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Why Small Town Small Biz Has an Advantage at Using Social Media Tools

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[Liz Strauss has been a friend to Small Biz Survival for… ever, it seems like. She called us SOBs back in our very first year: 2006. We finally met in person in 2008, when we stayed at Sheila Scarborough’s house together for SXSW. Liz is a mentor, a friend and a constant fountain of encouragement. -Becky]

By Liz Strauss
Liz's dad at his cash register in the saloonI grew up in a small town. My dad owned a saloon. I’ve been thinking a lot about his social networks and how they relate to what I do online. Truth is what my dad did with his cash register I do with my computer … the biggest difference is the speed and reach of the Internet. And I believe that entrepreneurial view is what gives every small biz an advantage in establishing a web presence using social media tools. What I mean is that small biz entrepreneurs soon pick up that …

  • a website is a store. If we keep it organized, clean, and focused on our key business, our customers will be able to find what they’re looking for in no time at all. They’ll want to buy from us because it’s easy and efficient.
  • a blog is conversation over the counter. If we put out information that answers questions and solves problems, the people who shop in our store get interested in us and what we know. When they have a problem of their own, they’ll bring it for advice. When they have a solution, they’ll add to the knowledge base, and our blog will be come a meeting place like the old general store or neighborhood coffee shop.
  • LinkedIn is a professional group, like the Chamber of Commerce It’s our chance to connect with people who run small businesses like ours, but also who run organizations and enterprises that are very different as well. We can join groups, ask questions, share expertise when we show up.
  • Facebook is the company picnic. Our families and friends are there with us. Business is more casual and more about sharing events and news.
  • Twitter is the world’s largest networking event. If we join the room with a friend, soon that friend will introduce us and we’ll conversations with people we could never have met any other way.

Every small town entrepreneur knows that no business thrives without being part of the community that we serve. Social media tools simply stretch that community to give our business some visibility to the world. How do you use social media tools to do the same things online that you’ve done offline for years?

Liz Strauss is the founder of SOBCon and the author of Successful-blog.com She writes about branding, social media, and entrepreneurship.  

Photo of Liz’s dad at his cash register provided by Liz.
She says he grew the mustache for the town’s centennial celebration in 1953.

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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

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Comments

  1. These are great analogies. I have often felt as though social media fills the gaping void so many of us feel now that we are so disconnected from those around us in our physical world.

    I have a home office for my business, but I often feel as though I still have co-workers. I meet them every day via Twitter and a fantastic email discussion list for women web designers.

  2. Love these analogies. Intend to use this on my blog (www.gillianpritchett.com) with full acknowledgement and backlink to you post if that’s OK with you.

  5. Thanks for your comments, folks. Glad Liz’s idea resonates with you.

    Gillian, I have asked Liz for reprint permission for you, and I’ll get back here with an answer as soon as possible.

  6. …fantastic post. Part of the challenge we face while discussing web presence and social media projects with some clients, is how to deal with the complacency and resistance towards using the internet, blogs, and social media. This post totally shows a brilliant way to deal with that in a humorous way.

    Much thanks..

    Ky Ekinci
    Co-Founder
    Office Divvy ™

  8. This was a great post. I’ve been exploring for reasons to use social networks in my biz. This post was the tipping point. I’m going to make this part of my marketing. Thanks,

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