Small Business challenges on Social Media

Social media, unlike digital media 10 years ago, is a much more patient game. With SEO and banner ads and email marketing it was all instant gratification. Social media isn’t, and that’s why so many people are struggling with it. The reason so many people “don’t get it” is that they’re not willing to put in the two years of eating crow to get the results or don't know what they are looking for. The end.

It’s a shame, too, because small businesses should really be winning on social much more than they are now, but they’re caught between a rock and a hard place. As someone who came up in a family business, I know the problem well:

1. Most small businesses can’t afford the money it would take to hire someone like a VaynerMedia and several others who really knows what they’re doing.

2. Most small businesses don’t (think they) have the time to put into it. Doing social right means putting in a solid 9-10 hours a day of work. For small businesses making that time, or making that staffing allocation can be really hard, if not impossible. It's easier to spend the dollars on ads than on people ( internal or external ) for far too many.

3. Finally, when a small business ends up working with a smaller agency or consultant, Many of those entities can be dishonest about the realities of what they can do for their client.( heck Big agencies or consultants do this too ) They don’t say “Listen, this is a three year play” because the client is operating in a world where they’re saying “If we don’t see results in 90 days, we’re out.” So the agency or consultant makes a bunch of promises, and then you’re in a bad situation.

Social media is a more human play and requires more effort, but the vast majority of people are just unwilling to put in the time and effort to get the results they want out of it. They’re looking for something that converts faster, is a more efficient use of their time. They live in an instant-result-based world. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat, these things don’t necessarily appease the people who grew up with email marketing and SEO, and that’s the problem.

The fortunate thing about all of this is that while you can’t create money out of thin air, you can always sleep a few hours less every week to make something work.

Article by: Gary Vaynerchuk

From Taiga Company Blog