As you have heard me say before, it is important that small businesses begin using social media. Large companies are using it to have conversations with individual customers, to thank them and to solve problems for them. The problem for large companies is that they have so many customers that it is not possible for them to address every issue with every customer within the confines of social media. Their customers get the ‘not so personal’ attention of the much dreaded big customer service departments.

This is where the small business owner has a huge advantage. Your customers are able to get personal attention from you, the owner of the business. Customers appreciate that and will speak highly of you and your business when they feel you appreciate them.

This is where listening is important. Social media is a conversation broken down into short statements, but it is a conversation nonetheless. Being a good listener is a big part of conversation.

It is only by listening that we learn how our customers feel about us and our business. It is by listening that we are able to publicly resolve issues that our customers are having. And, it is by listening that we are able to publicly let our customers know that we appreciate them.

So, how to we listen with social media? On Twitter, for example, there is the obvious way of just seeing what they are saying as it is being posted but, let’s face it, that’s sometimes impossible to do. Many posts can go by without you seeing them and if you are not following the commenter, you will not see them at all. A better way would be to search @YourName. By doing this, you will be able to see what anyone says rather than just those that you follow. If you are not following them, this gives you the opportunity to not only follow them but also to respond appropriately to their comment.

So, you are listening, right?! If not, get started. It will make a huge difference in your social media endeavors.

The other day, as I often do, I was on twitter looking to see what people were talking about. I read a tweet written by a small business asking if having an RSS feed on your site was enough to get the word out about new products. This person is an events photographer and after each event posts his photos on his website to sell.

Having an RSS feed on your site is very important but it’s purpose should not and really cannot be to sell. It’s purpose is only for informing subscribers of new articles or posts on the site. They see the title to the article or post and decide whether or not to click over to your site to read it. If the article title is not enticing to them, they will not click over. If they do not visit the site, you cannot make a sale.

There is also a limited number of RSS feeds that the average person will stay subscribed to at any given time. If they find another site that interests them more than your site, they will unsubscribe to your RSS feed to follow another. This customer is gone and you have no way of contacting them.

It is also important to understand that customers have a limited amount of spare time. If they visit your site, will they see the offer you are presenting immediately? If not, they will click over to the next site they want to look at. You literally only have seconds to get their attention.

Now, lets consider an email list. I’ve written before about the power of the list and I really cannot stress enough the importance of having a list. If you do not have an email list you ARE leaving money on the table.

An email message delivered directly to your customers inbox is far more personal than RSS. The likelihood of them opening a personal message from you is so much greater than them clicking on an article title to come to your site. You have their undivided attention and time to inform them of your offer and convince them to click over to your website. With a mailing list, you also have the ability to offer specials on what may not be today’s product. RSS is only getting the word out about today’s message.

So, no RSS is not enough to get your message out to your customers. It is of utmost importance that you start an email list and start it now. It takes time to build a list and the longer you wait, the more money you are “leaving on the table.”

If you are looking for an email list service, we recommend using AWeber. They are without question the best.

Photo credit: Osvaldo_Zoom