What is the best way small business’ should use the Fediverse?
There’s a lot a small company could do on the fediverse but what do you think the best way they could go about it is?
there is no money to be done on the fediverse
people here are sensible to influencers, ads, etc… Like at the beginning of the Internet. They hate it a lot lot more than people on youtube, tiktok or facebbok even reddit.
This is a place for non-commercial sharing. At least for now.
Why on earth would a business owner waste time trying to leverage such a small and niche platform? Even Facebook and Instagram feel like more trouble than it’s worth. Less than 10% of my customers have found me via social media.
Social media is for humans to socialize. Not for businesses to find customers.
Commerce is a social act.
People run small business’ that are wanting to interact with there customers
I don’t give a fuck what the businesses want.
don’t.
fediverse is not an opportunity tap.
if I see any advertising on any of my social platforms I add the company to my blacklist and avoid them as much as I can.
That’s fair enough having your own Fediblock list makes sense especially if they are only purely pushing for ads.
Best way business can use the fediverse is to go away.
Feel free to create a community based on your products and services and keep loyal customers up to date through that. People will subscribe or not.
The Fediverse demographic skews very heavily away from anything that smells even remotely like promotion or sales (and especially AI).
Your best bet, and possibly the only meaningful way, to leverage the Fediverse as a business is to use it for thought leadership. Write, post, comment about specific meaningful things your business is centered around. Do not promote, do not use contextual links, do not direct people to your website for more info.
This isn’t a place for direct lead gen at scale. It’s a place to accumulate like minded people, and work towards those people talking about you inside their own networks.
It’s the long game, recognition and association; not engagement and monetization.
Yes this actually makes sense, Having meaningful interactions well not purposely directing people to products or services can reduce the number of people purchasing said things it is better to have a great interaction with people and have a good connection with those in your community.
This is something any business using the Fediverse will have to learn (and I’m trying to do with my own small business). Thanks for your feedback, I will keep it in mind.
the best way they should use the fediverse is to use bluesky so we don’t have to see their ads disguised as “content”.
You realize YouTubers are business’ along with content creators in general right? The mute button is right there. Along with would you prefer them to have there own instances so you can just block them out?
I would prefer they go to the platform with more people that they can reach, which is already enshitified with ads. I don’t care if you’re selling the meaning of life, I don’t wanna see that on fedi because this is our place away from bullshit like that. And if they try to spread into fedi, I can and will support harassing them in whatever way is necessary to convince them to leave, including leaving bad reviews, repeatedly calling their phone numbers, signing their support email addresses up for spam newsletters, etc.
So… go out of your way to harass small developing business’ because they want to use a great thing like the Fediverse? They haven’t paid or put themselves higher on the ladders through paid ads, they can run there own instances if they wish.
As someone who’s trying to make a small business and doesn’t support how Centralized Socials are used I want to use the Fediverse as my hub of presence for it… What is wrong with a business wanting to grow & interact with people?
So… go out of your way to harass small developing business’ because they want to use a great thing like the Fediverse?
yes, thank you for understanding. keep that capitalist bullshit off fedi.
“anarchist.nexus”
Ahh explains things. Capitalism is sadly what most of us have at the moment and with how jobs are these days some have to create small business’ to keep the lights on and food on the table, I hope you find what you are looking for in life as obviously you don’t have it right now.
I’m petitioning my admins to defederate from you on the Piefed side, and I’ve already defederated from you on Mastodon. you’re a sickness we can’t allow to operate on fedi.
👍
Why should it be necessary to block business from a social platform? Shouldn’t personal communication be the default? We don’t need to monetise every breath we take.
I’m not saying to make monetized ads but if tomorrow the centralized web went away (or gets further restricted for users and brands a like) then how would small business be best to use there accounts rather than shoving ads in your face.
Small business are often trying to just make ends meet especially in some places that can’t easily get jobs, making your own sometimes is the only option.
how would small business be best to use there accounts rather than shoving ads in your face.
Let me be clear: I don’t want you to bring marketing to the last tiny space on the internet where no-one is trying to sell me things. Go to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, one of the hundred or so for-profit social networks.
Plenty of people advertise for you to donate towards them on here, I’m simply saying how small business can feel like they are being apart of the Fediverse rather than just using it to advertise there products.
The best way is to use in a way that gives, not takes. So any ideas of advertising or promoting - forget about it. Creating a community or maintaining a Mastodon presence for support contact might be about the only thing you can do that’s not going to get you eviscerated.
Most of us are here to get away from the bullshit. Please don’t bring in more bullshit.
We work in it. Created FedID and use it for identity management.
We also use Ghost for our blog.
Could you please;
- Explain how this is relevant to my question.
- Explain how a FedID helps?
The FedID is just a way to try out federated services internally. Ghost can federate posts to other federated services, they have plenty of info on their site if you’re interested.
KEEP THE FEDIVERSE CLEAN! NO LITTERING!
They should leave it alone. I don’t want to see ads everywhere or worse, ads disguised as content. Reddit has been going to shit due to, in part, the rampant commercialization of the platform.
If a post puts out a call asking for a product that your SB can provide, feel free to post that you have the answer. Beyond that, don’t inundate us with attempts to see your product.
Edit: That said, I do agree with the other commenter who says be an easy-to-contact support account.
You work with model train products it seems, so good-faith, non-advertising participation in such communities is the best way to engage. That’ll do more for your branding, reputation, and business profits that shoehorning ads in.
The mute button is right there… Would it be better if even small new business’ have there own instances?
I shouldn’t be required to take extra steps to mute advertisements I didn’t ask for, consent to, or otherwise search for.
If small businesses want their own instances, that’s in their power to do so, willing participation in those instances will be difficult to accumulate I suspect.
They aren’t paid ads, yes you might have a few that just do straight up ads but is it not what everyone is doing with showing off what they are doing and creating?
Well that’s what I mean by “good faith participation” — usually that includes showing off what you are doing/creating to a community you are a part of.
The problem, that you acknowledge, is that some businesses (in reality a majority) do purely advertisements. It is indeed a slippery slope.
However, I’ve seen small businesses/individuals post content that gets praised by the general population of a community and then people start asking “Hey, where’d you get that? Where can I get that?” And then the OP is like “Well I actually make it myself, I sell them as a business but also engage in the hobby myself”. THAT is the most successful way I have seen a business interact in an online forum.
Yeah I agree, that is probably the best way a small business should use the Fediverse. Interact instead of just posting the product and going “FOR SALE NOW!”.
Having confiscations is part of the Fediverse and it shouldn’t be taken away.
Confiscations? I’m unfamiliar with the term
conversations* sorry am very bad at spelling sometimes
Don’t.
Why not it’s an open platform, they can run there own instance.
If you want tips about how to successfully grow your small business on the Fediverse, you should look at your comments and the responses they’re receiving here and do the exact opposite.
If you’re not gaining traction here with this account what makes you think it’ll be any different on your official “small business” account?
Offer public support for whatever they sell.
Like a support account any issues? Don’t we have private mentions to sort out issues? or just presence?
It worked well on Twitter. For example I was looking for a local espresso place in Varberg once and wrote about it, some people pointed out the one specific one and the barista also chimed in that if I come by he will personally make special effort for my first espresso there. That became my to-go espresso place for a couple of years.
It’s “businesses,” by the way.
