Alicia Calderón is Co-Founder of the initiative MiPrimerTweet. Degree in Business Sciences with more than 13 years of experience in the world of Marketing and Communication both offline and online. His career has been linked to the consumer market and new technologies.

With it we have spoken to address the current panorama of media and social networks in the field of business and especially SMEs.

Well Alice, we see you very involved in the project of MiPrimerTweet What exactly?

My First TweetIs a way of approaching marketing, social networks and in general all this succession of technological changes that we are currently experiencing, professionals, especially SMEs and Autonomous, in a simple, direct and very participative way. If technology is designed to make life easier for people, then why is it so complicated when it comes to truth? The answer to this question is the essence of MyPrimerTweet. Every 15 days we celebrate a day and we do an interview. There are no monologues, no technicalities, only people, professionals who share their experiences and concerns in an environment of trust. Two things are needed to make this possible. The first, that the maximum number of attendees is 15 people. With a higher number it is more complicated to establish a conversation with the participation of all. And the second, Attitude 2.0, that is, the desire to share, meet and have fun.

With the content that is generated, we elaborated an article that we spread on the web, in the Twitter profile and in the Facebook group. Other people comment on it, share it and pose ideas that we take into account. This means that, in short, MyPrimerTweet is a community of people.

Is not there a certain contradiction in setting up an ‘off event’ for the ‘on world’?

Unlike. The online and offline world has to go together. They need and complement each other. The online world brings the tools and the offline world humanizes us. A group of 15 people sitting around a table sharing a breakfast and talking about a certain topic, generates exceptional content because it is based on real testimonies told in first person. If it stays here, it dies. But if we use the online tools and share it in social networks and on the web so that other professionals know and share it, the dissemination is enormous. I would not talk about two worlds, but one, with online and offline tools.

Your professional activity is currently focused on SMEs, what is the real perception that SMEs have in social networks? Do they make a good partner SMEs and social networks? Do SMEs have “attitude 2.0”?

There is ignorance and distrust. They think it’s something reserved for big brands. I think this has been caused, in part, by the excess of technical words and acronyms that are used now to talk about Marketing and its tools. More emphasis is placed on concepts than on functionalities. The entrepreneur wants to know what they are for, how they are used and what they bring. In your language. SMEs, unlike large companies, because of their size and structure, have the advantage of making decisions quickly and dynamically and adapt much better to the environment and changes. This is fundamental to being in Social Networks. That’s why they make a perfect match. I can say, based on my experience, that SMEs do have Attitude 2.0. You have to listen to them to know what they need.

The online world offers hundreds of tools, networks, solutions, but not all of them are worth everything. What are the most interesting social networks and tools for an SME?

It depends on your activity, your target audience, the type of content you generate and what you are looking for. You must know all these factors well to establish an optimal combination and do not lose sight of sectoral social networks. Most of the time you have to complement the campaigns with other more traditional tools, such as an advertisement in the local newspaper, send a press release to the media, organize an event, conduct an email marketing campaign, etc.

In the context of the current crisis, does the internet represent an opportunity for SMEs?

Of course. And it’s not so much because of the crisis, but because the relationship between customers and brands has changed completely. He has turned around. Before the marks told us what we had to consume. Now it is the consumers who recommend their friends what they have to buy. That is, now the brand does not sell, but the customer buys. And where are my clients? In Internet. They use social networks and blogs to express opinions, talk and recommend products and services to their friends and contacts. So you have to be there. If you are not, they do not find you and, if they do not find you, you do not exist for them.

What should an SME do if it wants to enter social networks? What are the necessary and essential steps?

First, be clear exactly what you are looking for. In social networks you can not be by fashion. It does not contribute anything and consumes time and resources. The next step is to humanize oneself, that is, to replace the “corporate” with the “emotions”, the “me” with the “we”, the “product or service” with the “experience”. Think about community and be close. Social networks are people, not companies. And behind the companies there are people, not logos. And finally, once there meet your customers. Know how to listen to them. Who they are, what they like, what interests them, what they are worried about, their hobbies, etc. For this it is fundamental to talk. Only in this way can you offer them what they need when they need it and be open to criticism and opinions to improve every day and build trust.