St. Joseph Business journal
Winter 2011
18
SmallBusinessMatters Social Media: Is Your Business Being Left Behind? Q: How do I increase profits? A: Ask your customers what they
want. Q: How? A: With social media
Q: How do I increase customer
loyalty?
A: Engage your customers. Q: How? A: With social media Q: How do I advertise on a
shoestring budget or no budget at all? A: Use your customers. Q: How?
A: With social media Social media is the common tool used to achieve the above results. Multiple studies have been performed trying to either prove or disprove the idea that social media can be used successfully for business purposes. The only thing that the researchers seem to agree on is that social media is not a fad and will be here for quite some time. In today’s world of Internet, ecommerce, and the erosion of paperbased advertising, embracing a free marketing medium such as Facebook seems like a no-brainer…so why the nay-sayers?
The Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC) is located inside the St. Joseph Metro Chamber. You do not need to be a member of the Chamber to receive services from the SBTDC. The SBTDC can complete a walk-through of your business to determine if there are any wastes that are causing your operation to run inefficiently and what can be done to correct those situations. All services performed by the SBTDC are pre-paid by the Small Business Administration, so there is never a charge to the business.
Hy-Vee gives to Lindbergh Officials from the St. Joseph Hy-Vee presented a $1,500 SMART Board interactive whiteboard to Lindbergh Elementary School during a gathering at the school on Jan. 24. Lindbergh was one of more than 200 schools throughout the Midwest that received the innovative technology tools this year through Hy-Vee’s SMART Points promotion, which ran from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30. During the promotional period, shoppers who purchased Procter & Gamble and Sara Lee products at HyVee earned points that could be designated to the schools of their choice. Lindbergh achieved the highest average points score in its region to earn the SMART Board. In addition, the Lindbergh Elementary student with the most points designated on his or her behalf received a MacBook computer during the presentation.
As with all “new” concepts that invade businesses, such as the Internet, e-mail, or the cell phone, social media is just one more “new” concept to learn; one more item on the task list; one more issue to deal with. While change can be an arduous experience, social media can actually be embraced due to all of the positive impact it can have on your business (refer to numbers 1 through 3 at the beginning of the article). Consider the analogy below to truly appreciate the positive impact of social media. If you could place 1,000 television ads with your local cable station, for free, and you could track exactly how many people saw the
ads, at what time of day, and on which day of the week, would you do it? Of course! It may take a bit of your time to assist with creating the ad, but you know that it will reach thousands or more people, so you know the time is well invested. Social media is exactly that. So what are you waiting for? Invest a little time each day for a big return tomorrow. For more information about how to create a Facebook page for your business, please contact your local SBTDC center.
Rebecca Evans is the Regional Director of the SBTDC. You may contact her at: 816-364-4105 or evans@saintjoseph.com
BusinessBrief
Hy-Vee managers pose for a funny picture with Lindbergh Elementary School staff and students at the SMART Board presentation.