SMALL BUSINESS’S BIG OPPORTUNITY — SOCIAL MEDIA

February 6, 2013

In an industry populated by giant chains, small independent retailers manage to thrive through countless means, but especially their ties to the local community. Given that history, it’s increasingly important for independent operators to get up to speed on the social web.

Think about it: the social web is about community, just technologically enabled community. It’s about discussions of what’s important and what’s happening. In other words it’s a perfect place to local owner-operators to hear the chatter in their local community and to participate with recipes, merchandising and a host of great ideas.

But it starts with understanding the landscape of the social web and getting a sense of the key steps necessary to build a successful program. Luckily, independent operators have a great opportunity for education coming their way.

The National Grocers Association Convention in Las Vegas will feature an important workshop on the social web on Monday, February 11 at 8:15. The session, Social Media Communication: Policies and Procedures, http://www.thengashow.com/education-schedule/workshops focuses on how-to successfully use the social web. The session is based on the latest report from the Coca‑Cola Retailing Research Council of North America and real world experiences from one of the Council member companies. I will be leading the presentation including a discussion with Dennis Host, director of marketing at Coborn’s Inc.

The presentation, based on a report that can be downloaded for free at http://bit.ly/UntanglingtheSocialWeb, will offer practical tips for retailers trying to determine how best of engage on Facebook, Twitter or other social sites. As the power of social networking grows, it’s increasingly important for even the smallest retailers to understand how best to engage. This session, and the report it’s based upon, promise to offer practical steps to do just that.

Michael Sansolo

Research Director

Coca‑Cola Retailing Research Council of North America