Social Networking and a Small Town Business - Why Bother?

Filed Under Guest Writer, Successful Blog | 23 Comments

I asked my friend — heck, she’s like family — Becky McCray, if she was interested in writing a guest post on Successful-Blog. My motives were clear and simple. I think she’s brilliant at everything small business. She wondered what topic might interest. I tossed her an idea and at the same time, our mutual friend Chris Brogan tossed her a similar idea. Being the brilliant thinker she is, Becky devised an artful plan that involves three connected blog posts — one here, one on Chris’ Blog and one on her own.

That’s a plan I can support fully! So without taking further time, I present the first of the Becky McCray master Trilogy.

Social Networking and a Small Town Business - Why Bother? by Guest Writer Becky McCray

Small town business is an interesting challenge. You either target people in your local area and hope that’s enough, or you reach outside for customers and work to get enough attention.

If you’re targeting outside your local area, there is no question. Social networking is a top way to reach beyond your geographic boundaries. If you’re looking for local people as customers, you might be tempted to think that social networking is not going to work for you. WRONG! More of your potential customers are online than you realize. More importantly, marketing is only one reason for using social networking tools. I can think of four other big reasons to invest the time and effort.

To expand your horizons/perspective
The world is an unbelievable place, and technology finally makes it possible to connect with the people in it from almost anywhere. People have different perspectives, based on their life in a big city, in another country, or just in a different industry. If you don’t participate in the online world, you’re not going to get to meet these people who could help you cross-pollinate some new thinking.

To connect with vendors and other partners
Buy local campaigns notwithstanding, social networking means expanding your choice of service providers and partners far beyond your local people. Professionals and service providers of all kinds, and from all over, are active in social networks. If you stay out of social networks, you’ll never build those relationships, so you’ll have to rely only on the local accountant, web designer, and printer for all your needs, even if they aren’t all that great.

To learn
Face it; you don’t know everything. But you can find people who know about what you are needing to learn right now. When you are building friendships on Twitter, you probably don’t ever think about the fact that @susanreynolds is a jewelry artist, or that @mikeg1 knows about home schooling. But if you aren’t reaching out, you’ll never have the chance to ask, “Who here can help me with writing a magazine query letter?” (That would be @sheilas!)

To feel connected
My favorite reason for social networking from my small town: feeling connected. Being online can’t replicate the feeling of an in-person conference like SXSW or SOBCon, but it helps. Bunches. It’s like the best of a water cooler at a company of terrific people you picked to interact with, to bounce ideas off of, or just to catch up with. If you are staying out of social networking, you are missing the number one reason to do anything: the people.

What are your reasons?
These four reasons are just a beginning point. What other reasons do you have for investing your time in social media? This question is open to everyone, whether you are from a small town or a big city. But if you are from a small town, shout about it in your comment!

Sounds great, but how do I do it?
Need some starter moves to help you get online and building relationships? I’ll be presenting some Social Media Starter Moves for Small Town Small Businesses at ChrisBrogan.com tomorrow.

Becky McCray writes about small town small businesses at Small Biz Survival.

Thanks, Becky!
You really are a master.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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SOB Business Cafe 03-02-07

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 12 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Logic + Emotion shares a thoughtful discussion.

Thought Bubbles

Lorelle on WordPress offers a revue of reviews on WP plug-ins.

Random WordPress Plugins: Rotating Banners, Header Art, Images, Quotes, and Content on Your Blog

Design Your Writing Life continues the conversation about who decides we are writers.

Who says youâ€™re a writer?

Carpe Factum worries about our childishness.

Does Your Inner Child Need a Diaper Change?

SuccessCREEations has been studying the financials.

How to Make Blogging Make Money For You

Spooky Action offers some thought-breaking statistics.

STATISTICS SHOW EATING ICE CREAM
CAUSES MURDER

Related ala carte selections include

Business Blogwire has a new initiative to improve 100 blogs.

Pass The SOAP: Improve Blogs With The Scratch One Another Program

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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SOB Business Cafe 02-09-07

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 8 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Problogger details how he well and truly earns over six figures.

How I Make Money from Blogs - My Top Earners

Logic + Emotion is talking about the guy who might be the
next Malcolm Gladwell.

Made to Stick

Small Biz Survival has the news about teaching.
entrepreneurship.

News: Teaching entrepreneurship

Own Your Own Brand coaches us to find our artist/industrialist.

Spielberg Your Business

Balanced Life Center explores how communication works.

5 Tips for Better Communication

Related ala carte selections include

Shards of Consciousness has a work of art for our listening
pleasure.

Your Life, Your Greatest Work of Art.

Spooky Action shows the use of game design in designing
consistent experiences.

PED - The Game Designer’s Model

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Happy Blogtipping New Year!

Filed Under Community, Successful Blog, ZZZ-FUN | 4 Comments

Link Love for Making Us Smarter

Today I’m celebrating official Blogtipping Day. How about you? As the song goes “Give a little bit . . .” Here’s how it works.

Choose three bloggers you admire and link to them.
List three reasons why you admire each one.
Then add a tip at the end.

That’s all there is to it.

Improbulus

When I go to your blog, A Consuming Experience, I know that I’ll find deep content that’s unique and useful.
You test the tutorials and tools that you discover. I can trust that your review is what it says.
I don’t know what you do when you’re not blogging, but I’d like to suggest some software companies who could use your documentation skills.

Tip: Happy New Year! Are you best friends with your header? It might be fun to plan a new one for the new year. I would rewrite your description as bad poetry . . . Just kidding.

Lorelle VanFossen

It’s a favorite trip to visit Lorelle at WordPress. I’m always surprised and delighted at what I find there to get my brain going.
Lorrelle, you write posts about how folks get ideas, but you have so many. Every post has a new and interesting twist. I’m always amazed by them.
You know your stuff, but you translate so that nongeeky folks like me can understand what it’s about.

Tip: You’ve gotten so good at this . . . could you mess up once in a while?

Becky McCray

One visit to Small Biz Survival and I get my energy renewed and my spirit lifted.
Becky, your new design is an example of how a small biz can present itself and I applaud every one of your brag backet features!
Your ideas are fresh and yet, the’re imminently doable. They work in Oklahoma and the big city.

Tip: I might be missing it, but I don’t think you talk enough about ALL OF THE THINGS YOU DO SO WELL. I know you brag once in a while, but one conversation let me know that it’s so understated.

Thanks to all three of you for bringing positivity to the blogosphere. I’m smiling just to think of the contribution you make.

–Me “Liz” Strauss

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