Wyoming Business Tips for May 14

A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (WSBDC), part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By David Brim, CEO and founder of Brand Advance, guest columnist

“Everyone says that I need to be on social media for my business. I’ve gotten on Facebook, but I don’t see anything happening. What should I do?” Bob, Cheyenne

I have talked with numerous business owners of million-dollar companies who have told me, “My daughter or son manages our social media.” They claim that their child is an expert in everything social media -- Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Learning how to create an account on a social network and the fundamentals of using a specific social network or tool is easy, but actually investing the time to create meaningful relationships and quality content is not. Having the business maturity and experience to comprehend the overall company strategy and marketing goals, and understand how to use social media to support them, is not an easy task that should be given to a high school or inexperienced college student.

Many times, business owners will tell me that they have a Facebook page but have not seen much success from it. They ask what they can do to improve it. When I review their Facebook, I quickly see that their employees and family members are the only people interacting on their pages. They know how to post updates and content, but they do not have an idea of whom specifically they are speaking to or what they should be communicating to get a response.

Many times, they may be fishing in the wrong pond. Once they determine a core focus of whom they are trying to reach, they may alter their strategy and choose to communicate on a specific forum, LinkedIn group or blog, as opposed to their Facebook page. LinkedIn can be extremely useful for prospecting for new customers, finding new employees with specific skills and learning more about their business and industry.

It is extremely important to be clear about who your key prospects are and take time to understand them. If you have taken the time to do this, your social media initiatives will be much easier and more effective. You will know where to fish for your customers, the type of bait to use and how to most appropriately use social media to support the company’s overall goals and strategy.

David Brim is the CEO and founder of Brand Advance, a full-service marketing agency based in Orlando, Fla. He has been featured in one of the most popular entrepreneurship textbooks, "Successfully Launching New Ventures," and has been interviewed on Fox, ABC and CBS about topics such as entrepreneurship and internet marketing.

A blog version of this article and an opportunity to post comments are available at www.wyomingsbdc.org/blog1/.

The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY, 82071-3922.