COMMENTS
Once the senior people in companies begin
to understand the real business value in Social Media and not the technical jargon then results will follow.
Although I happy to see the trends towards marketing and web 2.0 are improving, the fact that only 33% of these companies are leveraging the power of blogging is an embarrassment to their marketing departments. When is everyone going to realize that 'He who has the most remarkable content is King of his industry'??..
Excellent write up. It would have been nice to list the 21% of the top 100 fortune giants not using social media. Do they not know playing catch up is a long and painful journey.
You hit the nail on the head Dawood...It's so very tough to catch up once your behind. It makes one wonder what the heck some of these companies are waiting for??
Marcus, I agree with your comment above on the percentage of blogging taking place. Although blogging is a suggested best practice, I do wonder if it is a highly effective tool. It clearly has valuable SEO attributes, but bottom line, if I have a choice between, Twitter, FB, YT or Blogging -- I would probably go with Twitter or FB, at this point.
I understand your point Doug, and for many, twitter makes for the 'immediate' impact. Notwithstanding, out of all the social mediums and web 2.0 practices out there, blogging is the one that is truly built to last. Who knows when the 'next great thing' will come out and supersede Twitter or FB? Blogging is the gift that keeps on giving, long, long into the future. Also, because blogging is so content based, it brings more value to the table (for the consumer) than do most other mediums. Don't get me wrong, as they all certainly have their role, and should be used synergetically. But as I said, I feel blogging is 'Built to Last'.
Marcus, thanks for the feedback. Personally, I like the concept of blogging (rich content)and have been at it for about 8 months
www.photoonesoftware.com/blog/index.php. I believe blogging gives you an opportunity to develop an idea and create something intellectually substantial. The intellectual curiosity is not as strong with FB or Twitter. That said, the percentages in the blog post move me to a conclusion that for marketing purposes blogging doesn't medal -- although the "log tale" provides a silver lining.
I'm surprised the number is only at 79% - I was expecting it to reflect the 90% range. I wonder if those lagging behind will jump on the bandwagon soon or if they will be replaced by social media users.
I think it is great that large corporations like these are jumping on board by utilizing the new web 2.0 tools to optimize their marketing efforts. However, my only concern is that the social media/Internet marketing environment will become too cluttered too fast with the influx of adoption. Like TV commercials, most messages are tuned out. Either there will have to be a way to filter all this info, or some companies/sites may fail.
Doug,I download the Hubspot pair's Inbound Marketing book - it's terrific information, very helpful. We are finding many companies are not aware of Social Media importance yet. Good article
I read an article today that with 60 million users per day, marketing on Twitter is becoming less effective. Wish I knew where I read it, but there is a point here to consider.
For early adopters, Twitter was extremely effective. But by the time the laggards are ready for adoption the NEXT thing will be the new wave and twitter will be too crowded to be effecting, imho.
Alana
FARM Creative Collaborative
Advertising and marketing your company is not just about getting a website online and running a $200.00 ad in the local paper. If customers can’t find your website and their friends are all talking about your competitions sales and their websites then having your site is useless. With today’s technology there are many ways to advertise your website or your company without investing a small fortune that most small businesses can’t afford to begin with. You can begin by visiting websites just like this one and many more just like it and reading their ideas that they have on survival of Small Businesses. Then you can take what you have learned and apply it to your specific needs. There’s no sure fire way to advertise your company because every one of them have different needs what works for one may not work for the other. What one business can afford to spend the other may have to wait for a big sale or something to have the revenue to do. You have to be willing to invest your time into researching yourself what will be the best strategy for your small business.
With today’s slow economy small business are hurting everywhere. I heard about a statement made from a noted Financial Adviser and he stated that most small businesses are cutting back and the first thing they cut back on is advertising. Wrong! That could prove to be a fatal mistake! Most businesses are offering bigger and better deals every day because they too are hurting and the best way to survive is to keep your name in the public eye. So therefore advertising should be one of the last items to scale down. Make sense to me.
Koleen thanks and I will take a look. I am surprised about your last comment. Most of the small business owners I speak to (southern CT) have heard of social media and the potential benefits but are very reticent to take action. If you have small ticket items, I believe Facebook provides tremendous opportunity and leverage to build a community with promotions, giveaways and specials.