Women business owners make up one of the fastest growing segments of small business. Certainly, a factor like increased access to capital has had a major influence, but access to capital has not had as much influence over the last few years as social media has had. Growing a business has become much easier thanks to the ability to develop social media networks, and women entrepreneurs are embracing this technology with enthusiasm. According to information businesses submitted to the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), as many as four out of every ten businesses led by women report their revenue grew as a result of using social media.
If 40 percent does not seem like a very high number, rest assured it will change. The 40 percent represents women heading some of the fastest growing companies. Behind them are entrepreneurs ready to emulate that growth once they gain more familiarity with the power of networking via social media. In fact, in the same set of WPO responses, only 16 percent said they do not use social media at all, meaning 44 percent are using it for some business reason.
Study after study confirms women made up the majority of the people who first embraced social media networks for personal reasons. Women are culturally conditioned toward networking, so the leap from personal to business use of social media makes perfect sense. There are a number of social media sites available today; however, there are a select few that mainly appeal to women.
There are a wide variety of social media networking websites currently being used today on the internet. The most popular include Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. However, even simple blogging has been used as a powerful and successful marketing strategy. The appeal of social media as a business tool lies in the fact it allows executives, managers and their staff to add a human touch to their brand through postings of valuable content reflecting problem solving expertise and responsiveness to customer needs.
Social media is about relationship building, and turning it to a business advantage can bring stunning results. Brightstar Franchising is a home healthcare and medical staffing company with headquarters in Illinois. Shelly Sun, CEO and co-founder, indicated in a 2011 interview with Forbes that she attributed a quadruple growth in revenue over a two-year period to the use of social media. Her secret is not really a secret – company staff blog about industry news, write informative content that provides helpful tips on home healthcare topics, and post a variety of links to other websites.
A study published by the marketing firm Digital Flash NY reported that close to 60 percent of the people using Facebook are women. That same study also reflected the regularity of their Facebook usage, because 18 percent of women updated their statuses every day (in comparison to only 11 percent of men). LinkedIn is another popular site that is specifically designed for business building and professional networking. At the present time, more men than women have embraced LinkedIn, but that is changing. It is a better forum for thought leadership and for promoting a professional brand because postings are not buried in more personal information like those found in Facebook.
Aside from Facebook, there are three other social media websites that women seem to be more drawn to than men today. They go by the acronym T.I.P. – Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Even though Twitter was developed years after Facebook, it has still been able to acquire a massive audience that is mostly composed of women (64 percent). The nice feature of Twitter is that it is easy to manage and enables a business to reach out directly and immediately to its network using mobile technology like smartphones to promote customer retention and connectivity.
Instagram and Pinterest are fairly new to the social media equation, but both have made a significant impact in the social media market. Businesses use these social media sites to showcase images of skills or products that also contain links to their business websites. Close to 97 percent of the Pinterest fans on Facebook are women.
Planning an Approach
The one key element that allows social media sites to grow and expand over time is simply other people. The principle behind social media is that what you like is good, but what others like about your business is great! Each of the social media websites discussed has an integrated system that allows you to build your own audience and fan base of friends, followers and/or likers. When others join your network, they are automatically notified of updates and changes that are made to the social media site.
Building a social network takes a planned approach. Though it is easy to explore a social network, the ultimate goal is to attract people most likely to be customers who can be retained over the long-term. That is why it is so important to develop a social media marketing program that is relevant to the business and not just friendly chatter.
There are several ways to direct networking activities. Women-owned businesses that are suppliers to large corporations can take advantage of their connections by making useful suggestions or displaying expertise through content on the corporate social media sites. Corporations can help small businesses grow by developing Web 2.0 sites where suppliers can interact with each other and corporate management. Reaching out and linking to other businesses is another way to build an online network.
Get Started to Get Growing
Attending events held by industry-specific organizations is an excellent way to get started as they are forums for networking where people exchange online contact information. The National Association of Women Business Owners at (http://nawbo.org/section_9.cfm ) is a good resource for locating relevant events. Women 2.0 (http://www.women2.com/about/) is a women-owned media company that helps women business owners learn how to take advantage of online networking opportunities by using the power of technology. There are many other organizations available that can help.
The first step is building on the networks already in place. They include corporate accounts, current customers, and even friends. Develop an online brand using one or more social media sites and start blogging. As the statistics indicate, the important thing is to just get started.