DemandGen Reports

Small businesses report an overall increased use of social media tools as a complementary additive to other marketing activities, according to Constant Contact’s “Small Business Attitudinal Survey.”

Specifically, results showed that 63% of companies cited Facebook and 30.7% cited Twitter as important tools for marketing, up from 50.5% and 25.6%, respectively, shown in the company’s March 2010 survey.

The survey also suggests that small businesses now see Facebook equally important as face-to-face interactions, with 62% of surveyed companies citing face-to-face interactions as a key tactic.

Traditional marketing activities such as web sites, email marketing, event marketing, and online surveys all saw modest increases in importance this season, compared to the spring results.

"Today's reality is that everyone is trying to do more with less," said Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact. "Small organizations don't have the luxury of full-time, dedicated social media staff like larger companies do, but that's not stopping them from using social media marketing to broaden their marketing reach."

More than 75% of initial BtoB inquiries will be generated on the web, according to SiriusDecisions. While the web is increasingly being leveraged by prospects through each stage of the buying process, SiriusDecisions found that web site conversion optimization (WCO) is most effective in driving inbound marketing success when coupled with a sound social media strategy.

In a statement presenting these findings, SiriusDecisions uses a bowl of food on a residential, open deck as a metaphor for inbound marketing. Although its contents “feed a need,” location halts hungry or curious animals from approaching.

Now transfer that experience to a web site where the visitors are potential buyers and the content is valuable enough to have them self-identify. With the addition of social media – the “secret ingredient” to this marketing mix – the company says you’ve got the two cornerstones of an effective inbound strategy.