Mickey Meece of the New York Times Small Business ran an article yesterday proclaiming that “Small Businesses Are Taking Tentative Steps Toward Online Networking.” To answer the question posed by the title of this post, I offer this quote from the article:
(A software executive) estimates that small businesses have a 12-month window to figure out online social networking. “I hate to say it, but if they don’t, they’ll get left in the dust,” he said. “It’s here to stay.”
Though I resonate with this executive’s general sentiment about the importance of social networking, I’d say his timeline is a wee bit aggressive. If you’re an established business with a loyal customer base, you’re not going to be out of business within 12 months if you ignore social networking. I would claim, however, that businesses that ignore new social media systems such as Facebook and Twitter are taking a risk, and probably leaving money on the table.
The most amazing thing about these two systems, and many others like them, is that they are totally free. If I told you five years ago that you could go to a web site, set up an account for free in 5 minutes or less, and have a system where all your customers can sign up to be instantly notified by phone or computer whenever you have a message or special deal, and that you could control everything using almost any mobile phone, you’d have thought it was pie in the sky — but that’s Twitter. Facebook is, in some ways, even more powerful, and again totally free. We’ll explore how small businesses can take advantage of Facebook and Twitter in future posts.
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