blogging is the farthest thing from my day job. I am a builder or was a builder, and have built some 12,000-14,000 apartment units over my career. Five years ago this July, I decided I wanted to create wealth, and set out from Corporate America on my own and created Urbane Apartments in Royal Oak, MI. I have no idea just yet if I will find the treasure, but I am having a great time and learning a lot. It has been a humbling, but productive experience.

beckymccray · 1 year ago

Eric, five years! Wow! That is an impressive accomplishment. All the best, and thanks for commenting.

Shannon Ehlers · 1 year ago

This is the whole reason I am into social media. I grew up in a small town, less than 250 souls, I live in a town of about 1100 people, and the town where I work has less than 1500 people. Back to my hometown of <250, I have helped to create a blog on their behalf - you can see it at http://soldieriowa.blogspot.com - and have also helped my little (oh, so little) company to create their own blog - http://leungschineseherbnews.blogspot.com - dealing with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) remedies.

I would echo Ricardo's comment - I love LinkedIn and think that if I couldn't have any other social app, then LinkedIn would be enough. On LinkedIn, I get the same access to Chris Brogan as Chris Pirillo does, so this not only erases the geographic separation, but it also levels the playing field in other important ways. By the way, I'd be glad to connect with any of Chris's readers - my profile is at http://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonehlers

I make my living not in the computer tech world, but in a research laboratory. I would suggest that I am more geeky than most readers of this post, albeit less well known in the tech world. But believe me, if you think it is easy to network with other chemists when you work in a town of <1500 people, you are simply wrong. Without social media, it would be very nearly impossible.

Jason Kintzler · 1 year ago

Hi Becky,
Great post and great advice. I posted a similar piece on building community in small towns- I think newspapers may be a good place to start http://tinyurl.com/3q8zmb What do you think?

Vance Bell · 1 year ago

Establishing yourself as an expert via quality blogging is certainly a well-established and successful method, but the reach of expert blogs is usually well beyond the local -- unless you focus the blog on local issues which tends to minimize its non-local/regional interest. One of the better approaches to that problem is to deal centrally with the local, but also extend your post themes to more general topics on the same basic theme. Sort of a local blog plus+. A local architect might think and write local impact, building, events and business, and supplement with that with industry news, competition notes, reviews and trends (such as green building, sustainability, city planning, etc.).

beckymccray · 1 year ago

Jason, you make excellent points about small town newspapers in your article. I'm certainly seeing some more innovating action from medium-to-small papers in Oklahoma, than from the metro papers. Thanks!

Vance, those are some great points for small town businesses focused on the local and regional markets. To me, it's amazing how adaptable social media tools are, that we can use them for local business, or to build national or global networks.

beckymccray · 1 year ago

Shannon, you are a perfect person to talk with about this. I would love to connect with you a bit more, especially about how you use LinkedIn. Please email me, if you don't mind, at becky at small biz survival dot com. Thanks!

Travis Hoffman · 8 months ago

Chris, this is a fantastic post on a small town utilizing Social Media. I'm currently trying to help my local community embrace and see the potential for social media. Things are really starting to happen and it's an exciting time to see people eyes open up to the possibilities that social media can offer.

Thanks again for the great post! I definitely shared the love on Twitter for you
@helloqtown

How To Weld · 5 months ago

I guess the type of business one is in is also important..? For example a liquor store in a small town could not benefit as much from social media than a similar store in a bigger city with more prospects...