The days are way back where everyone was going through a brochure in order to learn about any product/service that has been offered by a Company. Today, digital media such as websites, blogs, microsites and social network applications are indispensable tools of communication. The digital platforms known as social media are a useful communication tool for people of the information age. Those companies who are smart enough to invest in the future have already incorporated digital communication and social media into their communication strategies. But for the Small-Midsized Businesses (SMBs) it is very important to adapt very quickly to this new world of communication, since this is not a very much cost initiating part in their marketing budget as it was in the past with traditional ways.
SMBs have to use social media to get its advantage against the big companies to bring their brand to the potential customer. Last year was a tremendous year for Social media however the SMBs did not recognize its power so far and only a few have tried to use it for business purposes. This year in 2011 I believe that this will change, because I already see that there is more attention given to social media and included in marketing strategies.
We have interestingly seen with Groupon, that the power of shopping together is getting into our lifes just like a normal habbit. Social media brought us this power and we will see for the rest of the year new e-commerce sites and their trends rising up. I am pretty sure that this scalable and measurable social shopping will attract all SMBs. Especially the drink & food as well as the personal care companies will benefit a lot of this business model by selling their products or services to groups and getting their brand known more and more.
Facebook is another platform where real people and the companies meet on a virtual place. All companies big or small are going to be here to get the value of social media for their products and services. This is the opportunity for SMBs to get fans for their Brands and increase their communication and loyalty with their existing or potential customers.Facebook has a good marketing tool to support this communication. You are able to select your target group by gender, age, country etc. and create ads with a very small marketing budget.
The change of demographics, new technology, economical stress and environmental concerns brings people more together and creates close and small communities all over the world. SMBs have to use this and promote their products/services to these local based groups and communities with special campaigns. This is a trend of 2011 and looks like it will be on the list for a while because of the economical crises globally.
I think those are some points that shows that every SMB should build its own social media strategy this year very carefully. Let me know your thoughts and if I could help you somehow just drop me an e-mail. I would be happy to discuss further.