The integration of social media into the small business workplace will require new tools to create visibility, share knowledge and facilitate communication. Simply suggesting tweets, blog posts and profile updates by employees on their Twitter, WordPress or Facebook accounts about work related topics and an occasional errant personal annotation for authenticity are not long-term solutions.
The reluctant entry into social media by small business has taken a long time to come to fruition considering Cluetrain Manifesto celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. The pressures (or hype) from promoters of the latest technology trends have been successful. Small business must contribute to the dialog to remain competitive (or so the social media gurus would have you believe). Not sure the path to accomplish social media’s objectives will be as easy as portrayed or experimentation is a viable initial tactic.
I am not a writer and am more comfortable preparing worksheets, analyzing financial statements and evaluating operations. However, I am a proponent of social media’s potential. The communication amongst the community will provide benefits beyond the apparent. The challenge confronting small business is how to become a contributing voice.
The tools available to small business today are lacking the visibility, accessibility and integration needed to be aware of the discussions and then to respond across multiple channels. Where are the affordable applications that will take the threads of multiple discussions occurring on different platforms and provide all stakeholders an opportunity to offer their insights?
Providing a landing page with discussions, comments and links to validated repositories will encourage everyone including the CEO to join the conversation. Each of us see things a little differently and should have the opportunity to contribute. To encourage early adoption the process must be as efficient as possible. Individual Google Alerts and multiple searches to identify then decipher conversations are not efficient. Effectively connecting the conversations with the knowledge bearers will enable small business to thrive.
Do you have the answer?
Posted by Frank Mullens 