A recent report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP found that Internet advertising is down 5.3% as compared to last year. If your company has cut back on internet advertising but wants to boost brand buzz, promote sales, or improve customer service, joining a social media site for your online marketing efforts may be a perfect cost saving alternative.

Twitter and Facebook are the most popular social media platforms. If we were to compare the membership on these social networking sites to a boxing match, Facebook would be the repeat heavy weight champion, while Twitter is the up and coming underdog crowd pleaser. Even with this grand difference in membership, it seems like “everyone” is on one of the two social media giants.

So which social media platform best fits your business marketing needs? Although on the surface these two appear similar, the way they are used is ragingly different. Understanding these differences is vital to successfully promoting your company through social media channels.

First things first, what is your goal? What do you want to accomplish?

If you want to… gauge client reviews, have immediate interactions with your customers, personalize your company: Twitter is for your company.

If you want to…provide information but not necessarily directly communicate with customers, host contests, and reach a larger pool of people: Facebook is the way to go.

Twitter:

Twitter is considered a running conversation. People love Twitter because they can talk directly with companies and people they do not know. By joining Twitter you are expected to add valuable content in 140 characters or less. Adding valuable content is critical to establishing your follower base and brand buzz. Tweets should not be verbatim copies of press releases or announcements of new products already published but rather a post directed to your Twitter followers.

Twitter provides a lot of freedom. A large company, could have multiple employees on tweeting while with Facebook, your company can only have a fan page. Tweeting links to interesting articles unrelated to your company, providing insight into events or office life is a great way to make your tweets less like a sales pitch and more like a conversation. Remember that tweets are a way to show the human side of your company and a way to talk with your customers directly.

Twitter is a forum or mini-blog that enables and promotes conversation. Regularly commenting on other people’s tweets and responding to comments or “retweets” made on your postings is necessary to continuing the conversation. Aside from continuing the conversation, retweets or hashtags (#) allow you to see what the rumor mill is saying about your brand, search for people to follow, and keep track of trends.

Twitter allows your company to engage your customers in real-time conversations thereby improving overall customer relations. A classic example of how Twitter can help improve customer service is what happened on a Virgin Atlantic WiFi equipped flight. A passenger was not served his meal so he used his phone to tweet about the flight attendants oversight. This tweet was seen by a Virgin Atlantic employee who contacted the flight crew and the passenger was immediately served his meal.

Facebook:

If Twitter is talking to random people on the streets of Manhattan, then Facebook is your 20-year high school reunion. Facebook has “friends” while Twitter has “followers.” Facebook has “fan pages” to promote your company and each fan page is used differently.  Two examples of organizations that use Facebook differently are:

• Sanuk. This shoe company focuses on a hilarious photo caption contest to create buzz.
• The NFL’s New England Patriots. The Patriot’s use this page to include any and all fan information and updates. The page was created to share specific information that is not on their website.

Facebook fan pages have less “rules” on what is expected of you compared to Twitter. That being said, to get the most out of your site, it needs to be interactive and updated frequently. Your clients need a reason to come back to it—if a fan page never changes, why would one revisit?

Facebook offers chat, email, video chat, and both video and photo posting capabilities that Twitter does not offer directly. Companies with fan pages on Facebook are not aiming to show the inner workings of their companies but still intend on interacting with their “friends.”

As far as legwork and time invested to both, Twitter sucks more time than Facebook as it requires more updates and real-time conversations. Facebook does not make your company more personal, but still promotes customer interactions. Before opening accounts on both social networks, determine why you want to be on a social networking site and what you hope to accomplish from it. Word to the wise - if you are not ready to give Twitter or Facebook the attention it deserves, then wait until you are. Both of these sites take time to develop a following, require frequent updates and valuable content.

Every business owner wants to use time-proven, effective marketing tactics that build strong brand awareness and increase its clientele. Small business owners today may not necessarily have the tools to spend an insane amount of money on television advertising, radio spots, or other costly advertising avenues such as billboards emblazoned with state-of-the-art graphics. Other advertising methods exist that are cost-effective and have the ability to get the company’s branding message across. We have looked at some of the most efficient and least expensive advertising measures from websites such as here and others for small business owners that we believe will fit in with your budget while helping to create a profitable business. These include:

1. Postcard marketing
2. E-mail blasts
3. Social networking sites (i.e. Twitter or Facebook)
4. Podcasting
5. Creating a website

It is no surprise that 163.3 million Americans use the Internet whether it is to find out new information, shop online, or learn about a business. For this reason, it is crucial for start-up and small businesses to leverage the power of the Internet instead of focusing on traditional advertising maneuvers such as print media and television advertising.

Postcard marketing may seem slightly outdated, but it is important to highlight the massive effect of postcards. Postcards printed on 4” by 6” index cards are highly noticeable in the mail because they can be flipped over and read in a matter of seconds. Immediately, the message is sent across to the end-user without them having to peruse through a pamphlet or packet that usually instills a lack of interest or frustration.

E-mail blasts are excellent for small business owners to send out to their network of contacts. Even better, they’re excellent for building a database on a website. E-mail blasts should be kept simple, to-the-point, and underscore promotional offers to gain the reader’s attention. Moreover, they can be sent out to multiple parties from the recipient, increasing word of mouth buzz.

Social networking sites have become a marketing phenomenon that is helpful for businesses in spreading their brand, mission, and services and/or products in the form of a user-profile. Also, sites such as www.Twitter.com and www.Facebook.com have changed the face of Internet marketing by establishing the online sphere as a word of mouth metropolis. Now is the time to take advantage of social networking sites.

Another helpful marketing suggestion is to create a simple podcast. Not sure how or where to start? Make sure your computer has a web cam. If it doesn’t, these gadgets can be bought at inexpensive price at large computer and electronic retailers. Introduce your business concept through the podcast that is less than 30 seconds. Podcasts are an excellent marketing tool because they can be posted on a website, sent through e-mail, and posted on sites such as www.YouTube.com. According to www.Quantcast.com, www.YouTube.com averages 72.5 million users per month.

With the implementation of these media, businesses are likely to see an increase in interest. The next step would be to create an intuitive, user-friendly website that summarizes the concept of the business without too many graphics or distractions. Following these steps can help an entrepreneur bolster their brand and reach their selected demographic.

It’s official- Facebook has become the most popular social networking site in America, edging out MySpace by a slim margin: 7.278 million U.S. users are now on Facebook, compared to 7.255 million using MySpace. To many, Facebook’s surge was inevitable, especially now that it offers one of the key features that differentiated the two sites: personalized URLS.

Over the weekend, over 5 million current users scrambled to get their hands on a vanity username- a feature already provided by MySpace.  Businesses with fewer than 1000 fans or users who created pages after May 31st, when the announcement was made, must wait until June 28th- next week- to register a username of their choice.

As it turns out, many popular companies have been using Facebook for a while. According to a 2008 study by Rosetta, 59% of the top 100 retailers maintain branded Facebook pages. Here are five companies you’ve probably already heard of that are harnessing the power of social media to build an online reputation:

1. Starbucks

The coffee giant uses Facebook as part of a successful online/offline marketing strategy.  Starbucks’ love for Facebook is mutual- Facebook recently announced Starbucks as one of three “Blue Ribbon Award” winners: companies with the “top most creative and innovative campaigns and most engaging pages each month.” (See #2 and #3 below for the other award recipients)

2. H&M

Also a Facebook award winner, the trendy discount clothing retailer has taken advantage of several different advertising tools on Facebook, helping boost it’s international and U.S. popularity.

3. Vitamin Water

The recent “Great Debate: Kobe vs. LeBron” campaign tied in television ads with a Facebook page asking fans to “state the case” for their choice in an online video.

4. Nutella

The fan-created page for the chocolate hazlenut spread ranked #3 on Facebook earlier this year- even though the company spent only $300,000 on advertising and didn’t even create the page itself.

5. Microsoft

Users with a Microsoft corporate e-mail address were among the first to be offered accounts when the service was extended beyond the student user base in 2006.  Microsoft also owns a small stake in Facebook, the purchase of which included the right to place ads on the site.

Facebook- and social networking in general- is becoming a very valuable tool for businesses of all sizes.  From corporate giants like Microsoft and Coca-Cola to smaller, local businesses, companies of all sizes are discovering the value of online marketing and social media.

If you need to improve your interactive marketing efforts, visit our quote center for online marketing services.

You can also follow us on Twitter where we provide the latest tools and resources for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

It depends how you do it.

Going to cocktail events and social hours, grabbing business cards and tossing yours around, brief handshakes while looking over that person’s shoulder for the door or the next person in the room.

Nope, that doesn’t work.

Connecting, helping others first, taking a sincere interest in them and their business, helping them see opportunities they may not see themselves.

That’s what I’m talking about.

And yes, it is work. Just like building any relationship, it requires commitment, follow up, and heart.

And it’s worth every minute.

Do you make networking a regular part of your business and marketing strategies?

Are you connecting in person (or over the phone if geography is a challenge) with people you meet online?

How are you contributing to your networking relationships? Just this morning, on a call with a colleague, I thumbed through my mental Rolodex for a connection that will help her grow her network and her business.

Easy, peasy, Japaneasy. It took about 5 minutes to make the connection and a warm introduction. She’s off and running, with gratitude, and I feel very good about it.

How’s that for honoring a “Givers Gain” philosophy?

How do you use networking in your business? How has it helped you? Tips to share?

Using social networking as a form of social media marketing is the new fad. Social networking refers to a multi-media social structure which essentially facilitates communication between groups, individuals, and organizations. The most commonly recognized social networking web sites include Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace. However, there are several more social networking web sites available. In addition to social networking sites, there are other ways to accomplish social media marketing through blogging, instant messaging, widgets, and more.

Companie use social networking to gain credibility, foster employee relationships, build a forum for communication with customers, and in most cases, boost sales. Company recruiters are even going to sites like LinkedIn to get access to the almost 25 million resumés posted.

If you are going to jump on the social networking bandwagon, make sure you have a strategy in place for your business or work with an online marketing agency before you spend the time creating a Facebook or MySpace page. Let’s take a look at some of the companies using social networking and which tools they are utilizing.

• Absolut Vodka – uses an online video ABSOLUTworld as well as a page on Facebook entitled Top Bartender
• Acura – has a Facebook page, Acura TSX Connect as well as a widget on Yahoo, Acura RDX Traffic
• Adidas – utilizes social networks on MySpace
• American Express – has a blog entitled OPEN Forum
• American Red Cross – has a blog entitled Red Cross Chat
• AT&T – participates in Microblogging on Twitter: ATTNews, ATTblueroom, and OnwardSmallBiz. Also, AT&T has a YouTube video, Share AT&T, allows Photosharing at Flickr photostream, and has a fan page on Facebook
• Bank of America – has two social networking pages: Small Business Community on Clearspace and  Medal Me! on Facebook
• Best Buy – participates in Blogging: CMO’s Barry Judge’s blog and Barry Judge on Twitter. Also, Best Buy has a Geek Squad HQ video on YouTube and a social network created to allow retail employees to support each other (Blue Shirt Nation)
• Boeing – participates in Blogging:  Randy’s Journal and Tanker Facts
• Burton - utilizes Microblogging with storedotburton on Twitter
• CNN - utilizes Microblogging on Twitter: Political Ticker
• Coca-Cola – has a Facebook social networks (Sprite Sips and CokeTag) as well as blogs: Coca-Cola Conversations. Coca-Cola also utilizes virtual worlds on Second Life: Virtual Thirst and widgets, such as Coke Bubbles
• Dell – participates in a lot of Blogging, such as Direct2Dell, Nine official internal blogs, and Ideastorm. Dell also Microblogs with 22 corporate accounts on Twitter
• Ernst & Young – utilizes Facebook for hiring: Careers page
• General Electric – participates in Blogging: From Edison’s Desk
• Google – has several blogs, including their Official Blog and over 30 other corporate blogs. Google also has a You Tube video Google channel
• H&R Block – Microblogs with a Twitter account and has a social networking Facebook fan page
• Motorola – utilizes Blogging with their Broadband Insights blog
• Oscar Mayer – has a Hotdogger blog to give fans an insider look at the Wienermobile.  Oscar Mayer also utilizes Microblogging with their Wienermobile page on Twitter and uses Photosharing at The Wienermobile In The Wild
• Peace Corps – participates in Microblogging with a Peace Corps Twitter account
• Pizza Hut – uses social networking web sites, such as Facebook: pizza hut fan page
• Revlon – utilizes widgets, such as Lash Fantasy
• Saturn – makes use of social networks, for example ImSaturn
• Southwest Airlines – participates in Blogging (Nuts About Southwest) as well as Microblogging (SouthwestAir). Southwest also has an online video at YouTube channel. They also allow photo sharing at Flickr group and they have Widgets (Ding!)
• Starbucks – participates in crowd-sourcing at My Starbucks Idea and Microblogging at Twitter account

If you are a small business and looking for an online marketing agency to help with your social networking campaign, visit Resource Nation’s vendor center for online marketers.

Businesses looking to make inroads online could learn a great deal from the social networking employed by the Barack Obama campaign for President of the United States. Ever since he took on Hilary Clinton and won in a stunning upset once thought impossible by political pundits, Obama and his team (including 24-year-old Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes) have used social networking and online marketing techniques to mobilize their forces, get donations and spread the word about the candidate and his message.

In January, Obama set a record for donations in one month by raising a total of $32 million dollars, $28 million of which was raised online. From these $28 million in online contributions, 90% were under $100, with over 250,000 contributors (source). In February, Obama didn’t attend one single fundraiser and still managed to raise $55 million online.

How did the Obama team do it? Here are several key elements to the social networking aspect of the campaign.

The website. Obama’s official website (www.barackobama.com) has a strong social networking element. The site is filled with ways for supporters to share information and learn about speeches and gatherings in their area. After spending just a few minutes on the website, it is easy to see that it was created by professionals who understand the importance of interactivity and a strong user interface. With every piece of content comes the opportunity to make a donation.

The tools. The Obama website gives users a lot of options for customization. The site provides tools for supporters to hold their own meetings and fundraisers – setting the guidelines to help run the events, but allowing each individual to determine how much money they wish to ask for and the style of the event.

The email campaigns. At organized Obama events, supporters are only asked for an email address, not a donation. Those who sign up to be on the official Obama for President mailing list receive smart, highly coordinated emails several times a week. These emails are geo-targeted on many occasions to alert the individual about upcoming events in their area. The emails also have a personal feel, sporting a relaxed style of writing and are often penned by the candidate, his chiefs of staff or even his wife Michele.

Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. No politician has run for office during the heyday of the major social networking sites, but Obama really has no fear when it comes to using these entities to further his cause. Check into Facebook and you will find the official Obama group and thousands of like-minded groups. Get over to Twitter and you can follow every move the candidate makes as he crisscrosses the country. Even MySpace is filled with efforts to spread the word among voters who are likely taking part in their first election. The campaign understands the limited resources of young Americans, and asks for only small donations on these sites.

The access. Unlike his competitor John McCain, Barack Obama has been an active part of his online campaigns. He writes his own emails and creates exclusive videos just for his online supporters. The result is an immediacy and personal nature to his campaign that few candidates will ever match.

Whether or not Obama wins the presidency in November, he and his outstanding online marketing team have changed the way politicians reach out to the American public and generate funds for their campaign. By knowing the ins and outs of the most current, most popular forms of online marketing, he has set an example not only for future candidates, but businesses that want to target customers with pinpoint accuracy and build their brand online via email, website and social marketing techniques.