Why small business has the edge with social media

Taking a whole day to respond to a tweet and then using stuffy language like ‘we are proud/thrilled/concerned/exulted…’ goes against all that is fun about social media.
Of course, I know there are some big businesses that do social media superbly, and I love them for it – remember the Oreo’s 2013 campaign where they responded in seconds during the Super Bowl black out that you could still dunk in the dark? Brilliant. But they had a dedicated team to social media for those 12 months and on the day of the Super Bowl, they had a graphic designer, brand manager, comms manager and social media manager all in one room, at the ready waiting to pounce. It goes to show how much work it takes for a big business to respond in real time, quickly and en pointe.
Small business on the other hand is perfectly positioned to react quickly when something pops up online. There isn’t a series of approvals they need to go through because there’s usually only a party-of-one the boss needs to confer with – themselves! This kind of agility means small businesses can jump right into conversations without a backward glance to a panel/board/barrier of middle and senior managers all advising the best way to respond. And without being bound by the shackles of fear and responsibility, they can answer in human-like-speak!