Charles Darwin did not say the strongest or smartest of the species survive. Darwin meant those who are most capable of adapting to their environment gain the upper hand and survive. This is true for the species and for business. If there was ever a time to adapt it is today with the changes impacting our businesses. Don’t say “I’ve never done that before” or “We’ve always done it this way.” Look for fresh perspectives and new ideas that fit the new normal.

Harvard Business School Professors Robert Kaplan and David Norton state, “90 percent of business strategies fail due to poor execution.” I have tools to help you improve your execution. A Marketing Calendar. Monthly strategy meetings. A Post Schedule detailing your social media posts. Let’s talk about them and discuss how your execution can improve.

Another excellent article from Social Media Examiner.  These pros often work with larger companies who have social media teams. Not always, but often.  So I added my thoughts for my small business people. We have to look at things a little differently!

First my answers then click the link to read the full article.

Should I continue to promote my business on social media? How?

Yes, continue using social media. I would recommend at least continuing the activity you have been doing. Show people that you’re still in business.  If you were making twice a week posts on two platforms, keep that going.

If you or your staff have some extra time, start a new platform.  Look at the social media demographics (I can email them to you) and start a new platform you haven’t had time for before.

Should my social media strategy change? How?

Review all of your content to be sure it’s relevant.  If you’re a restaurant, advertising dine-in specials is going to fall flat. But take-out specials will be worthwhile. Every business can adjust. Be very clear on how people can help you and how you can help people.

Should I be running ads on social media? What kind of messaging should I use?

If you want to run ads, hire an expert to guide you.  I can give you referrals to experienced professionals. The ads are not easy to set up. You need to set a clear budget. You need to carefully measure the results. 

If you haven’t ran ads before, I would wait a bit to get started.  Are you doing everything else?  Up to date website with solid search engine optimization?  Email marketing? Phone calls? Videos? Are you participating in groups on Facebook or LinkedIn?  If you’re doing all these things, you probably need to add in social media advertising.

How can I use social media to move my transactions online?

Make sure you post about the ways you use online transactions to help your clients. Online meetings?  Video training? Catalogs on your website?  Be very clear what is available to your clients.

We are all learning new things and shifting some ways we do business. Be creative.  Be kind.

I’ll close with my favorite social media quote –

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

 Dale Carnegie

Customer reviews are becoming more important on social media platforms. It isn’t just Yelp for restaurants! I started my research for a new dentist at Yelp last weekend. More and more of my retail clients are telling me about business coming in after reading reviews on Facebook, Google or many of the other sites. You need to respond to good reviews and to bad ones. Don’t be afraid of bad reviews. If you have 20 5 star reviews and 1 griping curmudgeon, people are going to downplay the complainer. We all know people like that. But note in this article how few people respond to good reviews and how responding increases sales!! If you need help putting together your action plan, call Your Computer Lady.

The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends that you spend about 8% of your gross revenue on marketing and advertising.