Yes, businesses in the U.S. have definitely accepted that social media has to be part of their marketing and PR mix. In a report from the SMB Group: “2011 Impact of Social Business in Small and Medium Companies” 52% of medium size companies currently use social media, 44% of small companies (1-99 employees) have already made social media a part of their operations.
Social media is changing the way small and medium businesses (SMBs) are engaging in marketing, sales, service and other business activities.
Here’s a great blog by on Small businesses and social media usage statistics by Sharon Markovsky.
Social Media Marketing 101: Social media marketing is essentially creating a presence and content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it on their social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs and lets individual followers “retweet”, “repost” or “comment” on comments made on the product or company being promoted. So, by repeating the message, all of the users’ connections can see the message, reaching more and more people. This is really “word of mouth” marketing on the Internet.
Check this out: One of the best presentations that I’ve seen that really sums up what social media is:
- What the F**K is Social Media NOW? (The third (2010) installment in the What the F**K is Social Media series)
If you want to see how it started, here are the other first two:
Social Media Channels – which one to choose? Well, that’s part of my job in helping you decide which social media channels are best for your business! Here are the most popular ones:
- YouTube
- Blogs (like WordPress, Google Blogger, TypePad)
- StumbleUpon and Digg Social Bookmarking
- Flickr Photo Sharing
- Slideshare PowerPoint presentations sharing
Integrate! Social media is not an end unto itself. It MUST be integrated with all your other marketing and PR initiatives. Don’t drop your other marketing and PR initiatives and put all your eggs into the social media basket. Public relations, newsletters, online advertising, etc should be continued to complete all your marketing touch points and your ultimate success.
Sharing is Caring! I know this sounds basic, but make sure all your content has “share” buttons for Facebook, Twitter, email, bookmarks, etc. Add your social media buttons on your email signature. Read my blog on Make Your Online Content Sharable! Best Plugins & Widgets (Free)
What will social media do for my business? Incorporating social media into your marketing mix will allow you and your business to:
- Be found!
- Establish a stronger brand
- Boost sales
- Share expertise and knowledge
- Tap into the wisdom of customers
- Interact and receive valuable customer feedback
- Free advertising: satisfied customers talk about your company, this is the strongest word-of-mouth-marketing
- Build a community
Social media needs to be part of your marketing mix!
