Über blogger and social media pundit Chris Brogan shares his perspective on the value of social media to small and midsize businesses. Here's two reasons business owners can't afford to opt out of social media: cheap and free.
Chris Brogan defines himself by his passions, and for the past 10 years social media and technology have been chief among them. Brogan is VP of strategy and technology at CrossTechMedia, which plans events (real and virtual) about business technologies for midsize businesses. Brogan also co-founded PodCamp, which, interestingly, organizes unorganized conferences ("unconferences") for new media enthusiasts and professionals, including bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, social networkers, and anyone else with a new media state of mind. If that's not enough, Brogan's self-named blog is among the Technorati 100 and Advertising Age's Power 150 media and marketing blogs. In this interview with bMighty.com, Brogan discusses ways small and midsize businesses can get themselves started with social media tools, which ones he recommends, and some of the pitfalls to know about.
bMighty: How do you define social media?
Chris Brogan: I think of it as two-way media. I think social media are things like blogs, podcasts, Twitter, and video platforms that allow us self-expression for free or are inexpensive, but also permit a back-and-forth. Can you spend lots of money, discount more than half of what I just said, and still be called social media? Sure!
bMighty: How should growing businesses be thinking about social media?
Brogan: I'll go back to free and cheap. It's really easy for a small or midsize business to start a blog, get conversations going, and help Google know that you're there. It's also a great way to better understand what people are saying around your industry and your locale.
bMighty: What is the most effective way for growing businesses to get started using social media tools?
Brogan: Blogging, listening tools -- technorati.com, blogsearch.google.com, search.twitter.com), and commenting on other people's blogs are great ways to start. Also, build a LinkedIn.com profile and start connecting up with colleagues, business partners, and other people with whom you've done business.
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bMighty: How should growing businesses prepare (e.g., processes, personnel, infrastructure) to make the most of social media? What tools do you recommend and why?
Brogan: I think this is an "it depends" answer. Companies need to start with a strategy and understand where they want things to go. Do you want branding? Do you want better customer service? Do you want more measurable connections and lead generation than traditional advertising and marketing? Start with a strategy, and the tools will come.
bMighty: What tools would you advise businesses to stay away from?
Brogan: This is another "it depends." Stay away from tools that don't make sense for you. Just because a company that sells blenders conquered YouTube, it doesn't mean your company that makes shiny concrete floors is going to figure out the same viral effect.
bMighty: What are the dangers of social media? What should businesses be aware of -- and wary of -- when getting involved in social media?
Brogan: One danger is to throw all the eggs in the social media basket. There's still plenty of traditional marketing and methods that work. E-mail marketing is alive and well, for instance. I think also that one should be wary of software that costs lots, and also of advisers (like me) versus consultants. Find out exactly what they think they're delivering to you, and decide if that's what you want.
bMighty: How do you see the current economic conditions affecting social media?
Brogan: They're perfect for social media. As downturns force cost reductions, I'm sitting around with buckets of free tools that just require a little love and strategy to make [them] work well for businesses.
bMighty: What is the "next big thing" in social media?
Brogan: The next big thing -- localization is one. The ability to curate aggregated feeds is another. The ability to reshuffle the Web even more [a la mashups] and more in the common vein. Browsers that push us beyond the "page" paradigm.
Naomi Grossman is assistant editor of bMighty.com.
