Over a third of SMEs use social media on a daily basis to promote their

businesses, new research has revealed.

A survey of 269 companies conducted by Daryl Willcox Publishing found

that half (54%) used social media – and 35% of these said they posted

updates every day to platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. A

quarter of companies updated every few days, while 17% used social media

platforms weekly.

Almost three quarters of the companies experimenting with social media

claimed they used LinkedIn (73%) the most, compared to Facebook (64%)

and Twitter (63%). Of those who did not reach customers via social

media, more than a third (35%) blamed a lack of time, 31% said their

customers didn’t use it while 24% didn’t understand it.

Multiple reasons businesses gave for using social media included

networking (68%), attracting new customers (63%) and raising brand

awareness (61%). The research also found that 14% admitted to using

social media simply because others were doing it and 12% said they were

engaged ‘just for the sake of gathering followers’.

In contrast to big brands using incentives such as money-off vouchers to

develop and grow social media audiences, 83% of SMEs said they did not

use such incentives to attract followers, friends and fans. Despite

this, 60% said social media was having a positive impact on their

business. 46% reported an increase in brand awareness and 36% said they

had attracted new customers.

“The number of companies participating in social media on a daily basis

shows the growing importance of this marketing channel,” said Daryl

Willcox, founder of Daryl Willcox Publishing. “The fact that 60% have

reported a positive impact on their businesses shows SMEs are becoming

increasingly receptive to the benefits.”

The survey also found the use of social media by SMEs is still in its

infancy, with more than two-thirds using it for less than a year.

Other forms of marketing still take precedence over social media –

around half of the total sample carried out email marketing, search

engine optimisation for their websites and direct mailing. More than a

third (34%) used online press release wires to distribute their news.

The proportion of SMEs using social media has doubled since Daryl

Willcox Publishing, which helps small businesses raise their profile in

the media, last conducted research into SME use of social media in

December last year.

Do you need some ideas for promoting your business? Think about tying a press release, competition or event into a forthcoming awareness week, festival or sporting fixture. The list below comes courtesy of Expert Sources, a great site to subscribe to if you are trying to raise your profile as an expert.

SEPTEMBER 2010
——————————————————–

Thursday September 09 – Saturday September 11
Plaid Cymru Conference, Aberystwyth Read the rest of this entry »

If you can become an expert it will help build your business profile and attract customers. Whatever sort of business you run you should be looking at ways to showcase your expertise. Could you offer customers:

• Free consultations
• Trial periods if you offer a service

And can you raise your profile as an expert by:

• Responding to media requests
• Writing tips and articles for your website and other people’s websites

Your task for this week:

Think of one way to start raising your profile as an expert to market your business and try it out. Spend a few minutes each day doing this and see what results you can get this week.

This is the last in this series, but watch out for an exciting new course and book to help you marketing your business coming this Autumn from ACPR.

Do you need some ideas for promoting your business? Think about tying a press release, competition or event into a forthcoming awareness week, festival or sportting fixture. The list below comes courtesy of Expert Sources, a great site to subscribe to if you are trying to raise your profile as an expert.

AUGUST 2010
————————————————————-

Saturday August 07 – Sunday August 08
London Triathlon Read the rest of this entry »

Telemarketing is an area where many business owners lack confidence. A phone call can market your business, though, in a way that an email can’t. You can ensure that your messages get to the right person and rapidly adapt your approach and response to what their individual needs are. There are a number of tools that make telemarketing easier:

1. Contacts databases
2. Telephone surveys
3. Call scripts
4. Cold and warm calling
5. Client follow up
6. Enquiry follow up

Your task for this week:

Look at how you use the phone in your business. Do you have a database of enquirers and customers WITH phone numbers? If not, start collecting numbers. If you have people’s numbers, think about why you might cal them. What benefit could you offer them, and what action would you want them to take. Develop a script with some possible ways a conversation could pan out and try them – on a friend or colleague at first if you haven’t made business calls like this before. Then start slotting in some time to follow up clients or call enquirers each week.

I have more secrets to help you use your expertise to market your business in next week’s post. For more ideas to help your business grow, buy A Guide to Promoting Your Business: The Ultimate Workbook for Business Owners by Antonia Chitty.

Your customers or clients can be your business’s strongest advertisement, so it pays to make it easy for them to promote your products or services. Add in rewards and incentives and you will find that word of mouth is a really effective marketing too. You could ask your customers for

• Case studies
• Testimonials
• Referrals

You could also look at allowing your customers to start to earn for their loyalty and support. Think about introducing:

• A loyalty scheme
• Affiliate schemes
• Party plan and other direct sales
• Drop shipping

Your task for this week:

Pick one activity from the list above. Will you ask your customers to share their story and explain the benefits they have had from your business so you can tell others? Or do you think that people would like to start selling your products for you as part of an affiliate scheme or by drop shipping?

I have more secrets to help you use telemarketing to market your business in next week’s post. For more ideas to help your business grow, buy A Guide to Promoting Your Business: The Ultimate Workbook for Business Owners by Antonia Chitty.