Most owners of small and moderate-sized businesses (SMBs) believe social media is the best strategy for improving their digital presence. According to new research by GetApp, 56% of small business owners and managers polled said that social media trumps all other digital brand-building techniques.
Mobile web sites cited by 28 percent of respondents was the second most preferred brand building tactic. Other less effective methods are mobile apps, digital signage, and near-field technologies from companies like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
“It’s clear from this research that small businesses view social media as a more effective brand building strategy, compared to developing apps, or investing in technologies like digital signage or NFC. The beauty of developing your company’s presence through social media is that it is relatively simple to implement, and there’s a whole host of tools that can help organize effective campaigns,” said Christophe Primault, co-founder of GetApp in a press release. “That said, small businesses shouldn’t close themselves off to other technologies that can boost their digital presence.”
The Critical Role of Social Media
Other surveys have likewise shown that small businesses recognize the value of social media marketing PR. A previous Social Media Marketing Industry Report from Social Media Examiner found that social media marketing plays a vital role for SMBs. Out of 3,720 small business owners and marketers surveyed, 96 percent use social media marketing and 92 percent agree that it important for their business.
Most (93 percent) emphasize Facebook, followed by Twitter, used by 79 percent. More than half (62 percent) planned to increase their Facebook marketing efforts, and 66 percent planned to increase Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn activity.
Despite their emphasis on Facebook marketing, most said they don’t know if their Facebook outreach is working. SMBs either don’t know if Facebook achieves their goals or it does not in fact achieve those goals. The finding could also mean that they have no goals, or they haven’t bothered to measure their progress toward goals.
The Value of Media Monitoring & Measurement
“Facebook’s domination of social media marketing despite the fact that most marketers are uncertain of its impact should concern small businesses,” writes Suzanne Delzio, director of Informed Web Content, for Social Media Examiner. “Without the benefit of a marketing team creating a strategy complete with goals and measurement, small businesses have a harder time evaluating marketing efforts.”
Careful analysis of results achieved in social media – changes in web traffic and conversions for instance — can greatly improve effectiveness and efficiency of social media marketing campaigns.
More small and medium-sized businesses are turning to social media monitoring and measurement services. As the services have become more advanced and less expensive, they’ve become a viable option for all but the smallest businesses. While mom & pop operations can often make do with free tools like Google Alerts, businesses of even moderate size require subscription tools.
Free tools call for considerable staff time to conduct searches, collect and store the clips, and sort and analyze data. Subscription tools save staff time by automating the search function across all media.
Bottom Line: Small businesses believe social media provides a critical element of their digital marketing. However, most cannot adequately measure the effective of their social media marketing, most notably on Facebook, their preferred social media channel. Social media monitoring and measurement services can help analyze and improve those digital marketing tactics.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
Monitoring the results of your social media marketing is important, mainly because it allows you to see what you’re spending your money on and if it’s effective. Thanks for sharing the tips.