Social Media for the Micro-Businesses

by Erin Bishop

Willow standing at her workstation beveling a black leather belt.

First and foremost, the term small business is being used so frequently that I believe that one must first clarify what they mean by “small.” So, what is a mirco-business? A mirco-business is company that has one or two people working for it and that it is not physically located at a shop, but is a booth, a website, or a corner of a local consignment shop. In other words really small.

There are many things that an owner of micro-business must constantly juggle and attempt to balance: pure supplies vs finished products, saving for bigger equipment vs buying supplies, working vs free time, and last but not least physically building and socializing. Word of mouth is the best way to get known, but what do you do if no one is talking about you? Start a conversation through social media. If you have a business and haven’t started at least one social media account for the business, follow these three points for success.

A black backlit keyboard.

1. Find one or two social media sites to start out on, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Pintrest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, etc. I suggest you pick one that you are already using.
   
2. Pick one day a week to compose your social media talking points. With a micro-business it’s difficult to balance free time. Pick one free day to do nothing, pick another to work on social media, and use the other five days to work on as much as you can.
   
3. Plan your tweets or updates for the future. With only working on social media one day a week, you’ll want to plan when your post are coming out. You might even plan what type of media comes out on what day, so that when you do your social media it will be very clear how often you want to show off new projects, finished for sale items, sharing blog posts, showcasing off other artists and businesses, linking to your website, so on and so forth.
   

A Kenmore Sears sewing machine 1970's vintage.

Once you have these basics down and you feel comfortable, it’s time once again to become uncomfortable. Branch out into new social media sites, start blogging, join groups, and make new goals. Your business isn’t growing if you aren’t reach out and exploring new avenues. Don’t be discouraged by others or feel like you aren’t measuring up, no one knows your life or your micro-business like you do.