Online marketing resellers are often looking for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as they make for attractive clients. These businesses want to grow and they know that to do so, they need to be aggressive in marketing their products and services online. And with the in-depth consultation, you can convince them to outsource their SEO and overall online marketing requirements to you. Perhaps one of the areas they are likely to delegate to an agency or consultant is social media optimization. But do SMBs understand the value of social media in marketing their business? Apparently, nearly 3/4 of all small and medium enterprises in the United States see the sense of being present in social networks. That’s according to the latest wave of BIA Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor, which it conducted with research partner Ipsos. With 72% of businesses knowing that they should be social online, you will have more chances of landing social media optimization clients. Facebook Leads Social Channels According to BIA Kelsey, 66% of SMBs believe they are either “extremely engaged or “very engaged” with customers on social media. Leading their online social engagement network of choice is, as expected, Facebook. The biggest social network was the most popular social channel for SMBs. The survey found that at least 52% of respondents have a Facebook page for their business. Aside from the Facebook page, businesses also advertised and promoted through LinkedIn (28%) and video on websites (26%). Business also used Google+ Local (25%) and Twitter (24%), among others. Facebook also led channels when it comes to perception of ROI (return on investment). Of the total, only 15.5% of SMBs used Facebook ads. However, these businesses reported a 45.4% combined “Excellent” and “Extraordinary” ROI. Excellent means ROI is 10-19x of spend while Extraordinary means 20x of spend. Meanwhile, the combined excellent and extraordinary ROI of Facebook Pages was at 35%. Other channels with over 30% combined excellent and extraordinary ROI were blogs (37%), video on YouTube (34.6%), LinkedIn (31.1%). Not Just Social But Mobile Another area of marketing that’s growing in popularity for SMBs is mobile. Researchers detected a 28% surge in the number of businesses that are using some form of mobile advertising this year. At present, some 32% of respondents use mobile advertising. But that’s not even the surprising part. Researchers also found that a huge number of SMBs have also adopted the use of mobile credit card readers. Some 40% of small and medium businesses now accept payments at the point of sale with a mobile credit card reader attached to a mobile device such a smartphone or tablet. Another 16% of SMBs hope to have this capability by next year. June Survey Places Social Usage at 77% This new BIA Kelsey survey reflects the findings of an earlier study published by marketing software company Vocus and Inc. Magazine in June. That study found that nearly 8 in 10 SMBs use social media. It wasn’t just popular, it was also rated third-most effective among other marketing channels. According to The State of Digital Marketing for SMBs, websites were the most used digital tool by small and medium-sized enterprises with an 86.6% penetration. It was also rated as most effective tool at 33.9%. Social media was second in both categories with a 77.3% usage rate and 24.9% effective rate. Email marketing was third with percentages of 65.8% and 19.6%. Completing the top was SEO or search engine optimization, which was used by 53.8% of SMBs and was rated as 16.2% effective. These four tools are also the most used and most effective tools for big performers or companies with over $1 million sales. There is, however, a slight change in the hierarchy. For companies with $ 1 million sales, the website is most used at 86.5% and most effective at 38.2%. But instead of social media, they rank email marketing as the second best option with percentages of 70.2% and 25.2% for usage and effect, respectively. SEO climbs a spot up with a 57.9% penetration and a 20.8% effective rate. Social media, meanwhile, settles for fourth place with 78.1% usage and 20.2 effective rates. 3 in 4 Businesses Need Your Help for Social Averaging the results of the two surveys – BIA Kelsey Local Commerce Monitor and the Vocus / Inc. Magazine State of SMB Digital Marketing – would put social media’s SMB penetration at 74.5%. This means three in every four SMBs are already using social networks for advertising and promotion. And while there are owners who want to personally manage their business’s social presence, they simply do not have the time to do it. That’s why it’s crucial for private label SEO reseller / consultants like us to help small and medium-sized enterprises when it comes to social media optimization. A white label online marketing agency is the perfect solution for SMBs’ social media problems because prices are not as steep as those of major players. To outsource SEO and other online initiatives like social is also cheaper than building an in-house marketing team, which will require hiring, training, managing, and paying problems. SMBs simply cannot afford to spend time on Facebook and other networks or use their entire marketing budget for an in-house social media team. ****** Endlessrise is your white label outsourced solution for online marketing services fulfillment from SEO, Responsive Web Design to Social Media Optimization. Fill out the registration form to apply as a member / reseller.
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