I had the privilege of speaking to a group of about 200 design professionals outside of Boston this week. The topic was how they could leverage social media to help enhance and extend their marketing programs. (The program was sponsored by Kitchen Views in partnership with our magazine New England Home.)
The presentation (a copy of which you can find here) was well received and I felt good about having make something that many felt intimidated by a little bit more accessible and possible.
A basic premise of my discussion was the social media gave these small entrepreneurs an opportunity to shift the emphasis of their marketing from their image, which online is most often represented by their web site, to their voice. It’s the voice of these small business people that is most powerful and distinctive, and ultimately the reason that their clients do business with them.
I came across some research today that felt relevant within the context of that discussion.
eMarketer shared some of the topline conclusions from a survey of 260,000 small businesses in the US and Canada that use social media tactics in their marketing program.
Social networks were at the heart of their approach: they connected with consumers and peers, and used the networks as a way to engage in direct dialogue with customers.
This is powerful and useful for these businesses.
What struck me was the low percentage that blogged: just 28%.
The benefit of creating fresh content far outweighs the challenges of creating that content. The web is without question a superior way to acquire customers, and driving the content value of your social footprint is a way to get more than your fair share of internet searchers to your web site.
A great example was in my presentation and was recently featured on my blog: Tobi Fairley in Little Rock, AR.
The issue for small business entrepreneurs is how to get comfortable creating content. My guidance to my audience in Boston was simple: take a camera everywhere, document the things you see and do and write short updates as you post these powerful digital assets throughout the week.
Be consistent and be interesting and you’ll experience the power of social media marketing to drive your web traffic.
