How businesses can start on Facebook, Twitter

There's good news for entrepreneurs who think they should be part of Facebook and Twitter but don't know how to begin: It's OK to start small, get comfortable and see what works best for your business.

That's the advice from Patricia McGuinness and Brian Basilico, two advisers who help business owners get comfortable with social media marketing.

Basilico is director of direction of B2b Interactive Marketing, Aurora; McGuinness is principal of Shoestring Business Marketing, Forest Park. Both understand that the ultimate goal of social media — especially for smaller companies — is to increase business.

They also know that business owners must understand the social media rules.

Facebook and Twitter “are not about advertising or selling,” says Basilico. “They're about relationships. Social media is relationship marketing, an extension of what you would naturally do face-to-face.”

That said, McGuinness says your Facebook or Twitter goal should be to “enhance the presence you have on the web and drive people to your website.” That's where you can educate or, more likely, sell prospects — assuming your website has been built to do so.

In a sense, Twitter is an enhanced version of what we once called email blasts — short (140 characters) marketing messages intended to provide instant information. For example, McGuinness says a restaurant “should Tweet your soup specials to followers every day.”

Facebook, McGuinness says, is more about building a community of followers. “Facebook is an opportunity for you to share information, help people solve a problem and build a reputation. If I'm your Facebook friend and you post something on your Facebook page, it shows up on my Facebook page for my friends to see.

“You want to build an audience of interested individuals. What you say day-to-day helps you be top-of-mind.”

With all the noise about social media, some perspective can be helpful. “Social media are not everything,” says Amy Crowther, director of chamber services for the Berwyn Development Corp., in Berwyn. “The need is to drive people to your business.” Social media, she says, are among the tools to use.

Training can help, too. Although both Basilico and McGuinness are broad spectrum social media experts, each has some interesting expertise. For example, take a look at the one-on-one online training Basilico's B2b Interactive offers.

“Don't get overwhelmed,” Basilico says. “The first thing is to figure out who you want to talk to and set up a plan. Otherwise, you'll be in the old ready-fire-aim situation.”

Talk to McGuinness, once a magazine circulation manager, about database management. When you know who you want to reach and what you want to say, you need some contact organization. “Start with your personal network of real life friends and customers,” McGuinness suggests. “Find people you want to connect with. Download your address book.”

Ÿ Jim Kendall welcomes comments at JKendall@121MarketingResources.com.

© 2011 121 Marketing Resources, Inc.