Strong communities have strong centers of commerce – usually with thriving downtowns or retail areas. To help business owners and merchants grow and thrive, the Charter Township of Brownstown Downtown Development Authority recently reached out to Hay There Social Media and brought Emily A. Hay in to speak to their audience. They hosted a session where lawyers, retailers, doctors and other business owners were in attendance; all present to learn how to make social media work for their small businesses.

The most common comment was: “I have started using social media for my business, but I have no one who wants to do regular maintenance and upkeep!”

As small business owners, you tend to lean on your team for everything, so it’s natural to think employees would be the best fit to run social media, right. After all, aren’t your employees the most familiar with the ins and outs, trends and events? While some small business owners can be successful with that approach, it isn’t always a good fit.

Here are some key points to think through before you ask your team to help with this important business component:

1. Your team already has responsibilities.

As a business owner, you have hired an employee because you thought they’d be a great fit for the position. You trust and depend on them to fulfill their duties and excel, right? Your trust and dependability is based on the job they were hired to do, not on the marketing strategies you want to implement.

A businessman from a trucking and shipping company in Brownstown, Michigan, mentioned he is very eager to get his social media efforts noticed. The only problem is he has recruited his staff to help maintain it, but even after a few weeks, it has become clear no one has time to focus on social media.

2. Your team has things that they like to do, do they like social media?

Your business has a team that is made up of individuals who each have an interest in different aspects of his or her work. They were hired to do a specific job, which they probably enjoy – and are good at — doing. For most people, we tend to prioritize the things we like to do over things we dislike. Social media can be similar to marketing and public relations, but even the most advantageous PR, marketing or communications experts might not be a good fit for all things social media-related. If your employee doesn’t enjoy doing social media work, he or she likely won’t put forth much time and energy.

Our team members at Hay There Social Media LOVE what we do! We work with different public relations and communications companies to enhance their social media efforts and we love working in tandem with your communications professionals.

3. Will they be able to fast track to the people they want to reach?

One of the most important aspects of using social media effectively is reaching your target audience and building a strong community. Someone who works internally in a company might have a limited reach or mindset when it comes to getting your company’s information in front of potential clients.

A social media expert can research and find new clients through strategic content and engagement. Our team brings a wide network of contacts that can help your business grow with the very people you want to reach. Let us help you use social media to your advantage by using our networking, knowledge and connecting skills.

How is your team currently managing this important social media effort?  Please be sure to pass this along if you know someone experiencing the same challenges!

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