does it work?

Does social media really work for small businesses? I was going to write more about how to talk to your customers using social media (and will soon), but a few days ago found this article on eMarketer: Small Biz Doubles Social Media Adoption and wanted to share my thoughts on it - and this question - first.

After reading the article, I created the following breakdown:

The strengths: According to the survey cited in the article 61% of small businesses with social media marketing in place have found new customers. Most found customer acquisition and branding were the primary marketing goals they achieved. About half believe they will make money within the year using social media.

The weakness: Half the respondents said social media took more time they thought it would. Although one fifth found it profitable most say that, at this point, they are only breaking even with their current use of social media. The main social media used by the respondents was simply a company page on a social marketing website and posting updates to the page.

The threats: A full 75% of small business owners are already implementing initial social media marketing. Despite the mixed results, linked data in the reportrevealed that nearly seven in 10 small business owners will put more dollars toward social media in 2010.

The opportunity:

• The strengths reveal that more than half of small business social media users are already experiencing some success.
  
  
• The weaknesses show what isn't working for small businesses and provide a check list of things to address before implementing your social media marketing efforts. Being aware of the cost of your time spent away from your core business, it might make financial sense to outsource your social media marketing. Similarly, as we discussed the many types of social media in an earlier post, determining the most effective mix and getting the most out of the mix by frequent, targeted maintenance will yield better results. It also points to the fact that dabbling with one social media outlet is akin to running one TV spot on one evening once a month. It's luke warm, but could be more effective by simply upping frequency and message content.
  
  
• The threats help predict what's ahead for your competition. They've already adopted the technology and are planning investing more in the months ahead. What will be your move?
  

So, does social media really work for small businesses? The answer to that is simple. On a limited scale, it already is. And those small businesses that put the effort, dollars, and marketing strategy into the medium will see even better results. And those that stay ahead of the pack, aren't afraid to implement strategies, review results and continually maintain and tweak their social media strategies will see the best results.

If this sounds like too great a cost, just remember, social media is an international broadcast medium that literally costs a fraction of any other broadcast media, as tertiary costs such as production, media buying, and creative services are curtailed or simply not required.