Verizon Small Biz Blog

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If you're reading this, no doubt you're familiar with the concept of blogs. You might also be on Facebook or have a Twitter profile, and connect with the occasional business colleague on LinkedIn. You even may have started using some of these tools to help your business. If so, pat yourself on the back as you are part of the fastest growing trend among small business owners.

A survey conducted by the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business found that technology adoption rates among small business owners have doubled in the past year from 12% to 24%. The study concludes that one in five small business owners are integrating social media into their business, with Facebook and LinkedIn being the most referenced sites.

Now here's where it gets interesting: 45% of respondents believe their efforts will pay off financially in 12 months or less. The primary motivating factor for engaging in these new customer service channels is faith in the idea it will help with lead generation. So despite half of respondents admitting social media takes much more time than expected, 61% are still finding the time for it.

So here are the big questions for you as a small business owner: are you doing enough with social media for your business? If so, what more could you be doing? The following activities were the most popular mentioned by respondents:

            •           Company web pages

            •           Status updates

            •           Article posting

            •           Tracking feedback from customers

            •           Maintaining a blog

            •           Posting notices of expertise

As you consider these and other activities, think about what makes the most sense for your business. Who is your target audience? What networks will help you reach them and how can you best engage them once there? It might help to check out what other small businesses are doing and see what works for them. For example, this indie game studio maintains a Facebook Page for its popular game Words With Friends to offer regular updates and other content to engage a growing fan base. This fancy cupcake bakery entices fans with daily coupons and freebies on Twitter. It’s not a bad idea to also see what some of the bigger players are doing and strategies you could adopt for your business. Cisco has an active blog with that serves as a touch point to a variety of content on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr (see links on the right hand side of the page).

Whether you like it or not, social media is here to stay. Right now is the time to embrace the benefits they can bring to your business. If you're still unsure about where to begin or need additional help, you should check out the Verizon Small Business Center free webinars for small businesses -- available anytime for replays – you’ll find many topics from small business experts on marketing, using the latest social media applications, how to improve your SEO and more.