As I get more and more involved in the local side of the Internet marketing game I am seeing some interesting trends. Trends can be either good or bad although in the social media sphere you would think that it’s always good. In this post I would like to point out one thing that any SMB (small and medium business) needs to consider before climbing on social media’s bandwagon.

This is going to sound overly simple for some but it doesn’t make it less relevant. The simple question that every SMB has to ask themselves is:

What percentage of my CURRENT customers are using social media like Facebook and Twitter?

You would suspect that everyone asks this question but it is quite the opposite. Since SMB’s are so busy trying to handle so many different things during the course of a business day rarely is there time for research. That’s unfortunate because simple research can prevent some major mistakes.

So why concentrate on existing customers and not think about how social media can attract new ones? It’s simply because the art of getting new customers via social media should be phase 2 of any social media strategy for an SMB. I realize that this point of view will be deemed as heresy by many social media industry types and that’s cool. Social media is not as much about being right or wrong on every occasion as it being flexible to see what is really happening despite the industry’s call to arms for everyone to everything at every moment.

If you are an SMB or you are servicing the SMB market please do the right thing. Find out how many existing customers are using social media outlets and then concentrate on customer retention through social media before you dive into customer acquisition through social media. They are two completely different animals in most cases and we all know that it much less expensive (and much easier) to keep an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. Same axiom applies in social media.

So save some time and ask the simple questions first. You will be happy you did.

I truly feel for the SMB’s of the world. As they try to achieve the American dream of building a business that is theirs they are pulled in every direction possible. Most of the best SMB owners will readily admit that they don’t know everything and depend on either other people or consultants to help fill in the knowledge gaps.

In many places that is more straightforward (notice I didn’t say easy) like accounting and HR issues. These business disciplines tend to have very specific rules and regulations that need to be followed. Of course, there are gray areas but for the most part it becomes really obvious when you are coloring outside the lines.

Not so much as it relates to social media. The confusion that was once just reserved for search marketing now includes all of the areas that everyone acts as if you should already know like the back of your hand like Facebook, Twitter, blogging and all the other new media marketing methods that exist.

That’s too bad because the resulting confusion has fostered the growth of even more confusion as everyone puts their own spin on just what social media means to the SMB. If you would like to muddy the waters even further try to put a price on services because the expectations are like snowflakes. No two prices are alike. There is no unifying sense of value around services relating to social media with the SMB.

They have heard that it is free (To set up an account – yes. After that – absolutely not). They have heard that it is THE way to get new business. That’s a nice story but is far from a universal truth. They have heard that they MUST be involved which is a flat out lie depending on their business and where their customers are. No wonder there is confusion because right now social media is more about opinions than anything else.

As a result the SMB needs a stripped down, no nonsense approach to social media and here are a few questions each SMB must answer TRUTHFULLY before doing anything with social media.

Are your current marketing efforts producing results?

If yes, continue to use whatever is working. If no, then stop wasting time and money and cut it loose (YellowPages anyone?)

Do you have the skills either personally or on staff for social media execution?

Simply put you need to be a good communicator and more with the written word than any other format. If you are a good writer but don’t have the time then you cannot count yourself as being covered in that area.

Do you have budget to put toward social media?

If yes then you are on the right track. If you answered no because you think it is free then maybe you need to stick with the YellowPages.

Can you say no?

Social media is the type of ‘discipline’ that will ask more and more of people until it literally sucks them dry of time, energy and resources. Unless you can draw the line by saying no to every social media outlet that comes across your desk then you may need to steer clear.

Are you afraid of negativity about your business?

If yes then social media is a true risk for you. If no, then you will be able to handle the slings and arrows. Many businesses have actually learned more about how they are perceived in the marketplace through their social media efforts and have made significant positive changes to their business as the result of taking a few shots from customers.

Do you tend to start things then let them taper off over time?

If yes, then social media is a bad move for you. I experience it here at Frank Thinking. When I have not posted in a week or two I realize that it looks like I am not paying attention and that’s a bad impression on my business. Be careful not to fly full speed into social media and then just let it die on the vine because that may look worse than not doing it at all.

Are you counting on social media to save your business?

If so, then you may be disappointed. This is not a silver bullet for a business. It is a tool that when used strategically can help the overall marketing and effectiveness of a business but it is not a magic potion.

So there are a few of the simple straightforward questions that should be asked and answered truthfully before any SMB gets in the social media game. If you just jump in the deep end without a lifeguard then no one will be there to stop you from drowning.

More and more SMB’s are, at the very least, experimenting with social media. You can sense that as you see the activity by local businesses no matter where you are. The “Check Us Out on Facebook” and “Follow Us On Twitter” signs are springing up more and more on Main Street USA and for good reason.

The small local business person is at a crossroads of sorts. Traditionally, this group has accounted for much of the business growth in the US and has supplied the vast majority of jobs especially to groups that are in need of a decent job. With the current climate in Washington, DC working against everything that could move the needle for this group (credit the biggest factor) the SMB needs a chance to do something for his or her business that can get them started again.

A study reported by The Center for Media Research which was done by Network Solutions and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business says the percentage of small businesses using social media doubled in 2009 (12% to 24%). That’s good news. I wrote more about this over at Marketing Pilgrim.

Here I would like to look at it from a different angle though. My question is which businesses or business types created this increase? I have a few very unscientific theories.

• New SMB’s – I think it is easier for a new business (of which there are many due to the increasing layoffs by corporate America) to get started with social media. Why? They have no real programs that they need to “unseat” in order to use it. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard an SMB say that they have been doing some form of marketing for years and it ends up hurting their chance to expand their marketing horizons. New business folks are more open to new ideas.

• Retail SMB’s – Small retailers have a real story to tell if they are truly a local business with personality. As I talked about here regarding Our Friends’ Closet consignment shop in Raleigh, NC, the real interest in their business are the two ladies running the shop (personalities) and the fact that they have the opportunity to showcase inventory through social media which makes their customers “check in” to see what they are carrying on any given day. B to B SMB’s don’t always have that luxury or urgency and thus they tend to be less likely to engage in social media.

• Desperate SMB’s – This is the worst case scenario. When there are no other options because cash flow is shrinking and there is no money to spend on “traditional” advertising that is not the time for the small business owner to turn to social media to “right the ship”. Social media and its impact takes time and it is not a guaranteed winner. It is best used as a complement or supplement to other marketing and should be looked at as a silver bullet that will save the day.

• Aggressive SMB’s – These are the real winners. These are the business owners who just want to win. They see that while social media may not be “normal” for them it can be valuable to them. As a result, they find a way to get involved, learn the ropes and take advantage of the situation. These folks are usually doing better than others to start and it has been because of their attitude and fortitude that that is the case.

So wherever you are in this most unscientific of polls try to move yourself into the aggressive category. While things aren’t great out there, there is still business to be won. Since we are still a capitalist country for now it is important to not sit back and wait. Get in the game. Today.

I have been speaking to several owners of local franchises recently about Internet marketing and it has opened my eyes considerably. Purchasing a franchise has long been a way for people to get away from having a “regular” job and live the American Dream of owning a business. In this day and age with people having the worst job security in generations there are more an more of these small shops opening up.

My fear is that in short order they will be closing down as well and here’s why. These smaller franchisers appear to have built a model that is focused on them. They sell the franchise rights and collect fees from the franchisee but have little skin in the game moving forward.

This is most evident in the Internet marketing efforts or support that is provided to the franchisees which in most cases appears to be little or none. This leaves these fledgling franchisees / entrepreneurs to their own devices with regard to promoting their business on the Internet. As a result there is a lot of disillusionment and confusion because Internet marketing is not something that everyone knows or has the time to learn.

What these franchisees get instead are “referrals” to search marketing companies who then put them in poor performing paid search campaigns that produce little or no business. No skin off the franchisers nose here because it’s the little guy, the franchisee, that is shelling out for these services without even considering if this is the best thing for them to do as a part of an overall marketing campaign.

If you are considering buying a franchise make sure that you have the following as a bare minimum relating to Internet marketing and your ability to use it.

• Your own web site – It seems that most franchisers are loathe to let the local franchisee have any local web site that they can control and build for their market. Having a landing page on the corporate site IS NOT the same as having a web site. I see this time and time again and it always ends up with the franchisee wondering because they thought they would have their own web site.

• Internet marketing strategy – If the franchiser does not take the time and invest the money in the overall Internet marketing strategy of their franchisees then there will be trouble. Most SMB’s don’t know much about Internet marketing so when they are pushed out of the nest and told to go do business they end up struggling to find new business, especially online, due to ignorance.

• More than a referral – If a franchiser is just handing out names of search marketing service providers then stepping back and putting their hands up saying “Hey, we gave you a resource, it’s not our fault!” then that will end badly for the franchisee. Most of these search marketing shops are just putting together cookie cutter campaigns that are not addressing the true local needs of each market. They also collect fees on the monthly spend that many of these franchisees think is being spent on clicks. Not good.

• Internet marketing continuing education – If the franchise you are considering is not actively working to make you better by providing educational resources about search and social media then you may not want to buy in to the system. I am shocked at how little support is given to most franchisees I come in contact with.

I guess that there are few performance payments to franchisers because they certainly don’t seem to really want to help the franchisee succeed online from what I have seen (if there is a franchise doing this well out there please tell me about it!)

So the net / net here is that if you are already in a franchise that is not helping with your Internet marketing efforts then you need to go it alone. Take your chances by “breaking the rules” by putting together your own web site or running with social media because your business life may depend on these efforts. if there is no support from the franchiser than it’s up to the franchisee. To wait around for promises from franchisers is business suicide as well because there will always be reasons to hold off on something that may end up being an expense to the franchiser.

If you are considering buying into a franchise and the franchiser cannot provide adequate answers to your Internet marketing questions then you need to seriously consider whether this is the right business partner for you. Right now the environment seems almost adversarial but for what reason (other than cost) I don’t know. Do your homework and hopefully you will avoid some of the pain I have seen recently.

Internet marketing is one of those strange things. It is so easy to talk about at high levels and feel that you have enough information to make important decisions with some level of comfort. Everyone throws around terms like SEO (search engine optimization), paid search (PPC), social media (in all its various forms) and then has the classic two-part reaction.

1. I can do this
2. It won’t cost much, if anything at all.

This is where the trouble usually starts. Many SMB’s are really smart people and they actually do understand Internet marketing better than some so called experts. Their understanding of the tools is clear and they may even know some of the secrets of the trade. But they all run into the same roadblock: time. No matter how much you think you know you cannot opt for a 35-hour day. The demands of being a small to medium business owner often don’t allow for one of the most important aspects of Internet marketing (or any marketing for that matter) which is research.

I perform MarketView Reports for SMB’s that looks at their website, their competitive environment and any other element of the online world that should impact their future Internet marketing decisions. I do this because it is the biggest gap I see in the SMB’s process as it relates to online marketing of all stripes. There is considerable demand for this service now because time is money and SMB’s just don’t have the time. They don’t have the time to “deep dive’ on their overall Internet marketing strategy and they certainly don’t have time to analyze their competition in any depth.

SMB’s instead they turn to tools. They put up a Facebook page for their business or they go on Twitter or they start a blog but they do it because in their mind there is a “if I do it they will come” hope. What if they made a decision based on research that all they truly needed was a Facebook page for now? The time and effort saved could end up being what is needed to close more deals using that Facebook presence. There are an infinite number of combinations of what can be done to promote and sell online and each SMB owner / marketer has to discover where they will be the most effective. There really isn’t the luxury of making a wrong guess.

So what’s the bottom line on this? I truly believe that a small up front investment in time and money to truly understand what is happening in the marketplace in great detail will result in long term savings in time, effort and money. It could also lead to some self-discovery that can be invaluable as the marketplace continues to evolve. if this sounds like a veiled pitch for what I do then so be it. It’s important for the SMB to know the “lay of the land” before they commit to a course of action. Otherwise, money and time are sacrificed with little or no return. That hurts any business.

Informed decisions minimize the wasting of valuable resources. No truer words have been spoken especially as it relates to Internet marketing. If there was ever an industry where the cliché of “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies it is in the online space. I hope more SMB’s take the time to get the facts because the upside could be the difference between survival and success.

I have had the pleasure of watching a small start-up business and those who are connected to it take the initiative to learn about Internet marketing including web site creation, search marketing, social media and much more. It has been a learning experience for the business owners themselves and even one spouse who has been bitten by the Internet marketing bug.

The business is a high end consignment shop in Raleigh, NC called “Our Friend’s Closet”. The owners are two women who decided that it would be good idea to open a shop that provided consignment opportunities for upscale clothing and accessories for women. I was asked to help out by a friend (one partner’s husband who has since channeled his inner Internet marketer). Please note that there has been no payment for my service or input. That’s not the norm, quite honestly, but in this case I was returning a favor to a friend.

When I first got involved the shop was promoting itself through paper fliers, word of mouth, some Craig’s List efforts and an early stage Facebook fan page. Considering this business is only 5 months old this was not a bad start.

This was the classic case of, what you don’t know can hurt you, as well. No one was aware of the Google Local Business Center. For a business that had no website this was some valuable information. Now they are aware but how much optimization of this listing for their consignment shop has gone on I can’t tell you. I do know that they have claimed their listing so they are safer than they were before.

And the website? Well, a few hours with GoDaddy and my friend can now add “has created a website” to his skill set (designers please stop snickering, it’s perfect for now). He has also gone through the process of waiting to be indexed and the site now ranks #88 for the term Raleigh consignment shop (if you check that and it’s not there that’s Google’s fickle nature).

So will a link or two from my blog help out the effort? We’ll see. I want them to succeed because they do good work so I’ll give it a try.

There is so much more for them to do but they are out of the gate. One thing I know they have discovered is that they didn’t know a lot about Internet marketing but now they know a lot more. They know it takes time and real work to succeed in the online marketing space. More importantly though, they know that they can do this on their own. They also know there is more to do and this isn’t a “set it and forget it” exercise. That’ s very cool.

Finally for the ladies, here’s the pitch. If you live in the Raleigh area make sure you stop by the nicest consignment shop you have ever seen. I bet you’ll be as surprised as I was.

With the introduction of Google Buzz yesterday it became very apparent to me that I don’t know everything about social media and probably never will. While some might say that this is not something that should be said by someone in the “industry” I completely disagree.

What shouldn’t be said by someone in the industry (from their own mouths at least) is that they are an expert. Being an expert implies that you “got it licked”. No problemo! Been there, done that got all the T-shirts. I have done it all ….. successfully …… many more times than once. While I say it shouldn’t be said it still is said and with great regularity. As a result, the meaning is gone and the social media space starts to quickly look like the search marketing space. Let’s just say that that scenario is not a good one.

So what do I consider myself with regard to social media? A life-long learner. I had written about this subject over at Biznology just over a year ago but I wanted to revisit the idea.

Here are some of the qualities of the life-long learner as I see it:

• Humility – Admits when they don’t know something and feels no shame for not having all the answers

• Curiosity – A life-long learner was the kind of kid that probably had to touch the iron to what being very hot meant. It’s not because they are stupid, it’s because they like verification. Sometimes getting verification, though, can hurt.

• Improvability – As I sometimes do, I made up a word. So sue me. All I am saying is that a life-long learner knows there is always room for improvement and is never fully satisfied that they are “there” yet.

• Thick skinned – By admitting that you don’t know anything you put yourself into areas where your knowledge at that point in time may be limited. As a result, you may suffer a few slings and arrows but it can’t be a discouragement. Shake the dust off your sandals and move on (Where have I heard that before? Hmmmm)

There’s more as always but the point is this relating to social media. With the rapid rate of change that is taking place in the online marketing and social media industries there is no way that one person can know it all. I for instance, know little about running a paid search campaign. There is a lot to know and I don’t have the time nor the capacity to know it. As a result I turn that over to those who do know these things and they get done well.

Social media is probably one of the most elusive moving targets there is in marketing. There are few, if any, standards. There are as many techniques and theories as there are grains of sand at the beach. This means that to claim expertise in this area is kind of laughable.

I don’t like being laughed at. So to avoid that I am calling myself a life long learner of social media and I will be happy with that. Here’s to studying and learning together as we move forward and take in all the new data from day to day. By staying open to learning rather than claiming to already know everything we will stay ahead of the curve and hopefully be able to take advantage of it.