Signals from the Field

If you are a small to mid-sized business (SMB) in the B2B (business-to-business) arena you are likely wondering how to hop onto the social media marketing wave and ride it to success. You are not alone. B2B clients nationwide are listening to the hype, asking tons of questions and seeking guidance on how to take advantage of this emerging trend. There is little doubt that social media is taking the Internet by storm but so much of Facebook, Twitter and others seems to be focused on personal interactions. But most in the SMB B2B space don't have promotions every week, don't hold special events every month and aren't generally doing special marketing blitz's on an ongoing basis. That being the case, what on earth does a SMB marketing to other businesses do with social media marketing?

Forrester Research recently published an article about the growth of web analytics stating that 74% of websites have some type of web analytics software installed on them. However, they also reported that (only!) slightly more than half of websites have customized their analytics software to track specific activities. This indicates a significant opportunity for many firms to improve their online marketing success.

Clients ask us frequently if they should do both PPC and SEO at the same time. Our answer is always the same - "it depends". Of course it depends mostly on whether the particular client can benefit from search engine marketing. If they can, then we talk. But if we don't believe it's the best use of their marketing budget, we work with them on other marketing campaigns. If search engine marketing can benefit the client, then the question is PPC, SEO or both. Often times both can get the best results.

In these lean times advertisers must ensure they get a good return on every advertising dollar spent. Print advertising is often the most difficult to evaluate impact but with a little thought, it becomes easy, especially if you are using your website the way you should.

Admittedly I’m a big fan of Google, and I’ve been following the story about how Google might exit China because of China’s restrictions on the internet. While I understand what China wants to do, I certainly don’t agree with it. After all, America is the best and part of that “best” is free speech – and unrestricted access to the internet.

You know - it's all the rage...everyone is talking about social media. Everyone is getting caught up in social media - and I don't blame them because social media is bringing the world closer together. I can't tell you how many people have told me stories about how a long lost friend or school mate found them on Facebook or LinkedIn and now they are resurrecting their relationship. That's all good!

Still wondering about how social media affects your business? Most firms still are. In fact, I've begun referring to this social media space as the new "wild west" within the internet marketing world in which we live. There's a lot going on and it's hard to control. In fact, you can't control it - how can you control conversations people are having with one another - you just can't. So companies have to begin at least monitoring what people are saying about them online. More progressive companies have actually begun having conversations about their brands through social media. But that’s only the beginning. A recent survey by eMarketer showed that more than 90% of marketers believe social media is an effective branding strategy.

I read recently that people are uploading 20 hours of video to YouTube every minute. That's right - 20 hours every minute. Considering it is free, one must wonder how long YouTube's business model will survive...but that's not the point. What's really happening here is that video is the new method of delivering content on the internet. Those of us interested in driving revenue, serving the customer and creating effective internet marketing plans better pay attention to this trend. We're really not surprised when you think about it. Once TV sets began to populate our homes, the TV set became the preferred source for news and entertainment. And then this thing we call the internet came along a few years ago and it has consumed our time and attention. No surprise the two have come together.

I read an article recently that stated 60% of US Fortune 500 companies will start an online social media campaign this year and half of them will fail at it. If these "deep pockets" can't figure it out, what about the thousands of small and medium sized businesses out there battling to develop an effective internet marketing program? We have discussions with our clients all the time about how to capitalize on this social media explosion, and we advise them to think hard about their niche.