CB Advertising Services, Inc.

Does Social Media really work?  This is a question that is asked a lot. Most businesses understand that a social media marketing campaign eventually will produce ROI. However, many are not quite sure on how to approach this medium or what it takes to measure the return. One thing is certain; most business owners will agree that a social media strategy is necessary and makes sense.

Let’s look at some statistics:

• 52% of all marketers have found a customer via Facebook in 2013   (Source: HubSpot)
• The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55 to 64 age bracket (Source: Business Insider)
• Every second two new people join LinkedIn (Source: Business Insider)
• 49% of marketers selected Facebook as the single most important social platform for their business (Source: Social Media Examiner)
• 89% of marketers said that social media has generated more exposure for their business and 75% reported positive results. (Source: Mediabistro)
• At least 62% of businesses with 10 or fewer employees agreed that social media reduced marketing expenses. (Source: Mediabistro)

Considering this why is social media so frustrating to many businesses? Believe it or not there are actually businesses that don’t want to deal with it even though they understand that this could be quite a powerful marketing outlet. Here are five Social Media traps that could be of concern and should be avoided:

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With all the social media and mobile marketing hype that is going on you might think that email marketing is sort of an old-fashion type of marketing. It is pretty amazing that we are thinking in terms of old-fashion when this medium has been around for less than 30 years.

As a matter of fact, email marketing is a very powerful marketing tool that is often neglected by individual businesses. In fact it is a direct way of having a one-on-one relationship with your clients. Think about it with an email you reach out to one person and this gives your business a chance to shine in a more personal environment. At the same time email marketing is amazingly cost effective plus if you use an email marketing service you most likely will have access to some very valuable statistics that can help you further understand your market.

Where to get the email addresses

You cannot start an email campaign without any addresses. So it is absolutely vital that you are collecting the email addresses from your customers. There are several organic ways you can acquire these names. If you have a storefront why not ask your customers to sign up to join your email list. If you have a website, why not use a call-to-action and ask for your visitors to sign up to your list. Once placed on this list you can send newsletters, special offers, special announcements etc. It may be a good idea for your customers to know that you will not misuse or sell their addresses. This is a good practice and will also help adding credibility to your business. By having the permission of your customers they are aware of your business and most likely will read your notes,  plus your email is not considered spam.

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Every serious business realizes the need of having a website. It is an easy and cost effective way to market to your target audience locally, even globally. However, as small businesses finally realize the importance of having an online brochure (website), a new trend is developing rather quickly; mobile phone marketing. People seem to be spending more time on their mobile devices than on the PC and if you do not have a mobile site that is optimized you soon will be left behind.

Be smart about the layout of your mobile site and take a moment to think it through. Don’t make it something that looks like a laundry list of your website in a linear fashion. Make it an easy and intuitive user experience. Ask yourself the following: Will people be looking for my business on a mobile device? What would be the prime reason for them to look for my business on a mobile phone? It may be that they are looking for your phone number or a so called Click-to-Call button, or how to get in touch with you via email. They may want to connect with your social media or they are just looking for the direction or map of how to get to your place of business, just to mention a few.

So let’s think about the practical use of your mobile site and how you can develop effective mobile phone marketing strategies. Here are some mobile phone marketing statistics that may surprise you.

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