Earlier this week I was invited to attend a Business Link event as a 'local expert' (their term, not mine!) in social media marketing. It was an interesting format, there were 6 large round tables, each with their own 'expert host' in a different marketing area (PR, Customer Relationship Marketing, Word of Mouth Marketing, Pricing for Profit, Online Marketing as well as Social Media Marketing).
I remained (thankfully) seated at 'my' table and was joined by 8-10 business owners for 30 minutes, followed by a 10 minute break. Then everyone moved around to the next table & topic of their choice - this took place 4 times in all. I was gratified the seats at my table quickly filled up each time :)
Basically, I was there to provide tips and suggestions to the many small business owners who are unsure how to make all the social media goodies work for them - or so I thought.
Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised when the Business Link Advisor who sat beside me the whole time to 'facilitate' the discussions, was only asking if they used Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. From other local networking events I've attended lately, I know business owners who understand how to use the online networks for business are the exception rather than the rule (unless they're involved with the internet as part of their own business).
When I suggested that online networking was just one part of many social media marketing possibilities, most of the faces around the table unfortunately went from curious to blank, as I tried to describe the wonderfully numerous and diverse ways the internet can literally transform small businesses.
That was when I realised that there are those of us who have embraced the internet and are busy finding ways to integrate it into our marketing and using it to help design brand new business models - and then there are the many other business owners who haven't even considered that path yet. I really didn't expect to find such a huge gap still existed between the two groups.
Overall, it was an enjoyable if quite tiring experience. It was definitely thought-provoking and has taught me a valuable lesson about expectations!
Please share your experience of how many business owners you know 'get' or don't get, using the internet in the comments below. And if you enjoyed reading this post, I'd appreciate a retweet too!
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