Whether we like it or not, a large chunk of communication happens online. People turn to the internet to talk about all sorts of things, from if the Earth is flat or not, to whether your business is worth anything or not.
Yes, if you are running a business, there is a good chance someone out there is talking about it, so it is quite the risk not to be a part of that conversation. In case nobody is talking about you, then it is up to you to make them start, by generating online conversations about your small business.
Generating and engaging in discussion about your small business online has many benefits, but we will mention just two of the biggest ones:
- It will allow you to tweak your customers’ (both current and future) perception of you and your business (to your liking, hopefully)
- It will help you draw in new customers
But finding where people talk about you, or where you should initiate such discussions, is not as easy as it sounds. Where do you start?
Google it
Yes, the first thing we advise you to do is to google the terms that are directly linked to either you (your name) or your business (its name, its core service or features, things like that). Google your main competitors in the same way, as well, and don’t forget to add a little geography into the mix, too.
So, for example, if your name is Macy Gray and you have a bicycle store in Wisconsin, you’d google things like “bike stores in Wisconsin”, “Macy Gray”, “buy a bicycle in Wisconsin”.
Among the results, focus on sites that allow discussions, so pay attention to sites like Reddit and Quora. Look for sites that specialize in bicycles, see if they have a forum, a blog with comments enabled, or if they have pages on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. And finally, go directly to these social media sites and look for relevant discussions there.
Facebook has a search engine which allows you to filter results and focus only on the discussions. So, if you search for “bike stores in Wisconsin”, and click the “Posts” filter, you will be presented only with other people’s public posts about bike stores in Wisconsin.
Twitter, on the other hand, has made things even simpler. It revolves around hashtags to help people find topics easier. When on Twitter, bring up the search engine and start digging: #bikestores #bestbikes #Wisconsinbikes, until you find where you want to be.
You can search for much more than just people on Facebook (Image Credit: Screenshot)
Talking to people
Once you identified all the sites, forums and social media pages / groups where people discuss things like your small business, yourself, your competition and the industry you’re in, it’s time to start talking.
Make sure you contribute properly. If people are looking for a solution to a specific problem, and your business seems to be the answer, make sure to help them in a way that doesn’t come off as salesy or too promotional. Give something of value to the community. If you have a blog post that discusses that particular problem, don’t hesitate to share the link. Engaging in such a discussion could look something like this:
“Hey, Amanda, that is a really good question! I’ve been running a bike store for years now, and I’ve had dozens of customers come in asking the same question. The answer isn’t that simple to give, so I’ll try my best. I’ve also written a blog post where I go into more detail about it, so make sure to check it out on this link!”
This is just one of the many examples of how you can generate an online conversation about your small business.
But there will also be negative situations when people, unsatisfied with your business or service, will go online to complain and warn other people about you. The most important thing here is not to panic, and not to rush into answering. Arguing with a disgruntled customer will only deepen the gap between you and them, and that’s not where you want to be. Instead, you can use this moment to turn this complaint into an opportunity.
Domino’s Pizza did just that, quickly transforming from one of the world’s most infamous pizza places, to one of the world’s biggest chain restaurants. Back in the day, people criticized its pizza as being tasteless and loveless. After realizing what kind of discussions are being led online, it first changed its recipe, and then put the customer at the very center of its communications strategy. It used social media to encourage them to try new recipes and leave comments. It even created a microsite dedicated to nothing but these comments.
By using social media to discuss improving, it managed to get to the hearts and souls of its customers, quickly turning from infamous to most loved.
Opening up your own channels
These days Facebook registers 2.07 billion active users per month and 1,37 billion active users on a daily basis, making it an unavoidable platform for every business. You would do good to create a business page on the network and start talking to your customers.
You can find a step-by-step tutorial on how to create the page here. Creating a business page on Facebook means that you now have a space of your own to share your content, as well as other content you think would be valuable for your customers.
Once built, that space needs to be filled with customers, otherwise you will have no one to talk to. Now you need to do a little promoting. You can do that in person, when customers enter your store. You can add a short “Join us on Facebook” call to action on your printed receipts or coupons. You can add a link to your page in your email signature. And finally, you can add a little paid advertising to the mix.
What’s also cool about Facebook is that it allows tabs, similar to what you have on your internet browser. These tabs can be filled with different kinds of information, so for example you could use one of the tabs to add your landing page to it. Marketing automation tools such as smoove allow you to build these tabs with ease.
Conclusion
On the internet, people talk about all sorts of things, and the business you are in is most likely included. Being a part of that discussion is crucial to the success of your small business, especially if there are a few disgruntled customers out there. In order to generate online conversations about your small business, you need to find where the people interested in it reside and identify the most important sites, forums and social media pages. You need to create your own channels where customers interested in you can come and join the talk, and lastly (but definitely no less important), you need to make sure that you engage in these discussions meaningfully, adding value to your customers. It will create new and tighten old bonds with them, helping you grow your business as a consequence.
