boltron- / Foter / CC BY-SA

Whether it was studying for a history test, searching for information about your favorite car, or wanting to pick up and learn new moves on the basketball court, all the answers and resources were right in front us. The same can be applied when starting a business or making that hobby into something more. Sports teaches us a lot, from where hard work and dedication gets you, to learning the importance of teamwork and going through adversity together that makes you stronger as a team. Yet there is one aspect of our love of sports that’s never applied to in the real world, our answer to someone telling us we can’t.

In the business world we’re constantly told we can’t; we can’t compete with the big companies; we’re not going to acquire clients because the more experienced business will attract them with their flashy website or ads they use. It wasn’t too long ago when we were in high school and felt the disappointment of not making one of the sports teams. However, even without consciously thinking about it, you got back up and started playing pickup basketball, or got a group of friends together and played a game of tackle football. You said, “Yes I can”, to the coach and the players who made the team, but you also continued to pursue what you loved, playing the one sport that made you happy despite not being a good player.

In that time your love for that sport grew, and it didn’t become a chore because that’s what you loved to do, which showed to the people around you. You might ask how this relates to business. In business, you’ll always hear the word no or you can’t because you weren’t gifted with an ability, or you didn’t have the right qualifications because you had the wrong degree. However, just as with sports, this business is your passion, and you’re willing to learn whatever is necessary to make it work. That information can be researched on the Internet, but the resources that are at you disposal that can make your dreams a reality are already in front of you, but you have to make it work.

For the kid who loved basketball, all he needed was a basketball court, sneakers, and hoop to continue playing the sport he loved, even if he didn’t make the team. Or the car enthusiast who loves talking about the newest vehicles on the road, has endless videos on Youtube to watch, countless magazines to read, and may even have a few cars at his disposal to drive and write a few reviews on to show his knowledge in that field.

Small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs have resources in their fields that can help them become experts and experienced companies and business owners. The idea that you have to be an expert from day one is a lie. For those who scratch and claw their way to success, they’ll be better for it in the end because they went through those battles and experiences. What kept them in the game was the passion to be successful in something they loved.

GloriaGarcía / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the United States in the 21st century as adults, and even teenagers, are looking to different ways to make a living during trying times in a struggling economy. New and growing businesses will be the helping hand that gets this country back on it’s feet and revitalizes this nation as a whole. We’ve been blessed with the ability to learn from our predecessors that lived before, during, and after the Great Depression and by ripping a page out of history, we can once again hold our heads high and bring back a winning and thriving attitude that has been lacking since 2008.

While some of the biggest corporations that we know today were started in the early 20th century, they weren’t the only businesses that cured local economies, and later the United States, of the Great Depression. Regionally around the country there may be a very successful business that was started in the 1930’s, but it’s not a conglomerate and it could be possible that it took this company decades to get where they are today, as technology has allowed businesses to reach more people in a broader area.

You may ask why am I pumping the brakes on being a national brand, or why focus on successful regional businesses. The answer I can give is that you don’t have to be a conglomerate to be successful, own a big house, have exotic cars, and live a life that you think is out of the realm of possibility without being nationally recognized. It’s a lie, and with determination, passion, and thinking outside the box, you could run a seven figure company from your office without getting the recognition of some of the biggest companies today.

TV shows such as Shark Tank and The Profit prove that one store, or a company that distributes their products regionally, can be prosperous if they manage the business properly and there is a need for the product or service the business is offering. During an episode of Shark Tank last season, a company called Kodiak Cakes went into the tank to pitch their pancakes to the sharks. They were selling their product in Target stores and were making $2.5 mil in sales that year, with projections of sales doubling in the following year. However, the issues the sharks had was the name of the company and the packaging of the product itself because they believed it sounded too much like a hiking product, and a kodiak bear was on the box which somehow confused them.

After doing some research, Kodiak Cakes are based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The name of the company and having a bear on the packaging makes sense because of where they are regionally in the United States. While the sharks didn’t see them becoming a nationally recognized business, they certainly have the branding to appeal to customers in the region of the country in which outdoors and hiking is more of a pastime, than in a densely populated city where the great outdoors is skyscrapers and taxi cabs.

Another great example of successful regional business that would later go national is Dunkin’ Donuts. Founded in Weymouth, Massachusetts, this once small donut shop now has the slogan, “America runs on Dunkin”. Their coffee is what makes people come back for more, and through word of mouth, and growing gradually, they’ve become a empire that if they didn’t exist, America might cease to function.

You should always have dreams and aspirations of growing into a conglomerate, but always know that you can run a multi-million dollar business by staying local and or regional. By being smart and managing the business right, you can be successful and watch your business grow through the years.

FindYourSearch / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Throughout this summer, multiple marketers I follow have been having issues with organic reaches when it comes to their Facebook pages, and as a manager of some pages myself, I’ve also noticed a decline in organic reaches depending on the subject and audience base. The question being raised by many is whether we’re jumping the gun on social media marketing, and maybe we should place some more realistic expectations on this modern marketing and advertising platform. Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute, where does SMM fit in a marketing strategy, and should it be in the driver’s seat, riding shotgun, or should be in the backseat with the occasional question “are we there yet”?

To put it bluntly, social media marketing is great for brand awareness as it can promote products, and the users behind the social media platforms can post important information, pictures, and any other content that is relevant to the audience in which they’re marketing to. However, is it converting into sales? For some businesses social media is indirectly making them rich, but for others, there is a need for face-to-face marketing, a website, and maybe even YouTube videos to capture potential customers’ attention. Depending on the industry, all social media is a reminder that you didn’t forget your kids at the last rest stop because you still hear their voices, but what they’re saying may not be relevant to those in front seats as they’ve already heard the same stories multiple times.

There are limits to what social media can do for businesses and there has to be other elements tied together to help social media marketing reach it’s full potential. When you follow your favorite store, product, or sports team, what do these accounts usually post? Pictures are always the first to come to mind, but more importantly, they’re posting links from websites, blogs, and online stores. All social media platforms really are is an extended arm that reaches customers where they chat with friends and occasionally search for something such as a product they want, but usually don’t buy in that very instant.

Websites and email marketing are still the best ways to convert sales, and social media is what keeps current customers up to date on products or news concerning the company that is operating the fan pages and social media accounts. Don’t get me wrong, SMM is still a great marketing and advertising tool, but it shouldn’t be the center of a market strategy for small or larger businesses, and be more of a brand awareness technique that gets potential customers interested in finding out more about the product and company.

At the end of the day, consumers are still buying the same way they did 10 years ago, whether that be shopping at brick and mortar stores or online. To say that customers shop on social media right now, we’d be lying to ourselves. Until people start buying exclusively on social media, SEO and other forms of internet and email marketing will continue being the conventional route to driving customers to businesses’ brick and mortar and online stores. For the time being, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms will have to wait because the only way shopping has been revolutionized is through Amazon and eBay. Social media’s day may come, but it’s not right now.

loop_oh / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Prior to social media’s existence, what was one of the problems small businesses had to face? Brand awareness. After getting into the yellow pages, local newspapers, and creating a website, that still wasn’t enough to grow the business into something bigger. As with any form of marketing, getting customers to walk through your storefront doors or having online shoppers buy products off your online store is the number one priority. But the question really is how? Social media allows you to promote your business and brand on a regional and even a global scale.

There are many small businesses these days that don’t put a lot of emphasis on their websites, and instead have the main focus on Facebook and Twitter. The reason for this is that updates can be posted with a click of a button, photos of products can be shared, and a connection between the business and the customer are much easier established. Even before they click on the business’s website link for more information, or walk into that store, the customers already get a feel for how they’re going to be treated and know exactly what to expect when they step in the door.

Sharing pictures of what you sell, and exposing your company’s logo on social media helps spread the word throughout the social media platforms you’re marketing and advertising on. By posting what products are in your store, informing your customers that your store is having a sale, or showing what services your business provides all helps spread brand awareness to current and future customers and clientele.

Years ago, television ads and even YouTube were the more viral route to travel to expose a company’s brand. But with Instagram, a short fifteen second video with the right hashtags can have the same affect, and you didn’t waste time and money on production. Using all of the major social media platforms is the best way to get the full effect of social media marketing. Facebook can be used as a micro blog, Twitter can be the site that connects your business with current and future customers, Instagram is where photo’s and videos can be shared, and Pinterest allows you to post pictures of what you sell and direct the viewers to your online store or website.

The best part of social media however, is the fact that you can connect all social media platforms together, creating a web that all leads to your website or online store. That’s where social media in itself becomes a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, but it’s your search engine, the one you built and created.

Until Facebook and Twitter become e-commerce sites, which has been discussed, social media should be primarily used as a brand awareness tool and marketing outlet that drives traffic to your site. Social media marketing indirectly boosts sales, as you’re informing the customer about what your business does along each social media platform. Don’t hesitate now, get started and promote your brand on social media. You’ve got to reach out to the customer and meet them at the halfway point to guide them to your business and online store.