If you have been reading about communication and marketing tools over the past couple of years you are aware of the proliferation of new devices and platforms for marketing to and establishing community with existing and prospective customers.  Studies continue to show that growing numbers of people are adopting the use of social networking and micro-blogging platforms for personal use and to “follow” or “fan” their favorite businesses.  Social media will continue to grow and offer businesses perhaps the greatest value in time and investment to reach customers and successfully track the results of their efforts.  Read this: your business needs a presence in social media. As growing number

There have been recent reports online regarding the use of social media by small businesses.  As fast as social media has gained in popularity, businesses have expanded their use of it.  It appears as though most social media users are okay with this.   Many businesses have given it a try while others have found too difficult a platform.  Some local perspective about Sacramento Press readers and thieir expectations on social media would be valuable to the local business community.  Please, share your perspective with us.  What do you like from the small businesses you follow?  Who locally is doing a great job using social networking?  What advice do you have for those considering

  *   You have likely heard the old joke that lab rats are being replaced by lawyers because the lab workers do not get emotionally attached to lawyers.  Or the one about a thousand lawyers being chained together at the bottom of the ocean being a “good start”.  As these jokes (and the hundreds of others) show, lawyers have a bad reputation.  Personally, I have never had the need for one and only know a few, and I have worked pretty hard at maintaining the status quo on both of those points.  It seemed to me that lawyers are for people who live near secret toxic waste dumpsites.  Recently, my work helping small businesses with marketing led me to a local Law Firm and Real Estate compan

The Wall Street Journal featured a story recently that held some tremendous promise for Sacramento Area small businesses.  The article titled “Three Best Ways to Win Community Support” outlines the some opportunities that small businesses can create or take advantage of.  I think these are particularly ripe for those businesses around the Sacramento community.   First off, a recent trend in small business marketing has been to develop community around your products and services.  Community is where loyalty comes from.  It is why we have newsletters, a social networking presence, and why we all wish there was a bar where everybody knew our name.  These tips will help you further to engage

Great profiles Suzanne. It's always good to get a pulse on the local small businesses that are working to keep our local economy afloat! I enjoy hearing how these small businesses find innovative ways to cut cost, provide better service, or to increase customer loyalty. The businesses you have profiled represent some great niches that I hope continue to find ways to thrive through the difficult economy.

Mark, you are correct that user / subscriber counts can be extremely mis-leading. Utilizing statistics from Pew and Nielsen as well as monthly traffic figures can help to paint a more accurate picture of a site's popularity / relevance. I would be interested in whether there are any businesses which you enjoy interacting with through social media, and how that affects your buying habits with those businesses. This is the heart of the article, how do we convert virtual interactions into in-person transactions for local small businesses? Any ideas?

Lesley, I would be interested in any anecdotal stories about how social media has been of help to some of your customers. I enjoyed your participation in the recent Social Media Club panel on social media for non-profit organizations. Your organizations contribution to a few of the participating non-profits was clear.

Ben, correct that the Survey was on the use of status updates. These statistics represented the more avid users of these services, rather than the inflated number of people who have a profile but rarely log in or utilize the service.

Thanks Colleen. I will have to check out the Cakegrrl. I always like to see who is doing well and how they do it.