Social media: a rising tool for small business!

What only makes sense — as we’ve noted previously — is that social media is particularly well-suited for small to mid-sized businesses.  Does it altogether substitute for other channels? Not necessarily, but for marketers whose business is founded on personal contact and intimate understanding of their customer base, social media is a perfect fit.

This recent article by eMarketer drives the point home, as does the chart below:

But small businesses still lag large companies in adoption of social media, with up to 82% of those utilizing social media channels.

But we’d attribute that to the fact that, as large firms, they’re typically using all the marketing tools available to them; small businesses often don’t have a Web presence or email marketing plan in place, or even much else in the way of active marketing, so it’s no surprise they’re playing catch-up as a category.

But when they do adopt social media, they find out fast that Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or other tools provide logical and effective adjuncts to good old-fashioned Word-Of-Mouth, their most effective channel for driving business.

The lesson is clear: it’s growingly apparent to small business operators that social media and other digital media tactics can be a powerful avenue for them to stay in touch with customers, and its economies and reach are worth the time and effort they entail.