Comments on: On SEO, social media & small business…

By: Blog Posts to Read for October 11, 2012

Blog Posts to Read for October 11, 2012 — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 14:26:40 +0000

[…] On SEO, Social Media & Small Business… Sugarspun Marketing’s Jennifer Evans Cario shares her career path in SEO, her newer passion for smaller businesses and social media, and her upcoming book on Pinterest. […]

By: Lester

Lester — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:52:41 +0000

Admire your passion in helping small business owners! You are right – social media isn’t a goal, it is a channel. As marketers it is really about finding out where your customers are and utilizing the right channels to achieve your business goals.

By: Jennifer Cario

Jennifer Cario — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:23:30 +0000

Thanks Nick! I know you’ve been pushing much of the same approach I have toward social media for quite a few years now online. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “oooh shiny” and forget all about the bottom line.

Charleen, I hear you on the ROI. We start off with every client by asking what their top tier business goals for the next few quarters are. If we can help address those goals with social media, then it’s worth working on a strategy. If it’s simply about “being there” then we encourage them to invest their time and money elsewhere.

Social media is not the goal, it’s a way to help REACH your company’s goals. Seeing it any other way does a serious disservice to your company’s long-term success.

By: Charleen Larson

Charleen Larson — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:02:31 +0000

For one of my businesses, I found fewer than 10 percent of my customers use social media. It is so important to know your base find out what your customers are doing.

I may start using Pinterest or I may not — right now generating sales via known methods takes priority. I have a strict requirement of social media: it must show a return on investment. Intangibles are nice but they don’t pay the bills.

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 13:25:43 +0000

That’s a great point regarding social media and needing to be where your customers are. There are so many social networks to choose from and it doesn’t make sense for every business to be active on every single one, especially if they don’t have the time.