Small Businesses Don't Find Social Networks Useful
A new Citibank/GfK Roper survey has found that America's small business owners aren't that fond of the latest social networking tools:
The study found 76 percent of small-business owners polled were not using social media or finding it helpful in generating business leads during the last year, and 86 percent said the did not use such sites to get advice or information.I'm sure a lot of new media gurus will take this as yet another piece of evidence that most companies still "don't get it." But the results shouldn't be surprising and it's not that irrational for business owners to conclude that Twitter is a waste of resources. If 86 percent don't use social networks themselves to get information, than it's reasonable to assume their customers and colleagues aren't using them either.
And if those social networks don't actually lead to sales, than what's the point of having all those friends and followers?
The key with new media is to be where your customers are. If you sell something geared toward younger people, than a Facebook fan page may make sense. But if you own a restaurant that serves a local market only, than you probably want to monitor your online reputation on search engines and traditional directories before diving into the social media realm. However, be aware that many of these directories, such as Yelp, are morphing into social networks too. So you may need to sign up, at least to protect your brand and direct traffic to your true website, sooner or later, even if you don't plan to actively participate in the prominent web networks.