Happy Holidays! For many of us, this week marks the end of business in 2009. As we set our goals and strategies for 2010, social media is going to be a big part of any small business next year. AdWeek recently wrote about “5 Social Media Implications for Brands in 2010”. I wanted to share a few of their findings with you.
A Must-Have Marketing Tool
It is hard to believe but there are still some brands that have not fully embraced social media marketing. 2010 will be the year that brands realize that social media marketing is a must have make-or-break tool.
Experimental Budgets
We don’t know what the outcome will be unless we try! None of us can predict what the result of a social media campaign will be but it is important to allow yourself some money for these experiments. You may have two cheap busts before you come up with a great campaign. Creating an experimental budget will give your brand flexibility to participate in technological platforms before your competitors do.
Direct Sales Channel
Social media is not only a marketing tool but can be used for direct sales. Once you build relationships with your customers through social media and find out exactly what they want, you can directly sell to them. AdWeek tells the story of one brand who used social media to sell. “Best Buy celebrated opening day for the movie New Moon by asking its Facebook fans what their favorite vampire-themed films and books were. They put 50 of those items on sale on BestBuy.com. Many fans thanked Best Buy for listening to them and readily purchased the products”.
