Comments on: 5 Ways to Tell if Your Small Business is a Social Media Lemming? http://bradleyaharmon.com/2009/11/5-ways-to-tell-if-your-small-business-is-a-social-media-lemming/ Becoming the Best Me I Can Be Sat, 23 Jul 2011 10:08:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: ileane http://bradleyaharmon.com/2009/11/5-ways-to-tell-if-your-small-business-is-a-social-media-lemming/#comment-470 ileane Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:35:53 +0000 http://bradleyaharmon.com/?p=1217#comment-470 Brad, <br>Yes, the 80/20 principle does apply. You just gave my imaginary administrative assistant their first assignment - gathering all of the necessary statistics! lol<br><br>I try to leave a good impression wherever I go on the web, so it is nice that you noticed me. Thank you.<br><br>@ileane Brad,
Yes, the 80/20 principle does apply. You just gave my imaginary administrative assistant their first assignment – gathering all of the necessary statistics! lol

I try to leave a good impression wherever I go on the web, so it is nice that you noticed me. Thank you.

@ileane

]]> By: Brad Harmon http://bradleyaharmon.com/2009/11/5-ways-to-tell-if-your-small-business-is-a-social-media-lemming/#comment-469 Brad Harmon Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:24:41 +0000 http://bradleyaharmon.com/?p=1217#comment-469 Wow! That's a lot of niches! That would take a formidable strategy, wouldn't it? Does the Pareto 80/20 principle apply to your business? Does 20% of the niches make up 80% of your revenues? If so, that would certainly be a more manageable task.<br><br>I've been seeing you in a lot of different places this week; even before you commented on my blog. It seems like you have a passion for this, so I hope that new position opens up for you soon. Wow! That's a lot of niches! That would take a formidable strategy, wouldn't it? Does the Pareto 80/20 principle apply to your business? Does 20% of the niches make up 80% of your revenues? If so, that would certainly be a more manageable task.

I've been seeing you in a lot of different places this week; even before you commented on my blog. It seems like you have a passion for this, so I hope that new position opens up for you soon.

]]> By: ileane http://bradleyaharmon.com/2009/11/5-ways-to-tell-if-your-small-business-is-a-social-media-lemming/#comment-468 ileane Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:59:22 +0000 http://bradleyaharmon.com/?p=1217#comment-468 Brad,<br><br>Thanks for the response. Honestly, the situation is just the opposite. We have 142 "niches" in the form of technical committees. Therefore a social media strategy would be a major undertaking which would require at least 2 to 3 employees in order to be effective. <br><br>After reading your post, I'll be more prepared to approach upper-management when the time comes! Brad,

Thanks for the response. Honestly, the situation is just the opposite. We have 142 “niches” in the form of technical committees. Therefore a social media strategy would be a major undertaking which would require at least 2 to 3 employees in order to be effective.

After reading your post, I'll be more prepared to approach upper-management when the time comes!

]]> By: Brad Harmon http://bradleyaharmon.com/2009/11/5-ways-to-tell-if-your-small-business-is-a-social-media-lemming/#comment-466 Brad Harmon Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:57:55 +0000 http://bradleyaharmon.com/?p=1217#comment-466 I see the same responses almost everyday. There is so much hype about social media just about everywhere you look that it's hard not to get sucked in by it. <br><br>We are told by these gurus that you have to be everywhere on the web, but unless you have a social media army this isn't possible. It's really not all that different from traditional networking - you have to be in the right place, with the right message, for the right reasons. <br><br>Unless you've sat down and figured this out beforehand, chances are that you will just spin your wheels accomplishing little. Besides the wasted resources, you could also hurt your business using social media incorrectly - not a lot is written on this that I have seen.<br><br>Thanks for the referral to this post. I appreciate it. I see the same responses almost everyday. There is so much hype about social media just about everywhere you look that it's hard not to get sucked in by it.

We are told by these gurus that you have to be everywhere on the web, but unless you have a social media army this isn't possible. It's really not all that different from traditional networking – you have to be in the right place, with the right message, for the right reasons.

Unless you've sat down and figured this out beforehand, chances are that you will just spin your wheels accomplishing little. Besides the wasted resources, you could also hurt your business using social media incorrectly – not a lot is written on this that I have seen.

Thanks for the referral to this post. I appreciate it.

]]> By: Brad Harmon http://bradleyaharmon.com/2009/11/5-ways-to-tell-if-your-small-business-is-a-social-media-lemming/#comment-465 Brad Harmon Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:46:50 +0000 http://bradleyaharmon.com/?p=1217#comment-465 Thanks for the vote Ileane! Your company is not alone. Many small and medium-sized businesses are still sitting on the sidelines wondering what to make of social media. I think that is better than just jumping in without answering the questions above. <br><br>You can quickly spend a lot of money and time with social media and not see any results from your efforts. I think social media is a great tool, and that it has a place in just about every small businesses advertising, customer relations, and PR plan. Sadly, many don't even have these written plans for their offline efforts so it is no surprise their social media efforts fail.<br><br>It sounds like your organization is niche oriented. You might set up some listening posts (see my other posts in this category) on social media networks to see what type of chatter is out there about these niches. This is a quick and free way of testing the waters, and the results may help your organization decide how to use social media. Thanks for the vote Ileane! Your company is not alone. Many small and medium-sized businesses are still sitting on the sidelines wondering what to make of social media. I think that is better than just jumping in without answering the questions above.

You can quickly spend a lot of money and time with social media and not see any results from your efforts. I think social media is a great tool, and that it has a place in just about every small businesses advertising, customer relations, and PR plan. Sadly, many don't even have these written plans for their offline efforts so it is no surprise their social media efforts fail.

It sounds like your organization is niche oriented. You might set up some listening posts (see my other posts in this category) on social media networks to see what type of chatter is out there about these niches. This is a quick and free way of testing the waters, and the results may help your organization decide how to use social media.

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