by James Moore
It is no wonder that small businesses are getting lost in the social media shuffle. It seems like every day new ideas, platforms, networks and more, arrive on the scene. There are companies sprouting up offering the ‘best of’ campaigns, and each CEO/owner out there is wondering what on earth they’re talking about.
When hiring a social media/PR team, the one thing that has to be taken into consideration is their ability to communicate. Because, in 
the end, the person who wants their small business to thrive must know that the people they hire to analyze, watch, learn and run their social media campaigns 24/7, are the ones who know the foundation of what social media is all about.
The basics have been thrown by the wayside. Which is a lot like teaching someone English for the first time without actually utilizing the alphabet. Social media does take up a huge range of issues and platforms, etc., but without the ABC’s of social media easily explained by your social media team – the understanding of the campaigns, analytics, and customer service and satisfaction will definitely seem foreign.
What is a social media website? See? The question sounds so silly in 2013, after social media has been growing larger than Dr. Banner does when he turns into The Hulk. But to understand the scope of a concept, you have to completely understand the foundation that the concept was built upon.
Social media is communication – pure and simple. Your social media/PR team should actually start out the first meeting with you by explaining that very basic, very easy to understand information. Without communication at the core of a company, the company will simply go out of business. But communication has to come from all sides. Social media is used as communication between you and your target audience; between you and your franchiser, if you happen to be a franchisee; you and the social media team itself, in order to make sure that your ideas are utilized the best way possible by them across the World Wide Web, and more.
Just because media is no longer focused on a magazine or a television ad, the theory behind media stays the same. With social media campaigns being done correctly, your brand and your logo, services, and products can rise up through the marketplace. The platforms and networks – from Facebook to twitter and beyond – are only there in order for you to reach millions and billions at the same time, instead of having to depend on the circulation of a magazine.
When it comes to your own personal company’s website, you are looking at setting up a necessary place of information. You want that website to be colorful, content heavy with real-time updates on you, your company’s products and information regarding your industry. A website is at the center of your social media campaign because it IS your ‘Home.’ It is the spot where people will come in order to learn all about you and why, exactly, they should choose you over your competition.
These are the basics. From here, you build the social networking platforms, delve into social bookmarking, interact with visitors on social media websites that are both well-known, and perhaps new. You will even learn about tagging, the best way to host events, and a whole lot more.
So when you’re sitting back in your chair and staring at that computer screen wondering what on earth to do first, find the social media/PR team out there that has the knowledge to teach you the ABC’s. Then…the sky’s the limit!
For more information visit BeFirst Media Group