Whether or not those statistics are true, it opened my eyes to the fact that there are many small business owners unaware of these new marketing tools. Some basic education on what these tools are and how they can use it for their business would be a valuable resource. Therefore, I have written the first in a series of articles called Social Media Marketing Basics.

As the title indicates, it is very basic information for those not exposed to this new media as many of us have been. Future articles will dive deeper into the various topics, describing how they can be used to market their businesses. Feel free to read and comment back here on your thoughts and suggestions for the next in the series.

Why is this important?

Professional services businesses sell expertise. You can’t touch the product or get a 30-day trial like you can with a physical (or software) product. A good way to prove that you have the expertise a prospect is looking for is to give some of that knowledge away that intrigues your audience and makes them want more. You can accomplish this by writing articles or tips that would interest your target audience.

When I started my Vista Viewpoint newsletter five years ago, I included an article and a tip of the month. Today, email newsletters are the medium to use when you want to nurture those who have requested your information (that is opted into your mailing list), but a blog with useful tips, articles and information for your target prospect will reach a far wider audience if marketed appropriately. People searching for information will find your blog or podcast and can anonymously subscribe through RSS. Those that find you, are interested in what you have to say and regularly read your information are more likely to call you if they need your services.

People normally choose to do business with those they trust and somehow get to know in some way. Building trust is something your blog or podcast can help you do. So if you are considering one of these newer mediums as marketing tools for your business, don’t shy away from them. However, put a plan in place that describes your frequency, focus and tactics to publicize them, and join the conversation on the Web. It will take time but will pay off in the long run.

Along came the Internet which has given marketers an additional medium in which to communicate their messages to their target audience. And although it took a while for companies to incorporate Internet marketing within their corporate marketing functions, the Internet is now an integrated part of their overall marketing plan.

So if you have Internet marketing activities in your marketing plan, does that mean you are implementing social media marketing?

Many corporate marketers would like to think so, but there is a fundamental difference between Internet marketing, using the Internet as a means to communicate your message to your target audience, and social media marketing.

Social media makes marketing a multidimensional exercise. It is no longer about pushing your message out to your audience. Social media marketing takes the same Internet technologies and adds interaction with your audience. It’s having your constituents spread your messages for you rather than you talk deafly to some cloud of people who may or may not care about what you have to offer. In some ways it really isn’t much different from word of mouth marketing where your happy clients, colleagues and partners say good things about you and provide you referral business. The difference is the speed with which your message is carried via the social network.

And it’s because of that speed that many corporate marketers are frightened of it. The key is to embrace it and use it because your company is being talked about in social networks and there is nothing you can do to stop it. By participating in the social networking world, letting your customers speak directly to you, and listening to what they have to say, you are more likely to win the hearts and minds of the masses than you will if you hide behind the corporate veneer.

How do you turn your Internet marketing activities into social media marketing?

I am an extremely strong proponent for Internet marketing. It has worked for my business and my clients’ businesses and now we are extending that Internet presence by adding on social media marketing. Every business, small or large, needs to open the communications channels with their audience. Look for opportunities to get feedback on your company, good or bad, and respond. For small businesses, start a blog. It doesn’t matter whether you market B2B or B2C, a blog provides benefits you normally will not get from Internet marketing alone.

In 7 reasons why small businesses should blog, Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba, authors of Citizen Marketers, provide reasons and advice on why you should blog.

Adding social media marketing to your marketing mix is not a difficult project. It does need to be planned so that your social media marketing activities stay on brand with all of your marketing activities. And depending on your company, you may need to evaluate the effect social media marketing has on the culture of your business. But there are ways of evolving your company to take advantage of this new and exciting marketing area. It’s really not that scary afterall.

I found all of them interesting because of the broad range of topics covered within the social media arena. My podcasts that stood out for me are the interviews with:

• Guy Kawasaki – author of 8 books, venture capitalist and former Apple marketing executive. Guy focuses on what is important about social media.
• Scott Wilder – group manager of the small business division for Intuit. This podcast had insight into how to make social media tools work for a large corporation.
• Jennifer McClure – executive director of the Society for New Communications Research. Jennifer discusses the company culture requirements for successfully using social media within the company.
• Jeremiah Owyang – director of corporate media strategy for PodTech. Jeremiah discusses how to implement a corporate social media strategy.
• Regis Mckenna – renowned marketer. Regis discusses why social media is a natural outcome of the evolution of the technology behind it and why corporations should adopt social media.
• Dave Sifry – CEO of Technorati. Because Technorati tracks 67 million blogs in total, and 1.5 million blog posts a day, how it has changed the landscape of marketing.

You can subscribe to this podcast via iTunes or go directly to PodTech to subscribe.