Social Media Marketing for the Small Business Environment

Social Media Marketing
for the Small Business
Environment
Solutions for Small Business
Reports are designed to
demonstrate how new
technologies enabled by cable
providers help small business
owners and managers address
key challenges, solve problems
and achieve mission critical
objectives.
“The Internet’s not written in pencil, it’s written in ink.”
– The Social Network
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In the Web 2.0 era, first generation e-commerce tactics are no longer
enough to deliver the winning edge. Today, organizations of all sizes
are looking for new ways to unleash the power of the Internet. and the
next new frontier is the realm of social media.
Social Media Marketing for the
Small Business Environment
Introduction
Social media runs the gamut from social networking sites like Facebook
and MySpace to microblogging forums like Twitter, to wikis, virtual
communities and shared multimedia. Social media offers great
strengths over traditional marketing approaches including collaboration,
low barriers to entry (in cost as well as usability), and the ability to edit
and revise content in real time.
At this early stage in the social media marketing lifecycle, there are few
well-marked routes and even fewer rules of the road. Even so,
businesses are flocking to social media marketing as a low-cost, highly
effective way to take their Internet strategies to the next level. A new
survey conducted by email marketing provider StrongMail found that
half of all businesses plan to increase their email and social media
marketing budgets in 2011, while 43 percent plan to maintain current
levels.
“As marketers head into 2011, they are focused on increasing
subscriber engagement through increased relevancy and automating
lifecycle communications,” says Ryan Deutsch, vice president of
strategic services at StrongMail. “While it’s clear that marketers are
struggling with insufficient resources, this is a challenge that can be
easily overcome with the right marketing partner.”
The “2011 Marketing Trends” survey1 reveals that email marketing (65
percent) and social media (57 percent) will be the top areas of
marketing investment in 2011. The respondents also say they plan to
decrease spending on direct mail (36 percent) and Tradeshows/Events
(33 percent).
This paradigm shift away from traditional marketing strategies like direct
mail and tradeshows indicates that businesses place a great deal of
value in client engagement and segmentation – two of the primary
strengths of social media marketing. Forty-three percent of respondents
to the StrongMail survey consider integrating social media and email
marketing to be a high priority, and 71 percent plan to integrate their
email and social media strategies by the end of 2011.
1
The StrongMail “2011 Marketing Trends Survey” was conducted in conjunction with
Zoomerang
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2
‘Community, Identity, Stability’
If you disregard the dark subtext, Aldous Huxley’s motto for his “Brave
New World” might well fit the social networking revolution. In the 21st
century, this is the way your customers interact, collaborate, form
communities, influence each another, and, most importantly for
businesses, how companies reinforce brand loyalty.
22 percent of all time online
now is being spent on social
media and blog sites.
While some organizations are tempted to dismiss social media as a
consumer phenomenon, it offers businesses powerful brand-building
and customer-engagement tools. One key reason for the success of
social media marketing: it’s where your customers are. According to a
survey conducted by Nielsen in April 20102, social media sites account
for three of the world’s most popular online brands – Facebook,
YouTube and Wikipedia. Additionally, 22 percent of all time online now
is being spent on social networks and blog sites – an increase of 24
percent over 2009.
Social networks and the like can
be used to attract and influence
customers.
And that time means money. Recent research indicates that social
media is having a strong influence on consumer preferences. “It is
increasingly on social media that retail brand awareness is established
and brand image is built,” explains Ivano Ortis, research director, IDC
Retail Insights. “Social networks, blogs, price comparison Web sites,
and the like can all be used by retailers of all kinds and sizes to attract
and influence customers, to study demand patterns, to improve brand
reputation, and finally, to provide customer support.”
New Trends
IDC researchers found that the innovative nature of social media can
turn multiple account profiles into an opportunity for retailers to
capitalize on same-shopper sales growth prospects3. Additionally,
shoppers are making greater use of mobile social networks, a trend that
is likely to bridge the gap between online and physical shopping.
Another important factor businesses must consider when evaluating
social network marketing is the fact that a majority of consumers rely to
some extent on social networks to guide them in their purchase
decisions. According to a new report by Gartner4, these social networks
often include individuals who fulfill different roles or functions in
recommending products to people with whom they are connected.
“Companies attempting to use social networks should develop
relationships with key customers over a period of time and
progressively refine the social network profiles of those individuals,”
says Nick Ingelbrecht, research director at Gartner. “In this way, the
most suitable individuals can be targeted with the right information,
products and promotions in the most cost-effective way. Retailers who
2
“Social Networks/Blogs Now Account For One In Every Four and a Half Minutes
Online” http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/social-media-accounts-for-22-percentof-time-online/
3
IDC’s report, “Business Strategy: Social Commerce Opportunities, Strategies, and
Risks for Retailers Globally”
4
The Gartner report, "User Survey Analysis: Consumer Marketing Using Social Network
Analysis, Worldwide, 2010." http://www.gartner.com/resId=1381514.
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3
run small shops have instinctively done this with their best customers
for years, with the intention that these ‘VIP’ customers will not only buy
the new products, but recommend them to their friends.”
B2C and B2B marketers must
determine how social media
tactics complement the rest of
the marketing mix.
The value proposition for social network marketing is not just applicable
to business-to-consumer (B2C) markets; business-to-business (B2B)
firms can benefit as well. “Emerging social behaviors will fundamentally
change the nature of the marketing relationship between B2B buyers
and sellers, especially in a down economy,” says Oliver Young, senior
analyst at Forrester. “B2B marketers must use social profiling data to
determine how social tactics complement the rest of the marketing mix.
Integrating traditional and online tactics is essential as the groundswell
of social activity grows.”
Emerging Strategies
A social media presence can
improve brand image and help
businesses gather useful
consumer data.
In this brave new world, IDC believes that retailers must have a
balanced presence across social media networks, allowing consumers
to feel in control of their own personal spheres. A friendly, interactive
presence on a social network can greatly improve brand image and
help the company gather extremely useful, unstructured data about
demand trends, the researchers say.
Also, organizations should realize that a social network presence does
more than drive traffic to their Web sites. Listening to current and
potential customers on social network sites helps businesses gather
useful information about their market in a non-intrusive way.
"Most B2B marketers miss the nuances of their audience's preferences
by jumping directly to deploying social technology without first profiling
the social behavior of their customers,” Young says. “Knowing buyers’
behavior lets marketers set the most effective social media strategy,
instead of blindly trying every new technology that comes along."
Overcoming Implementation Challenges
Although available data clearly demonstrates the value of social
network marketing, many still struggle with the logistics of
implementation, according to a new report by The Boston Consulting
Group (BCG)5.
Mirroring the digital marketing buzz, about 90 percent of respondents to
BCG’s survey said their companies plan to spend more on socialmedia, mobile, and online advertising in the next three years. However,
many of these companies are taking a leap of faith, investing despite
gaps in in-house talent, measurement tools, and agency support.
For example, only 31 percent of survey respondents agreed that their
advertising agencies are helpful in making the right tradeoffs between
digital and traditional media. Most respondents said they do not believe
that they have developed the right tools for managing their increasingly
complex media mix.
5
Boston Consulting Group, “The CMO’s Imperative: Tackling New Digital Realities”.
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“Once again, we see some companies taking bold steps to invest, even
amid massive uncertainty,” says John Rose, a senior partner in BCG’s
New York office and an author of the report. He points out that there is
no single winning formula for integrating social network marketing into
the overall organization, however, businesses most likely to succeed in
digital marketing share certain characteristics:
Succeeding in social media
marketing depends on the right
investment, analytical tools,
integration with traditional
marketing and executive
support.




They are more likely to set minimum levels for investment in digital
marketing.
They are more likely to possess analytical tools required to make
tradeoffs across media vehicles
They are more likely to integrate campaigns across digital and
traditional marketing
More of their marketing executives will believe that digital marketing
is important to their personal success
Partnering with firms that have an expertise in social network marketing
also can yield good results, particularly for smaller organizations or
those that are less technology focused.
“Companies know that by failing to effectively integrate digital
campaigns, they risk wasting marketing dollars by the millions,” says
Jens Harsaae, a BCG partner and co-author of the report. “By fumbling
conversations with digital consumers, they risk damaging a brand’s
reputation. Inaction is not the safe option.”
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About Solutions for Small Business
Solutions for Small Business is an initiative of CTAM, the Cable &
Telecommunications Association for Marketing, which is dedicated to
helping the cable business grow. Cable companies supporting the
initiative include: Armstrong; Atlantic Broadband Business; Bend
Broadband Business; Bright House Networks Business Solutions;
Cable One Business; Charter Business; Comcast Business Class; Cox
Business; Insight Business; Mediacom Business; Optimum Business;
Suddenlink Business and Time Warner Cable Business Class. Small
business owners can learn about the initiative at
www.solutionsforsmallbusiness.com.
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