Latest research shows that 78% of small businesses in Australia intend to spend more time on social media in the next 12 months.
According to the latest Yellow Pages Social Media Report, 83% of Australian small business use Facebook, 27% use Twitter, 20% are on LinkedIn and around 12% use Google Plus or YouTube. The study found businesses spend more than $3,000 of their budget on social media per year.
However, there is a big question for this phenomenon: “Are businesses actually making money from social media or is it just an excuse for procrastination?”
Oscar de Vries, the founder OSCAR Natural, says that social media isn’t a time-waster. “Although you can personally waste a lot of time on it I don’t,” says de Vries.
de Vries says his social media approach is informed by his own experience. “I have seen too many Facebook pages that are not at all interesting and I am continually asking myself what would really engage people. Getting lots of likes does not necessarily equate to revenue. Ultimately you have to see some return-on-investment, whether it be time or money.”
The ephemeral nature of social media has prompted de Vries to increase his resources in this area. “The rules and regulations of Facebook are always changing and I have just taken on an expert on a part-time basis. It’s too new age and too complex to get my head around it short term.”
Gill Walker from customer relationship manager business Opsis, says of all the social media platforms LinkedIn is her main source of business leads. “LinkedIn took the place of a formal resumé several years ago. I have a personal page on LinkedIn and I am in the process of developing the company page,” says Walker.
“I have a Twitter account I don’t use much and I do struggle to understand where it fits for businesses such as ours. I refuse point blank to use Facebook because of its hidden agendas. The risks cannot possibly be outweighed by the possible benefits,” she adds.
Jess Van Den, proprietor of online jewellery business Epheriell.com has been using social media for five years, primarily Twitter and Facebook, but also Instagram and Pinterest more recently
“It’s been an absolutely integral part of my business, as I very rarely buy any advertising. Basically all of my business comes to me via social media and through my blog,” says Van Den.
“I use social media to build relationships with customers. I run a handmade business, so that personal connection is very valuable. I share images of what I’m making, talk about my processes, and my life and lifestyle in general. Social media is also a great channel to converse with customers and potential customers, and to run competitions,” she says.
From Van Den’s perspective, one of the best things about social media is its inexpensive nature. “Financially [it costs me] pretty much nothing. It is a time cost rather than a financial cost for me. Time-wise, I would spend at least an hour a day on social media activities, at minimum.”
Van Den has had many of her followers and friends on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram become customers. “I know this because I either recognise their names, or they flat-out tell me that’s where they came across my jewellery. It’s about getting out there, making genuine connections with as many people as you can, and being consistent with sharing your work.”
As for whether she wastes time on social media, Van Den says,”occasionally, yes – but it’s such an integral part of my business that I’ve developed systems and procedures to ensure I’m using it efficiently and effectively.”
For instance, she has certain tasks she does each day on social media. “I know I want to post to my Facebook page no less than three times per day. I have a big list of possible content ideas that I draw from each day. These might be things like new products, complementary products from other brands, questions about projects I’m working on to get my customers’ feedback, inspirational quotes and blog posts.”
“I also use tools like bufferapp.com to schedule a whole day’s worth of tweets in one 10 to 20 minute session a day. I’ll then come back to Twitter later on and reply to anyone who’s contacted me.”
Van Den also uses a single piece of content across many social media platforms. “For example, I’ll often take a quick phone photo of a piece I’m working on and then share it on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter all at once.”
Social media consultant Natalie Alaimo uses Facebook as her main platform to find new customers and build a relationship with them.
“My main costs for social media are time plus Facebook advertising. I’ve spent about $5,000 on Facebook advertising over three years so not a huge investment,” Alaimo says.
But it is an investment in time. “On average I would spend about 30 minutes per day on Facebook and one and a half hours writing a weekly blog post and newsletters. Depending on what else is happening [I would spend] maybe another two to three hours creating content.”
Alaimo says most of her business comes from Facebook, with the rest generated from speaking engagements, referrals and networking.
“Just like everyone else you have days where you get distracted by someone’s photos. But I try to have personal time and business time and keep the two separate. Many business owners are wasting time because they don’t have a plan and think that Facebook by itself is a strategy. Facebook should only be part of your marketing strategy,” she says.