Slate Magazine has released the “Facebook 50,” a list of the top 50 companies using their Facebook fan pages to engage their customers. To make the list, though, a company had to have more than 200,000 fans.
That lowered the overall value of the “Facebook 50” for me. While it was interesting to read about success stories like car-maker Audi, which is getting advice from its fans on the design of its next models, I didn’t find examples in the list that could be translated to small businesses.
Of the nearly 6 million businesses actively employing at least two people, more than 5 million have fewer than 100 employees. The lessons to be learned from the huge companies on the “Facebook 50” list simply aren’t relevant to most businesses.
Smaller businesses don’t get millions of fans simply for showing up on Facebook. Coca-Cola and Starbucks, both in the top 10 on Slate’s list, attract attention that the majority of businesses will never receive.
So what should smaller businesses do to get value on Facebook when they have to compete with giant global brands?
Gary Vaynerchuck, an entrepreneur who grew his family’s small wine distribution company to a multi-million dollar business using social media outreach, thinks that the increasingly social nature of the Internet shifts the balance of power back to small businesses that play by “small town rules.”
While the big brands have some clout from gaining millions of fans, it is much more difficult for the company to make each fan feel that they are valued and receiving great service. Vaynerchuck talks applying the concept of a “baker’s dozen,” giving the customer a bonus or deal to show that their business is appreciated.
A much smaller company, which might only have 100 fans on its page, can develop a positive relationship with each of its fans by giving them incentives for interacting with the company on the social network.
Everyone knows people want to feel valued. Social networking lets small businesses remind their customers why they have a distinct advantage over the big guys. Consider what your small business can offer as its “baker’s dozen” through its social media presence. Set yourself apart from your competition that doesn’t take the time to foster customer relationships online.
In the Internet age, people haven’t stopped having conversations—they just have them in different places.
Are you taking in part in them?
