A couple of weeks ago I was having breakfast with a friend at a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. The food was delicious. I remember thinking to myself I can’t wait to tell my friends about this place. So after we finished eating I decided to ask the proprietor if he had a Facebook page.
His answer was “Yes, but it is more trouble that it’s worth”. Translation; He does have a Facebook page but he does not do anything to manage the content. How tragic! I was so shocked by this statement that I could not stop ranting to my friend on the drive home about how we continue to miss out on opportunities in business because we are not taking advantage of important technologies like social media.
How can one think that Facebook is a waste of time when practically every business in the world has a Facebook page? Does he know something that companies like Honda, Coke, Wal-Mart and other Fortune 500 companies don’t? Perhaps the number one thing businesses use Facebook for is marketing.
What company large or small feels that marketing is more trouble than it’s worth? During my visit we patronized several Black-owned businesses none of which had a Facebook page. I could not believe this. Here is brief list of the businesses we visited that I noticed were not utilizing this powerful tool:
• Churches
• Barber shops
• Beauty salons
• Restaurants
• Day cares
This is not only a great opportunity for these businesses to create new business, but it is also an opportunity to serve their current customers better. Moreover, it is an opportunity for the young men and women in our communities to master Facebook and other social media tools and market their services to the community in ways that provide income and strengthen the community at the same time.
At the very least, purchase a book on Facebook marketing, or take a class at your local community college and create your own opportunity instead of waiting for the economy to improve.
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Social networking sites can give a jump start to your business if you have the directions and pointers right strategies.
social media planner
Hi Kuan,
I could not agree more. Do you have any suggestions or strategies for learning to be effective using social media.
Great Article Kai. I totally agree with you on this. Many of these companies don't realize the power of building a communications platform for their customers.
I agree with this article Kai. I think that many businesses don't understand the power of building a communications platform for their customers. However, I do believe that it is not the sole fault of the business owners for not utilizing Social Media, but also it is the thinking of our people as a culture. We as a people usually use Facebook for "fun" purposes instead of economic building purposes. For example, in this article you brought up Daycare pages having Facebook pages. Now if the Daycare owner set a page up and let it sit or made a post every now and then, the Daycare owner would probably not make any money off of the Facebook page. The Daycare Center's customers are probably busy parents who don't have time to check their own personal Facebook posts and would not have the time to keep up with the daycare. However, if the daycare owner used the page to update parents on snow days and school closings or use the page to have video testimonials on their service or posted the childrens artwork online, this Facebook page may lead to more money. But going back to my first point, we as a people must be educated on using social media to engage with businesses or this will nnot matter. Business owners must also not only know about social media, but also know how to use social media. I love the website. You will hear more about me soon.
Warmest Regards,
@Dewayne_W
Dewayne,
Thanks for reading my blog. I absolutely agree with you. Part of what I am trying to do with this blog and other projects I am working on is to change the culture. We must do this. Our economic future, that is to say our future depends on it. But it will take a community effort. For example, in response to my recent experience in San Antonio, I am conducting a seminar on using LinkedIn.
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Brands who have the largest monetary marketing budget no longer buys you the most eyeballs. Brands that incorporate Social Networking, use an Online Video Platform to publish & distribute their story across multiple devices along with implementing 6 key components into their marketing budget, gain traction in generating Social Currency. Social Currency can be divided into Six Key Components
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Courtneay,
Great find on the article. I think you are right on the money (no pun intended). We must make this case to the business in our communities.
Thanks I wrote the Article
Hello Kai,
I do agree that Facebook marketing is an often untapped opportunity for small businesses. But I disagree that one should look at what Fortune 500 companies are doing in social media. They are marketing from a completely different universe. They come to social networking with a stellar brand name & reputation offline and aren't trying to market as an SMB or start-up. Fans flock to their pages for reasons that a startup or local business wouldn't be able to tap into. A better comparison would be to look at the best practices of similar businesses and work from there, don't you think?
I certainly agree. But let us get into the social media game somehow. Honestly, I have not seen many African American owned small businesses that utilize a social media marketing strategy.
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