Growing up, the hub of shopping and social activity was the downtown section of the small city near where I live. This area suffered a major setback when the first mall was built, forcing many to either relocate to this new regional shopping area, or close their doors entirely. While we did see some rebounding, tough economic times have again befallen many main streets in small town America.

As national chains and an unstable economy threaten the livelihood of these smaller, independent establishments, how can they compete? The answer is social media – the digital equivalent of word-of-mouth advertising, and the very way many of these businesses were built to begin with.

So much coverage is given to large nationwide and worldwide companies and the creative ways they are using social media, that many small businesses don’t think it is something for them. In my opinion, social media marketing is a tailor made solution for the sole proprietor and small to mid-sized company. The very viral nature of it can literally bring virtual foot traffic to their doors. Let’s look at some examples of how social media can increase brand awareness and your customer base.

A small inn on the coast of Maine sets up a blog wherein they provide interesting content about the ocean, its creatures, how to eat a lobster, recipes, wholesome family activities to be found nearby and breathtaking pictures of Acadia National Park. They then set up a twitter account and search for people who mention Maine, New England, lobster, hiking, summer vacation, etc., and they begin interacting with these people and listening to what it is they want. The innkeeper, from a place of sincerity, then provides potentially helpful solutions and resources. Suddenly, Maine is a definite for the family vacation spot this year, and what better place to stay then at the inn run by a newly found friend. The satisfied vacationers tweet and blog about the great place they just stayed, its owners and the area, and almost instantaneously this referral hits the desktops, laptops and mobile devices of millions of people worldwide.

I had another experience last weekend while perusing the artisan tents at a local festival. I began asking the vendors some general questions such as: How are you? Has this been a good show for you? How has your year been? The most common response among them was they had to travel to a lot more shows to sustain themselves in this economy. A particular vendor, one who makes exquisite hand blown glass pendants, told me that time not spent crafting was spent traveling. When I asked about a website, he replied “hope to have one by the end of the year”, which basically meant to me that if I wanted to show someone else his work, or buy something myself, I was going to have to find him at another show. I asked him if he had thought about setting up a business blog and promoting it through the various social media networks. His knowledge was vague, his interest high, and once again, time a real issue.

People like the innkeeper and the glass artist represent the heart and soul of the entrepreneurial spirit to me. They are the very reason I started Creative Options Media, and the demographic I feel can benefit the most from my services. I am one of them, and no matter where I go, my heart will always be with small town America.

If you can see yourself in either of the examples above, I would love to hear from you. Let’s discuss your vision and goals for your business and family, and customize a social media strategy that will help you meet them.

By: Lisa Sawyer

About the Author:

Social scientists are responsible for study relationships among groups of people, how they make decisions, and how they respond to change. By studying human society, a these professionals will suggest various solutions to government, business, and environmental problems. It is common for social scientists to work as analysts for governments and private corporations.

Science involves a great deal of research, which will often involve conducting interviews and gathering statistical and demographic information about a population that is being studied. Anthropologists are responsible for studying the social and cultural development of human behavior and technology, and these professionals will study the cultures and customs of groups that range from primitive to industrial.

Archaeologists have the responsibility of investigating old ruins, tools, and other artifacts of early civilizations, in order to learn how technological advances affected the cohesion and progress of ancient societies.

Political scientists are responsible for studying political systems and public policy, which can include investigating such topics as public opinion, political ideology, and public policy, and conducting various surveys to analyze election results and other matters of public and private interest.

Sociologists will study human behavior in religious, political, and business organizations in order to understand why crime and social movements occur. Geographers will analyze cultural phenomenon on a local, regional, and global level, studying the distribution of resources and the implications that various factors, such as climate and soil, have on human activity.

Historians will document and analyze the past, using official and private records, in addition to newspapers and other mediums to try to create a recollection of a historical period or event.

Social scientists will typically work 40 hours a week although they may have to travel to dig sites or to investigate particular cultures or languages. Their training will usually require at least a master’s degree in order to gain positions in universities or government fields.

In 2006, these workers had about 18,000 jobs in America, with about 40% working for governments, and many of the rest working for universities and business firms. The job prospects over the next ten years for social scientists are fairly good, and employment growth will progress slightly faster than the rate of population growth.

In 2006, the Federal government paid social scientists entry level wages between $28,862 and $35,572, with those having a master’s degree starting out of a much higher rate of pay at $42,731.

By: Alex Newman

About the Author:

All businesses are vulnerable to shrinking in a recession, but service businesses – those offering a service rather than a product – are particularly vulnerable to an economic downturn. Here are some suggestions on how business owners can prepare for tougher times ahead.

First, take a hard look at what you do now. Is your service a necessity to customers or clients? Or is it a luxury? Being objective is crucial. You may think your quarterly survey of customer satisfaction is important to a manufacturer, but they may see it as a luxury or frill when their own cash flow starts to dwindle. To assess you situation, create a scale by drawing a line with ‘necessity’ at one end and ‘luxury’ at the other. Then mark off where your services cluster, using a mark for each project and how the customers see it. Be objective; this is no time to kid yourself about how your clients view your offering.

If your services mainly fall at or cluster towards the luxury end of the scale, next take a hard look at your customers. Will they still be able to afford you when the economy shrinks? For example, if you cater to retirees or the wealthy, their incomes may not decline. But if your services tend to be subject to customers’ budget cutbacks, you need to rethink some of what you offer.

The first step is to look at how you can repackage part of what you offer, to either lower the price point, or vary the service to broaden the range of potential customers. If, for example, you have tended to do nationwide market studies, can you scale these back to offer regional studies that either existing customers or new ones may want to purchase? Or, if you do promotion, how can you streamline your approach, to perhaps offer services in one channel, for example, radio or e-mail, rather than a full spectrum of channels? It’s always important to revisit what you do and find a way to offer a “quickie”. You can still go on offering your full service, but the lower-priced alternate may help keep the dollars coming in when the economy slows.

If this is not possible, what services can you introduce that will be mainly recession-proof? Perhaps you have some new ideas on the back burner? Bring them forward; a slow economy is not necessarily a bad time for something new, it just has to be the right ‘new’. If you can offer a small, affordable luxury, people will still find the dimes even if they no longer have the dollars.

Another way to migrate to greener pastures is to focus on geography and find the areas of the country, which are less affected by economic troubles. What can you offer outside your usual territory? Which of your services can travel well and might lead to substantial new business away from home?

The next thing to look at, if you see your services dying off in terms of demand, is how you might change over to a ‘D-I-Y’ model and, rather than providing the service, act as a coach to your customers or clients so they can do it themselves. That is, if you usually develop and execute strategy, perhaps you now provide the ‘skeleton’ and they have to flesh out the details themselves. Or, if you would normally be the one making calls for a market research survey, you now, instead, develop the questionnaire and guide staff at your client’s company to do the phone work.

A recession can also be a good time to look at how offering training or seminars, based on what you do, can broaden your markets and generate some needed cash. While each seminar might not deliver the same level of dollars as a full-scale project, it’s all ‘grist to the mill’. And if you keep the cash flow coming in, you’ll be better positioned to thrive when the good times return.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

By: Deborah Sawyer

About the Author:

Growing up, the hub of shopping and social activity was the downtown section of the small city near where I live. This area suffered a major setback when the first mall was built, forcing many to either relocate to this new regional shopping area, or close their doors entirely. While we did see some rebounding, tough economic times have again befallen many main streets in small town America.

As national chains and an unstable economy threaten the livelihood of these smaller, independent establishments, how can they compete? The answer is social media – the digital equivalent of word-of-mouth advertising, and the very way many of these businesses were built to begin with.

So much coverage is given to large nationwide and worldwide companies and the creative ways they are using social media, that many small businesses don’t think it is something for them. In my opinion, social media marketing is a tailor made solution for the sole proprietor and small to mid-sized company. The very viral nature of it can literally bring virtual foot traffic to their doors. Let’s look at some examples of how social media can increase brand awareness and your customer base.

A small inn on the coast of Maine sets up a blog wherein they provide interesting content about the ocean, its creatures, how to eat a lobster, recipes, wholesome family activities to be found nearby and breathtaking pictures of Acadia National Park. They then set up a twitter account and search for people who mention Maine, New England, lobster, hiking, summer vacation, etc., and they begin interacting with these people and listening to what it is they want. The innkeeper, from a place of sincerity, then provides potentially helpful solutions and resources. Suddenly, Maine is a definite for the family vacation spot this year, and what better place to stay then at the inn run by a newly found friend. The satisfied vacationers tweet and blog about the great place they just stayed, its owners and the area, and almost instantaneously this referral hits the desktops, laptops and mobile devices of millions of people worldwide.

I had another experience last weekend while perusing the artisan tents at a local festival. I began asking the vendors some general questions such as: How are you? Has this been a good show for you? How has your year been? The most common response among them was they had to travel to a lot more shows to sustain themselves in this economy. A particular vendor, one who makes exquisite hand blown glass pendants, told me that time not spent crafting was spent traveling. When I asked about a website, he replied “hope to have one by the end of the year”, which basically meant to me that if I wanted to show someone else his work, or buy something myself, I was going to have to find him at another show. I asked him if he had thought about setting up a business blog and promoting it through the various social media networks. His knowledge was vague, his interest high, and once again, time a real issue.

People like the innkeeper and the glass artist represent the heart and soul of the entrepreneurial spirit to me. They are the very reason I started Creative Options Media, and the demographic I feel can benefit the most from my services. I am one of them, and no matter where I go, my heart will always be with small town America.

If you can see yourself in either of the examples above, I would love to hear from you. Let’s discuss your vision and goals for your business and family, and customize a social media strategy that will help you meet them.

By: Lisa Sawyer

About the Author:

All businesses are vulnerable to shrinking in a recession, but service businesses – those offering a service rather than a product – are particularly vulnerable to an economic downturn. Here are some suggestions on how business owners can prepare for tougher times ahead.

First, take a hard look at what you do now. Is your service a necessity to customers or clients? Or is it a luxury? Being objective is crucial. You may think your quarterly survey of customer satisfaction is important to a manufacturer, but they may see it as a luxury or frill when their own cash flow starts to dwindle. To assess you situation, create a scale by drawing a line with ‘necessity’ at one end and ‘luxury’ at the other. Then mark off where your services cluster, using a mark for each project and how the customers see it. Be objective; this is no time to kid yourself about how your clients view your offering.

If your services mainly fall at or cluster towards the luxury end of the scale, next take a hard look at your customers. Will they still be able to afford you when the economy shrinks? For example, if you cater to retirees or the wealthy, their incomes may not decline. But if your services tend to be subject to customers’ budget cutbacks, you need to rethink some of what you offer.

The first step is to look at how you can repackage part of what you offer, to either lower the price point, or vary the service to broaden the range of potential customers. If, for example, you have tended to do nationwide market studies, can you scale these back to offer regional studies that either existing customers or new ones may want to purchase? Or, if you do promotion, how can you streamline your approach, to perhaps offer services in one channel, for example, radio or e-mail, rather than a full spectrum of channels? It’s always important to revisit what you do and find a way to offer a “quickie”. You can still go on offering your full service, but the lower-priced alternate may help keep the dollars coming in when the economy slows.

If this is not possible, what services can you introduce that will be mainly recession-proof? Perhaps you have some new ideas on the back burner? Bring them forward; a slow economy is not necessarily a bad time for something new, it just has to be the right ‘new’. If you can offer a small, affordable luxury, people will still find the dimes even if they no longer have the dollars.

Another way to migrate to greener pastures is to focus on geography and find the areas of the country, which are less affected by economic troubles. What can you offer outside your usual territory? Which of your services can travel well and might lead to substantial new business away from home?

The next thing to look at, if you see your services dying off in terms of demand, is how you might change over to a ‘D-I-Y’ model and, rather than providing the service, act as a coach to your customers or clients so they can do it themselves. That is, if you usually develop and execute strategy, perhaps you now provide the ‘skeleton’ and they have to flesh out the details themselves. Or, if you would normally be the one making calls for a market research survey, you now, instead, develop the questionnaire and guide staff at your client’s company to do the phone work.

A recession can also be a good time to look at how offering training or seminars, based on what you do, can broaden your markets and generate some needed cash. While each seminar might not deliver the same level of dollars as a full-scale project, it’s all ‘grist to the mill’. And if you keep the cash flow coming in, you’ll be better positioned to thrive when the good times return.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

By: Deborah Sawyer

About the Author: