Wikipedia defines Social sustainability as one aspect of sustainable development. Social sustainability encompasses human rights, labor rights, and corporate governance. …

An alternate definition on the web is: Practices to ensure that the cohesion of society and its ability to work towards common goals are maintained. Individual needs such as those for health and well-being, nutrition, shelter, education and cultural expression should be met.

photo credit: fellowcreative

In terms of today’s business ecosystem, Social Sustainability is that set of values that relate to concurrently tending to and respecting the people and the social networks they are a part of. One of the primary goals of social sustainability therefore, is to achieve human and social network well-being together.

Why pay attention to social sustainability?

Over the past several years, our business culture, our business consciousness and our conscience have all changed dramatically. More of us are beginning to realize that the social-environment in which we and our businesses reside is a finite one and anything that we do to impact it will have consequence on all its members.

Anything that negatively impacts the business environment essentially negatively impacts all of the members of the business environment. In areas where small businesses represent a large proportion of the economy, it is fair to conclude that small businesses carry a large proportion of the responsibility for looking out for the business environment. Consequently, on all levels, the finger points at us as small businesses to do our part.

To conduct our business on a day-to-day basis without providing for social sustainability is a crime and should be punishable by banishment to the Middle East. There we will get first hand experience of the need for social sustainability at a regional and country level.

This is not as easy as it should be.

photo credit: TheSeafarer

If the contact is not already a friend, there seems to be no simple way to add him/her as a fan. You could pay for advertising, but most small businesses are trying to get wider coverage using social media and are trying at the same time to avoid increasing their marketing expenditures.

There is a distinct push by some consultants to have small businesses build their web presence using Facebook fan pages as opposed to building a traditional web site., It would be interesting to find out how they get their customers to add fans without them having to first belong to the friends list.

If you know the answer, please leave a comment.

If you are a small business and are being counseled by your web developer, your marketing or PR agency to ignore building a website and to put your initial web investment into building a Facebook page, you are getting the wrong advice.

photo credit: sepp0

Here are 5 solid reasons why you need your own website, owned and managed by your company:

1. Social Media sites like Facebook and Twitter and all the rest are being stormed upon by marketers who use the draw of 500 million users as an excuse to convince their clients that there is potential for increasing brand awareness and pushing out content to these poor unsuspecting potential customers. What should be happening is that companies should be spending their time listening to the pitter patter on the sites and trying to understand what the customers want as opposed to trying to push more stuff out at them.

2. Let us agree that it is fairly simple to build a Facebook page, but remember that your website is the equivalent of the reception room in your company headquarters or the storefront of your retail business. Would you build a great billboard to bring clients to your uncompleted or your as yet not started storefront. Yes people will notice your Facebook page like they’ll notice the billboard and you’ll possibly get great online visibility. They’ll still want to visit your website to validate your existence and you’ll be non-existent.

3. Facebook does give you an opportunity to listen to your audience and understand what is driving them. Build your website first, then go on Facebook and learn to listen to what your potential customers are saying. This gives you another reason to further analyze and understand who your favorite customer is and you can then use this information not only to enhance your marketing message but in the process, you’ll also improve the look and feel of your existing website.

4. Facebook is cluttered with look-e-loos who are buying nothing. They are individuals who are simply socializing with their family members or peers. Don’t get carried away by the 500 million number of users. Quality and not quantity should be the driving force here. Of course you might get more traffic than you would on your web site, but how good is the traffic for generating immediate revenue.

5. To suggest that company websites will soon be inside Facebook is to suggest that you give the everyday operation of your business to someone you don’t know, you haven’t vetted and someone who has no accountability. How long do you think you’ll stay in business. Also, some of the biggest web companies have disappeared or faded into the woodwork. This can happen to Facebook. If Facebook craters or they decide to change their model, what will happen to your website. Don’t forget when Google changed their algorithm what happened to the page rank of thousands of websites and the negative impact it had on revenue generation for all those owners.

Build your website and make it the foundation or home base of your web thrust. Then use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and all the rest of them as outposts to spread your reach outwards. A good read on this topic is Why Your Website is More Valuable Than Facebook

Lisa Barone mentions is her column at Small Business Trends that small business owners and social media was one of the big topics of conversation at Search Engine Strategies New York last week. There were panels dedicated to why social media was vital for small business owners, how to listen better and how they could use social media to reach business goals.

And it all sounds good on the outside, but from the inside social media can be scary to those wary of dedicating time and resources to an area where they’re unsure. If you’re a small business owner that wants to get involved, where should you start? How does one become fluent in this whole “social media” thing?
Read the rest here at How Can SMBs Get Set Up In Social Media?

Are social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn being overhyped? Are all the social media pundits sending today’s business down a dark and dangerous alley?

If you are a large or medium enterprises you typically have the resource to devote to finding out the relevance of a social media focus on your overall marketing strategy. The million dollar questions for the small business are: “Is it really worth my time?” “Can I afford to be doing this now?”

If as a small business you are trying to use social media to get the word out to your customers and prospects about how great your product/service is then you are frankly wasting your time walking down a blind alley. If however, you are using social media to listen to your customer and learn what his/her problem or pain is and what value your business can bring to the table then you are on the right path.

Social media today is for listening. It is not a mike or a megaphone to be used to drown the customer out.

The sale is not the only way for you to interact with your customers, says Mike Moran of Search Engine Guide. You need to remember about the rest of the buying cycle and not the last click that comes about from the search. Too many people have gotten the idea that search marketing is great for sales, but have forgotten everything else about search marketing, and maybe marketing in general.

To really benefit from your customer searches, your site must be search engine optimized with the right search terms in your content. This only happens if you truly understand the language your customer uses to describe your product and you can only discover this if you listen closely to your customer.

For the full story check out: Stop Selling Your Products!

Blair Pleasant posted last week at Unified Communications Strategies Community Blog and I couldn’t help but notice the integration of unified communications and social media. She makes the case that many people have misconceptions about social software, assuming that it’s just about telling people what you ate for lunch, when in reality, it’s an extremely useful business tool. It’s more than just chatting with friends or letting your “followers” know what you did over the weekend. Tools such as social bookmarking, content tagging, wikis, blogs, and microblogs let workers participate in communities where they can build expertise and share knowledge.

Social networking and unified communications each have inherent value, but are even more powerful when we can blend social software nonsynchronous communication tools (such as wikis and blogs) with UC’s synchronous communications capabilities (such as click to connect). Integrating unified communications with social software lets workers better network with peers within the organization, identify and connect with experts within the company, collaborate on projects, and help workers feel connected.

The fact that IBM is seriously playing in this space is great news since they’ll most likely focus on the enterprise market and the SME/SMB marketplace will naturally follow. For the full story read IBM Integrates Unified Communications with Social Software.

In these tough financial times, small businesses need to try out new ways of cutting back on their expenses. One new trend is to follow certain feeds on Twitter. This very popular social media site contains a wealth of information on using money wisely. Here are 4 helpful feeds for you to follow:
• USATODAYmoney — Keep track of the country’s financial picture and see how you’ll have to adjust to the changing times through USA Today Money’s tweets. Their items will let you learn how to be smart with your small business cash flow.
• financialtimes — The Financial Times is a recognized authority in the business world, bringing readers financial news with global impact. Follow the publication’s official Twitter feed and learn how the world’s economy may affect your small business..
• TheEconomist — The Economist publishes numerous articles on both macro- and micro-economic matters. This Twitter feed will help you stay informed and prepared for managing the financial side of your small business.
• CNNMoney — The official Twitter feed of CNNMoney.com brings you updates on the latest business and finance items from both Fortune and Money magazines. With so much relevant information as your disposal, you’ll be able to make wise financial decisions for your business.

Social Email Marketing recently did an interview with Jim Sterne, Chairman of the Web Analytics Association and among other points made, here are some gems about social media marketing:

There are customers who are invisible in ‘real’ sales and other business contacts but indeed very visible if you know how to track their digital footprints. We can see them by following, listening, measuring, etc. We need to capture as much data as we can, and if we use it unwisely, customers will vote with their wallets and run away or vote with their legislation and shut us down. Yes, we should participate and set up dialogues and join the conversation. It is massively time consuming in comparison to dropping postcards in the mail or sending out mass emails. However, those who invest and do it well will enjoy a serious competitive advantage.

For the entire story watch: Jim Sterne on social media marketing; the customer is more visible now than ever!

Steve Strauss posted this in his column in USA Today and I couldn’t help but notice the emphasis on social media and its applicability to small business. He makes the case that small business needs to pay attention to using Twitter and the other social media sites. In his words, “Social media is busting out right now for a reason — it’s working. If you still think Twitter is hogwash and that it is nothing more than a tool for Ashton Kutcher to build buzz, you are wrong. Twitter has become a valuable business tool that is allowing small business owners to connect with people in ways they otherwise could not.”
See Ask an Expert: 5 powerful recession-busting ideas for the full article