Social media for small biz

The revolution has officially begun. Local business owners – once skeptical about the business and marketing benefits of social media – are going social in record numbers. “To them it’s the Holy Grail,” said Kip Cassino, executive vice president at Borrell Associates and author of the just-released research report “Main Street Goes Social.”
According to Cassino, social media marketing offers local businesses an easy way to sidestep expensive local media advertising channels and deliver their offers directly to potential customers.
In the latest survey of more than 4,000 small firms conducted by Borrell, local business owners, on average, said they expected to devote about 14 percent of total online ad spending this year to social media. That’s more than double the 6.6 percent social media allocation by local businesses in 2011.
Put that into dollar terms and it represents a spending increase from about $1.1 billion last year to projected spending on social media this year of more than $2.2 billion by local businesses.
And Borrell’s market-research experts say local business is still just getting started. They expect Main Street businesses to double spending on social media marketing again by 2013 to over $4 billion. And over the next five years, spending on social media marketing by local businesses should jump seven-fold, according to Borrell.
In short, the trend means one thing: Social media will continue to play an ever-growing role in the marketing activities of U.S. businesses both large and small for many years to come.
Here are some tips for social media:
&#8226 Don’t wait. Start using social media tools right away. Startups should take their brand into the social sphere from Day One. Having a solid online presence will help professionals and other local business owners quickly gain access to an audience that will read and comment on your products and services. It’s also a great way to listen in on what customers are saying, monitor the competition and stay abreast of trends.
&#8226 Name your Facebook business page carefully and keep it separate from your personal page. Changing the name once it’s set is difficult. Use an adaptable name, like stylist, hair pro, financial-services professional, etc.
&#8226 Spotlight others on your Facebook business page. Give credit to employees and clients. These people will in turn “Like” your page and share positive reviews – a powerful resource for attracting new clients.
&#8226 Let everyone know you’re socially connected. This gives you an advantage over your competitors who might not be as actively involved. &#8226

Daniel Kehrer can be reached at
editor@bizbest.com.