Commentary

Small Biz Embracing Social Marketing; Location-Based, Not So Much

Small businesses have embraced social media marketing in a big way, but aren’t nearly as keen on location-based social media like Foursquare, according to a new survey from Constant Contact, which provides digital marketing services to small biz owners.

 

An impressive 97% of small business owners told Constant Contact that they are using social media channels of one kind or another, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram. And 66% said they are using mobile marketing, including ads delivered to smartphones and tablets, Web sites optimized for mobile devices, or text messages. By contrast, just 17% said they are using location-based social media like Foursquare to market their business.

 

Meanwhile another survey of small business owners by Staples also found that Facebook and Twitter were the most popular social media marketing channels. In terms of goals, Staples found their main purpose is engaging customers -- endorsed by half of the respondents -- followed by increasing sales (46%) and raising brand awareness (44%). Perhaps unsurprisingly, small business owners don’t consider themselves social media marketing experts by any means, with 53% characterizing themselves as novices or completely ignorant of its potential benefits. On the other hand, 40% said that social media has benefited their companies.

 

Staples also announced a contest that aims to encourage small businesses to adopt digital media, with $50,000 prizes for three small businesses and paid digital marketing services for one grand prize winner. Companies who want to enter the Staples “Push It Forward” contest are asked to submit a 75-word essay (that seems more like a paragraph) describing what they would do with the prize money.

1 comment about "Small Biz Embracing Social Marketing; Location-Based, Not So Much".
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  1. Solange Welsh from DaisyS, May 15, 2013 at 5:27 a.m.

    It’s worth to say that social media marketing plays an important role in running a business today. Honestly, it’s a bit hard to imagine a company (even a small one) which doesn’t have an account on Facebook/Twitter. Lots of business owners do social media marketing and it’s absolutely right. We can see how quickly some people become famous with a help with the Internet and social media, so social media marketing gives your business a chance to become successful. Business account creation is available for free and there’s no need to use any financial products to make it. But if you will want some additional options like advertisement social media websites then it's necessary to pay for it.

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