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Investing in social media?
Project & Freelance experts OfficeCavalry have published a report showing that 3 in 4 small firms intend to spend more time social networking in 2011, in an attempt to boost sales.
For the 2011 Freelancers Trends Report, OfficeCavalry surveyed 1,000 small businesses and found that 71% plan to commit more resources to social media this year. This could involve anything from creating a page on Facebook to posting videos on YouTube to sharing content on Del.icio.us and others.
OfficeCavalry founder, Andy Turner said:
"Small firms are becoming more aware of social media as a channel that enables them to make themselves visible to a bigger customer base. Social networking can be an easy and affordable way to bring traffic to your site by engaging with a user group of people. It's also a good way of testing the water with new products or services and getting feedback for free."
However, while investing in social media can be beneficial for some companies, the effectiveness of such a campaign varies between firms, as Lucy Whittington, founder of Inspired Business Marketing, points out:
"It depends who your customers are. If your target market is corporate institutions, they probably don't spend time on social networks. But if you deal with consumers or other small businesses that use Twitter or Facebook, it's a brilliant place to be."
She went on to comment on OfficeCavalry's finding that 1 in 6 small firms are considering creating specific social media job roles:
"Whether it [investing in social media] warrants a full-time role has to be measured by the results you're getting. Rather than getting a person doing it full-time or doing it yourself, you could consider outsourcing it to a freelancer for a few hours a week."
Where next?
If you think social media could help your business grow, but aren't sure where to start, you might be interested in seeing what Web Presence can offer. You might also find some of these articles useful:
- 33 Ways to Use LinkedIn
- 10 Social media ideas for small businesses
- Social media tips for small businesses
Way ahead?
If you're already using social media to promote your business or personal project online - I'd be interested to hear how your getting on. Which services/websites have worked best for you? Do you run your social media accounts yourself or do you outsource? Do you enjoy it?
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