Do small businesses really have doubts about social media marketing?

I was extremely surprised to see the statistics at eMarketer explaining how unsure small businesses are about reaching their customers using social media. You can find the details in the article “Does Social Media Marketing Make Sense for the Smallest Businesses?”, which is based on a survey from customer review platform RatePoint.

In summary, the statistics show that many small businesses don’t really see social media sites as platforms to connect with their customers. Many of them don’t think that their customers spend time on these type of websites and about a quarter of the survey respondents don’t believe their customers do online research before doing business with them.

Well, I believe they are seriously wrong. I believe many of you will agree that social media sites are perfect mediums where small businesses can find their customers and prospects. Facebook has passed the half a billion user mark and Twitter has now almost 200 million users who tweet more than 65 million times a day. While these two are the most dominant and well-known ones, there are so many other players in the social media field. A significant number of Internet users spend a lot of time on these social media sites and this trend has helped social media evolve as an essential part of our daily life. Initially it was our email account that we could not stop checking every 5 minutes, now we have added our Facebook and Twitter accounts to the list. Social media sites have become primary tools for socializing with friends, family, colleagues and customers, as well as for getting to know people who we have not even seen before. In such a crowded and dynamic social media space businesses can easily find and connect with their existing customers and reach out to their prospects. There is no doubt about that.

When it comes to doing online research before shopping, small businesses which responded to the survey should understand that consumers do use the Internet to determine what to buy, when to buy and where to buy. And this does not apply only to online purchases. Even if they are going to buy from the neighborhood store, consumers will visit the Internet and check out brands, customer reviews, deals and coupons before they step outside. We all know that lately things have not been going that well economically. This has significantly changed consumer behavior. Now, buyers dig for coupons, wait for better deals to come by and try to find the best values more than ever. People have also become more intelligent shoppers. They are looking for the healthier, more environment friendly, more energy-efficient and more durable products. Guess where they can get all the information that will help them in making their buying decisions. There is no need to say that social media is an amazing resource for both the online and offline buyer. Social networking sites, blogs, product review sites and comparison sites help consumers a great deal in accessing customer reviews and experiences, expert product evaluations, coupons and shopping events.

If you have been one of the small business owners that have doubts about social media marketing, you better roll up your sleeves and start establishing you social media presence now. Observe the brands you know on social networking sites and see how they do it. Search the web and you will find tons of advise and information about how to integrate social media marketing in your business. Do it wisely and you will have the opportunity to bond with your customers and steer many new consumers towards your online storefronts and brick and mortar stores.

By the way, before getting too busy in social media marketing, please don’t forget to add your comments below. Also come back after settling in the social media world to add something about your experience and advice.