Social Media Marketing and the Small Business Owner
"Is Social Media Marketing important to your business?"
If you are a small business owner, one thing is more than likely always on your mind; “how can I expand my business?” Well the answer might be simpler than you may have thought – Social Media Marketing.
Before you go condemning the idea of marketing with the help of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all of the other sites the young kids are using, just look at the statistics. This article from the Social Media Examiner outlines the proven benefits of Social Media Marketing.
In the last three years alone, marketing through social media outlets – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs – has moved from an unproven and controversial strategy to a primary tool in most successful marketers’ repertoires. When combined with more traditional marketing strategies – like email marketing, press releases, event marketing and webinars/teleseminars – Social Media Marketing can greatly increase the chances a small business owner has to compete with industry giants.
The numbers speak for themselves. About 88% of all marketers found social media helped get them increased exposure and 72% saw increased traffic to their site as a result of social media. While other notable results include:
• The self-employed and small business owners were more likely to report new partnerships, with at least 59% noting a benefit.
• Small businesses were twice as likely to find qualified leads than other types of businesses.
• Forty-eight percent of self-employed and small business owners saw improved sales as a direct result of their social media efforts.
• The self-employed (59%) and small business owners (58%) were more likely than others to see reductions in marketing costs when using social media marketing.
Additionally, Social Media Marketing allows small business owners to best manage their time. These entrepreneurs play many roles in their companies and marketing is just one aspect of what they do. So it is important for the small business owner to maximize his/her time.
Social Media Marketing allows them to do this.
By spending as little as six hours a week with Social Media Marketing, you can see increased traffic to your site. Likewise, those who spend at least 6 hours per week, which appears to be the magic number, are almost twice as likely to see leads generated as those who spend 5 or fewer hours.
The time you spend on Social Media Marketing is up to you, but one thing is for certain – if you are not utilizing these proven marketing methods, you will quickly fall behind your competition.
If you would like more information on Social Media Marketing, please contact Adventure Web Productions by calling 866.488.8644 or click here today!
